Now that I have been living in Austria for almost ten years and I get around pretty good, it’s come to my attention that there could actually be two of me – German-speaking Debbie and English-speaking Debbie. Because I’ve had people tell me that they notice a difference in my personality when I speak one language or the other. And well… it does make sense.
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When you arrive in a new country, ready to learn a new language, there’s advice aplenty, and of course, as you meet other foreigners who have been in the country 2 years, 5 years or 20, it’s easy to compare your progress to theirs. My advice: don’t.
Continue readingThey’re in every foreign country – names of shops or street signs that have us giggling like the 16 year old hiding within. And I think it’s about time I let mine out. Over the last few years I’ve been collecting some I’ve spotted in Austria and Germany. I’m not going to provide any explanations – I think they speak for themselves… enjoy!
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I’m quite often asked in Austria if I learnt German at school. My answer: “No, I learnt Indonesian,” is usually met with very blank stares.
When I began high school in Australia it was mandatory to learn one semester each of French and Indonesian.
They say that after a certain age, a person loses the ability to pronounce certain parts of a foreign language. That means, unless you start learning a second language from when you’re a kid, you’re always going to sound like a foreigner and there will always be some words you just can’t get right. Here are ten of mine:
The German word for ‘squirrel’ is basically impossible to pronounce. I could repeat it all day and it still wouldn’t come out right. However, it makes me feel a bit better that Austrians can’t pronounce the English ‘squirrel’ either.
German is not an easy language, but then neither is English. And kudos for everyone who didn’t grow up in an English-speaking country, because that means they probably handle multiple languages on a daily basis.
Read on for some of my favourite, commonly used mis-translations that Austrians often say in English.
an aussie in austria 