Thursday, March 11, 2010

A Difficult Language

Since living here, I regret not learning the language better. I mean, I can survive when I'm forced to speak the language, but by no means am I fluent. Brad is WAY better than me, but even he has difficulty understanding when people speak. Broderick is doing well. He'll suprise us often with new phrases and words and his teachers say he understands everything they say to him.

Its not because we're slackers or we haven't tried .... this language is hard. They talk like they have potatoes in their mouth, and I'm not being mean when I say that. Even danes say they talk like that.

Its extremely difficult to pronounce and things that I think I'm saying perfect, they give you a blank stare. They correct me and I'm thinking ... yeah, that's what I said. Clearly (or unclearly), its not what I said.

Let me give you some examples:

In our phonetic English, we would say: Bron-der-slev ... exactly like its written
How its really said: Broin-er-sleu ... or something like that because apparently I still can't say this name.
This is a grocery store here.
Looks like: love-berg
Correction: Lyoo-bee-ya ... again - or something like that because I'm probably still saying that wrong.

This is where Brad works.
Looks like: PETER-shobb
Correction: Pellers-HOPE
... and the accent is on the hope - very important.

And as far as this street sign is concerned ...
we won't even go there.

See, so there are some difficulties - correction, there are a lot of difficulties. But - it has been fun learning a new language. And we have been so fortunate that so many danes speak great English.

Sadly, after all this work... in a matter of weeks, we won't need this language again.

I have fantasies of working in the hospital again and suddenly there will be a patient who only speaks danish --- then it will be Megan to the rescue. But lets be honest ... the chances are very slim. Like I said before, most of them speak great English.

So my danish friends ... you'll have to help us keep up our skills.

2 comments:

  1. Vi vil gerne hjælpe med at holde jeres danske ved lige. Så fra nu af er al kommunikation fra min side på dansk, okay? :-)

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  2. Say what?! That language just boggles my mind! What an amzing experience though. Can you believe all of the things you have done, places you have been, people you have met? Amazing adventure-
    you are sooo cool!
    :)

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