Language Journey: Overcoming Challenges and Quirks in English Learning
FROM TEACHER SKEPTICISM TO QUIRKY HABITS, THE UNIQUE JOURNEY OF MASTERING ENGLISH
Isn’t it unfair when you think about it. My dad, growing up in Germany, really struggled learning English at school. In fact, his teacher told him he would never learn it. You’d think that would completely suppress all his motivation to learn English, but actually, the opposite happened. It gave him a new-found determination to prove his teacher wrong. Fast forward a few years and his three children came along. He didn’t want us to have the same English-learning struggles as he did. So he moved his whole family to England so that we could learn English the easy way, as children do. The unfair part is, after only a few months in England, we were already correcting his English!
There was one mistake we didn’t correct. I think there was just something endearing about it. We liked it. My dad would attach “isn’t it?” to the end of almost every sentence. “She has red hair, isn’t it?” “He’s very tall, isn’t it?” He did this for probably a whole year until someone corrected him. Then he stopped saying it. What a pity!
My mum often struggled with a very common mistake that German speakers make in English, using the wrong tense when talking about current activities. She would often say things like, “right now, I wash the dishes.” Instead of, “right now, I’m washing the dishes.” That’s because the German language has no continuous tenses, so it takes a little getting used to.
Having German parents and also German friends who spoke English, I’ve heard my fair share of blunders. Not mentioning any names, here are some of the things I’ve heard along the way:
“Let’s make a picture.” What they really mean: “Let’s take a picture.” This is taken directly from German: Ein Bild machen. It’s also quite common for German speakers to use “make” instead of “do.” E.g. “I’ll make the dishes,” instead of, “I’ll do the dishes.”
“I’m boring.” What they really mean: “I’m bored.” Whether they are boring or not is another matter!
“It’s hot, let’s stand in the shadow.” Ok, this one I don’t blame them for! Why do we differentiate between shadow and shade? It’s definitely just to confuse people!
“You have right.” That doesn’t sound right! Of course, they mean: “You are right!”
“Can you borrow me some socks?” This is a mistake even native English speakers make, so you can’t blame German speakers for getting confused. The German word ausleihen is interchangeable, it can be used for both borrow and lend
“Did you become the railcard?” What they really mean: Did you get the railcard? This is an incorrect translation of the German word bekommen. „Hast du die Bahnkarte bekommen?“
Hopefully you have a bit more insight now into why German speakers make certain mistakes in English. But let’s face it, a bit of Denglish never hurt anyone. In fact, I live for the humorous and innovative phrases that result from it!
To the Point:
Readers should take away from this article the message that making mistakes in language learning is normal and can lead to humorous moments. The personal story illustrates that even if one initially struggles, challenges can be overcome. Readers are encouraged not to be overly discouraged by mistakes but rather to appreciate the diversity and amusing aspects of language learning.
The essence is that a bit of “Denglish” (a blend of German and English) harms no one and can even result in entertaining and innovative expressions. The article promotes a positive attitude towards language learning and encourages embracing the journey with humor and openness.
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