As great as my Danish is... it really only takes me so far. How far? As we've covered previously, it takes me this far:
"hej"
"hej"
"tak"
That's great for the grocery store (really great), but what about when I need to do something crazy, like ask a question? At least so far, every salesperson or clerk I've encountered speaks English really well. So I pretty much know I'm safe. But it still feels weird to transition from the introductory "hej" "hej" exchange, where everything is cruising along like maybe i'm a normal danish person, to suddenly just busting out the ole 'merican. Like, is there any protocol on how to make that transition? Today I went to the post office, and the lady was like "hej" and I was like "hej! .....umm... so I've been tracking this package online and it says they tried to deliver it today but I wasn't there so I can I give you the confirmation number?" The woman didn't miss a beat though so I guess that's just how it's done here.
Actually the more I think about it, the more I think the problem is that "Hi" and "Hej" sound exactly the same. Otherwise I could send a warning signal, like if they said "Bonjour" and I responded with "Hi!" they'd know, OK we got an english speaker comin in hot. Maybe I should be responding to "hey" with something more like "Howdy-do-dee!" or "What's really good?" (said in the myra way, hehe).
"hej"
"hej"
"tak"
That's great for the grocery store (really great), but what about when I need to do something crazy, like ask a question? At least so far, every salesperson or clerk I've encountered speaks English really well. So I pretty much know I'm safe. But it still feels weird to transition from the introductory "hej" "hej" exchange, where everything is cruising along like maybe i'm a normal danish person, to suddenly just busting out the ole 'merican. Like, is there any protocol on how to make that transition? Today I went to the post office, and the lady was like "hej" and I was like "hej! .....umm... so I've been tracking this package online and it says they tried to deliver it today but I wasn't there so I can I give you the confirmation number?" The woman didn't miss a beat though so I guess that's just how it's done here.
Actually the more I think about it, the more I think the problem is that "Hi" and "Hej" sound exactly the same. Otherwise I could send a warning signal, like if they said "Bonjour" and I responded with "Hi!" they'd know, OK we got an english speaker comin in hot. Maybe I should be responding to "hey" with something more like "Howdy-do-dee!" or "What's really good?" (said in the myra way, hehe).
As a side note the answer was that the package should be here tomorrow. So if all goes according to plan, I'll have a shiny new camera to play with soon (birthdays!) and I am seriously going to step up my game on the blog.
ReplyDeleteSo go ahead and add me to your bookmarks bar, I promise* I'll make it worthwhile.
*Well I promise to try. Isn't that all you can ask for, anyway?
This is exactly my experience here, as "hallo" sounds just like "hello." Ha! I usually just switch right to English...at the beginning I would sometimes ask, in as friendly/polite tone as I could muster, "Is it OK if I speak English?" but then I just stopped doing that because it seemed unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteYEah Bree
ReplyDeleteI still can't distinguish the word 'two' from the word 'three' in Dutch. One probably has more tongue roll, which is something I've never been able to do and don't have the time to pick out in the flurry of a foreign language. So I can kind of understand 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 because it either sounds like English or German. I just know to use my fingers instead of my words when I'm ordering drinks for two, otherwise I come back to the table looking like I have bigger problems than language.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I got the impression I was patronizing the locals when I would say "Speak a little English?" and hold my thumb and index finger close together. So I stopped that.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I love the dutch examples! Michael your comment reminds me of one of my favorite moments when in France last year, when asking for "cette baguette" almost led to the purchase of sept (7) baguettes.
ReplyDeleteI usually just ask "Prater du Engelsk?" or whatever the Danish equivalent. That way you slip in a little native tongue (did not intend that to sound so gross), endear yourself to the local, AND communicate in English. Also, takk is thanks. Tak is ceiling. Very tricky stuff.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Just discovered your blog. Love it! Bra gjort.