Finding Meaning in the Small Things

Rather than telling you all about my amazing quests through Europe (or just in Munich, however you'd like to say it), I think I'll again stick with giving a little insight on my experiences with a new culture. The story isn't all that interesting, but it leads to a very important idea in linguistics. I'm not an expert in linguistics, but it's just my thought through experience.

Today is again a beautiful day in Munich, so I decided to take a walk to the bakery, which is inside the same building as two grocery stores. As I left the bakery, I couldn't resist the temptation of the chocolate croissant in my hands (along with a nice milk coffee). With my first bite, the world around me seemed to blur. Nothing else was important. I remember hearing the muffled voice of a girl to my right; I snapped out of my sugar-induced daze, and turned to hear just the ending of her sentence: the word "helfen" (meaning 'to help' in English). Seeing her grocery store worker's vest and hearing this, I automatically assumed that she had asked if I needed any help. There was no conscious decision-making in the process; my reply saying no thanks just seemed to escape from my mouth and I continued on with a happy, caffeinated smile. As I walked off, I could barely make out her perplexed expression as my croissant-vision returned, as if she was thinking 'that was a really friendly way of turning me down.' When it finally clicked that she probably had been asking me for help with something, it was too late for me to turn around. Despite my guilt, my pride got the best of me and I walked on-- afraid to again address this damsel in distress.

While this is just a complete tragedy that I will forever have nightmares about, it does bring about an interesting point in linguistics. This is nothing groundbreaking, just fun to discuss. It is said that 90% of communication is non-verbal. I think this idea is also very important in understanding a language, especially in the learning years. At this point, I have no trouble understanding German when it is spoken directly to me and the level of environmental distraction is below a certain threshold. I think reaching that point requires a certain understanding that you develop when immersed in the language for a short period of time (after already being familiar with the basics of the language). It seems that at a certain level below language fluency, the use of contextual clues peaks in importance to understanding; I think (remember this is only opinion-based) that the strengthening of this environment-to-word connection is vital in getting over that final hurdle in language acquisition. When starting off a semester abroad with a language they have been learning, students become very skilled in using contextual clues to fill in gaps in vocabulary. (This is especially used in learning German, seeing as their grammar is stereotypically as mechanically organized as a lot of their society). Use of the environment and understanding of expressions/mood happens with any language at all fluency levels and completes what it means to truly communicate.

From attempting to understand Nanoscience lectures in German and Bavarian German in Kinsau, I think I had become very accustomed to not understanding everything that's said. So in this situation where I would have understood her German perfectly had I been paying attention, rather than asking her to repeat herself like I would have in English, my brain went straight to using this ability that has been overdeveloped during my first few weeks here.

I think when someone finally has built a strong enough connection between the language and the world around them, their language acquisition begins to sky rocket. When that happens for someone in a foreign language (as opposed to when learning a first language as a young child), I think that's when they begin to no longer use their mother tongue as an intermediary step in speaking this second language. What I mean by that is they no longer learn use this second language as a translated version of their first language. You eventually get to the point where you have German words bouncing around in your head that you have no English equivalent for (or can't think of when asked, because that connection has diminished). You also begin to learn new words without having to ask for a definition. Using context, the word just simply makes sense and you now know a word for which you do not at all equate to something in English. Your words start to feel less empty of emotion, less mechanical in use. The transformation is amazing to witness, and the power of the mind is infinitely impressive.

I'm fairly certain I had more to say about this, but the nice weather and the wind that keeps clearing my desk of all my papers is quite distracting. So for now, I will say tschau and go on a walk in the park; maybe my thoughts will return to me later.

Classes Start Monday! What?!

Considering I haven't been in school since mid-December, it's odd to think that classes are starting here on Monday. Tomorrow I will have officially been in Deutschland for 4 weeks! Time is flying. That means I have 18 out of the total 22 weeks left before I return home to a one week break before classes start at UIUC. And somewhere during that week I'll be moving in to my apartment with Kelley!!!

Well, I've unfortunately spent a lot of time speaking English lately, but my German will pick back up come Monday. I can't be too mad about speaking English though, because it's been in order to communicate with all the great international students I've been hanging out with lately (who actually are all at LMU, not TUM). I have friends from everywhere and they can speak English so well!! It's also pretty interesting to see just how much of the American culture spreads through the world-- by this I mean mostly products of Hollywood. At some point this semester, we actually plan to have an America-themed party (the 4th of July would probably be the most appropriate time for that). My Norwegian friend Kristoffer, Tyler, and I (and whoever else would like to join) will be watching Team America: World Police this weekend, and last night we all had a discussion about the American TV shows that we watch. I'm fairly certain they've seen more South Park than I have!

The mixing of all the nationalities has been very interesting, enlightening, and a lot of fun as well. We always can find some cultural differences to talk about when we are all together, such as in politics or breakfast choices. I think it's even more interesting, though, just how similar we all are. It definitely makes language barriers seem a whole lot less significant. It also further strengthens my view that everyone should take a chance and truly experience another culture. If more people could understand stereotypes as such and understand where different stereotypes have come from specifically, use that understanding to step over cultural barriers, and truly respect other cultures for who they are, I think we would have a much happier society as a whole.