Out and About

Out and About

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Language Barrier

I came to the Czech Republic without any knowledge of Czech, and quite frankly, with little desire to learn it. I've heard it's a simple language in that prepositions are not used much and sentence construction is easy, but I've also heard that it is difficult because, well, it is nothing like English. Or Spanish. Auto means car, politika means politics, and that is where the similarities end. Learning this language would be the definition of starting at square one, and the knowledge of it will be useful for me for exactly one year. After that, its relevance disappears. For me, at least. To make up for my lack of Czech, which I do at times feel guilty about, especially when I see my friends trying to pick up a bit of Czech, I have been working on improving my Spanish vocabulary by reading Spanish books. Spanish is a language I already know a lot of and plan to use for the rest of my life, so for me, it has more utility.

For these reasons, and probably more, I have not mustered up any interest in learning Czech, to which my trilingual German roommate snickered and stated that I am indeed a true American. I arrvived here without even knowing how to say hello, yes, or no, which, looking back, seems absurd to me now, considering how useful these words are. However, I came to Prague ethnocentrically thinking that more people would speak English than in reality really do.

I have picked up some useful words and phrases mostly because my survival instincts kicked in. Ano is yes. Ano is a lot of fun, because the way the Czechs pronounce it, it sounds like how I pronounce "I know" and so the rare times that I hear Czech people talking on their cell phones in public, when they answer the phone, to my untrained ears it sounds like they are stating to the caller that they know why they are calling. In addition, ano in Spanish means anus. Spanish is not my native language, so I try and imagine using the word "anus" in place of yes, and don't quite know how I would do it.

Dobry den means good day, but it is used as hello here. Ahoj (pronounced ahoy) means hello, but is only used for close friends and family. Prosím (proseem) means please and here's the really fun one: thank you is děkuji. I still have to Google Translate this one to get the spelling. The first time I looked this up I listened to it a million times, but could not say it. The thing with děkuji is that every person in the Czech Republic has his or her own way of pronouncing it. When I first got here and heard everyone pronouncing this word, I thought there were 14 different ways to say thank you, but in reality, they are all the same word. I've adapted to saying you-kwee or yicky, but the ways of pronouncing it are endless. The "d" is silent, by the way, and "j" sounds like a y. At this point I don't ask why, I just try to accept.

Lastly, and most importantly, about a week ago I learned how to say "I don't speak Czech" in Czech. This is probably an oxymoron, because by saying this, I am indeed capable of speaking some Czech. I have had at least half a dozen people come up to me and ask me for directions, even when my headphones are in, to whom I have stared, removed my earplugs, and said slowly, in English, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Czech." I must look Czech to them, which is a major contrast to Spain, where people rarely asked me for directions because one glance was enough to tell them that I am not a native. This is some annoying irony because I can actually speak Spanish and, believe it or not, give directions, at least around Granada, where I have spent so much time, yet in the country where people do ask me directions, I can't speak the language. Store clerks and train ticket-checkers often say something to me, and I don't like smiling and shaking my head in a confused manner. So I decided to learn how to say: nemluvím česky (pronounced neh mloo veem chesky). After meeting a nice Czech girl who told me how to pronounce it correctly, I can now say it, um, decently, although far from like a native.

Knowing how to say this has been one of the best decisions I have made in this country. Czech people really appreciate when I speak their language, albeit a very pathetic and conversation-ending phrase. Instead of trying to decipher my English "I don't speak Czech," they know right away that I am a foreigner and don't have to waste time trying to figure out why I can't seem to communicate with them like a normal Czech person. For example, the ticket-checker on the train today said something to me, and I told her this phrase. She smiled, said something that was probably the Czech equivalent of okay, and left me alone.

I think I've hit the plateau of my Czech knowledge. I still need to learn good night and goodbye, but I'm in no rush. However, today I learned 6 new Spanish words from a Spanish newspaper. In conclusion, bilingual is just fine for me.

5 comments:

  1. likewise, i mastered this sentence in cantonese at a young age: "i understand the language, but i cannot speak." at least it's not as bad in HK as it seems to be in czech. most people in HK speak cantonese, mandarin, and english.

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  2. In regards to the paragraphs 1 and 2, AMURRICA FUCK YEAH!!! haha I hope you get the reference

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  3. Haha well at least you understand cantonese! That's really the first step that I will not achieve, haha.

    Ummmm gimme a hint Juan? Mad Men? Hehe

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  5. It's from Team America haha Here is a link to the site but I don't how to insert the link so you can just click it and go. So just copy and paste it lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M

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