Going to study in Germany was always a dream of mine. It was a challenge I knew I wanted to commit to during my college experience. Growing up taking German was never an option throughout all my years in school. This disappointed me but did not discourage me. When I got to Elon I knew I wanted to continue my German. I was not able to fit it into my first year, but was able to take 2 classes my sophomore year. When I was younger I took private lessons to work on the language. This helped me at Elon because I knew a good handful of vocabulary and grammar.
While in Berlin, I took intermediate German. This class took place Monday through Thursday for 3 hours a day. This was definitely one of the hardest classes I have ever taken but I learned so much German grammar, vocabulary, Berlin’s pronunciation and more which I will discuss.
Pictured here is my German class. This was the first German class where my teacher did not speak to us in English at all. This was super hard to adjust to but also taught me so much. Without this class I would not have gotten to the proficiency I am at now.
My teacher is pictured on the far right, her name is Kat.
One linguistic thing I learned in Berlin was untranslatable words. This was something my teacher valued because she wanted us to understand the German language for what it is. This took time for me to process and still am doing. The first word is "geil". When putting this word into any translator app it directly translates to "horny". This is rarely the meaning of the word when speaking German or when I am listening to someone use it. It is used to say how great/awesome something is. A film can be geil, a person can be geil, even a glass of beer. It is also used to express a happy response to something or someone. This word tends to be used more in the younger generations although my father uses it quite often. Over time, since around the 1970s, the meaning of geil has shifted from something naughty to something quite normal. Another word that is untranslatable is "tja". This is described as a vocalized sigh or shrug, and is used at the start of a sentence before what you want to say. Using this helps set a tone for your conversation, which suggests a sense of annoyance. In English, "tja" translates to "well". I have heard this word, with the English meaning well, in conversation with my father and aunt specifically when one is asked a question and the other begins their response with "tja" suggesting they are going to challenge the expectation.
The German word "doch" is very common and hard to explain so I included a video of it. An english translation to this word would be "on the contrary". It is used to contradict someone through a statement they ask you. You can go back and forth with "doch". I included on the right a translation from German to English on how it would be used.
Connecting this word back to what I experienced abroad I heard "doch" the most when with my family. This word connects with the German culture in the way that it is mostly used to contradict someone, meaning you are potentially arguing. I believe this word represents family discussions over coffee and cake or at dinner. An example would be my Oma thinking we do not give her enough attention and the rest of my family disagreeing. This would result in a dramatic conversation such as the above example.
Another thing I observed about the German language was regional accents. Since Germany is not the only country that speaks German, countries and regions take on the language change drastically. To begin German is the official language in Germany and Austria, whereas it is an official language in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg and Belgium. It is also a minority language in countries such as Italy, Poland, Brazil, Slovakia and more. These countries have their own German dialect. There are officially 8 different dialects in the German language. I have been traveling to Austria since a little kid and the way Austrians speak German was always significantly different than my father and grandparents. At the time I did not realize it because I was so young but now I understand it more. Austrian German compared to Germany German has a unique vocabulary. This is just like the English language with American English versus British English.
The Berlin dialect is known as Berlinerisch. This dialect is slowly fading away as Berlin is becoming an international hub and many Germans that live in Berlin come from other areas - meaning a new dialect. To describe it, the Berlinerisch dialect pronounces an "h" as a "k". I did not hear this much when I was in Berlin because I did not know native Berliners. The Bayerisch dialect is used in Southern Germany as well as parts of Austria. This is something I can not understand and even some native German speakers can't understand the Southern dialect. This distinction between a Northern German accent versus a Bavarian accent is just like the US where Northerns sound different from Southerners.
Despite German dialects, it is all one language. They all spell the same although Germans from different areas claim not to really understand either other. This shows a different side of Germans, being funny and making fun of one another. These numerous dialects shows that the German language is alive and constantly changing. Within the dialects is smaller ideas of language that relate directly with culture. For example in Bavaria (Southern Germany) when greeting people you say "Grüß Gott" meaning "Greet God" versus "Guten Tag" - "Good Day". Although it is one country practicing German culutre, you have differences depending on the area you live in.