| Sprechen
sie Deutsch? |
| When I was a young lad growing up, my father spoke German
with his mother-in-law. My grandmother lived with us until
her death at age 102. Both my dad and my mother's mother grew
up speaking German in their households. |
| When I was in high school my family sponsored a German college
student so he could study in America. He, of course, spoke
German, and also spoke excellent English. Later he married
a woman who spoke Spanish and English. She learned German
and their first child spoke German, English and Spanish. |
| He lived with us for about 18 months and then moved to Canada
with his family. I think they have all added another language:
Canadian, eh? |
| My only regret is that I did not learn German during that
time. If I had only listened more carefully and joined their
German conversations. Sure, I picked up a few words and phrases,
but I have forgotten most of them. |
| My inability to speak German has come home to roost. My
wife, Betsy, and I plan to travel to Germany and Austria later
this spring. We are making our hotel reservations now, and
thank goodness, there generally is someone at the hotel who
can speak at least some English. |
| Every conversation we have, however, starts with one of
us saying, "Guten Tag. Sprechen sie Englisch?" I
have no idea what I would say if the reservation clerk said
"nein." Hang up, I guess. |
| Our quest is complicated with the fact that I have to have
an accessible room because I use a wheelchair. Words like
accessible, handicapped, wheelchair, ramp, disabled and the
like are not words most Germans understand. I have since learned
that the word for wheelchair in German is "Rollstuhl,"
and Germans and Austrians also understand the phrase barrier
"frei" (free). |
| Although most German hotels cannot accommodate a wheelchair,
the people have been most gracious and have recommended hotels
that can. |
| For half of our trip we will be joined by friends of ours
who live in London. They don't speak German, either. I was
hoping they at least had a conversational knowledge of German,
but no such luck. I am, however, trying to memorize two phrases:
"Wann ist Abendessen" (when is dinner?), and "Wo
sind die Toiletten?" (where are the restrooms?). |
| I was struck with the statistic from the 1990 U.S. census
that 38 percent of all people living in Fairfax County claim
German ancestry. I guess I'm not the only one around here
that didn't listen carefully to their grandparents' language. |
| I've always envied Europeans who can speak several languages.
But that is not surprising in an area about the size of the
mid-Atlantic states in the U.S. Think for a moment if there
were different languages for Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine,
New York, Maryland, Virginia and the like. All of us probably
would be able to speak "Vermont," "New York,"
"Maryland" and "Virginia." Heck, I can't
understand "New York" anyway. Isn't that a foreign
language? |
| I've always feared being labeled an "ugly American"
who demands everything his way in foreign countries, including
having everyone speak English. I guess I should have listened
to my dad and my grandma when I was a child. It would have
been so easy back then. Today it is so difficult. |
| But for now, auf wiedersehen. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
