Bitte, Sprechen Sie Englisch?

This is the phrase I use the most. German is one difficult language. Just like everyone else it takes a while to learn any new language but the Finnish and basic Spanish I know have really helped me learn the sounds of other languages until now. I am really struggling with the pronunciation of German words. I have a handy dandy phrase book and try to ask the people I sit next to during lunch and dinner for help with words … Do I say them right? Ohhh noooo.

Gabel – Fork

Messer – Knife

Lōffel – Spoon

Teller / Suppenteller – Plate / Bowl

Zange – Tongs

Tisch – Table

Stuhl – Chair

Licht – Light

Kase – Cheese

Wurst – “Sausaged” meats

Semmel – Bread bun

Brot – Bread… the hardier kind

Kuchen – Sweets

Fisch / Meeresfrūchte – Seafood/Fish

Kūche – Kitchen

Montag – Monday

Dienstag – Tuesday

Mittwach – Wednesday

Donnerstag – Thursday

Freitag – Friday

Samstag – Saturday

Sonntag – Sunday

And that is the extent of my latest dinner practice words. The girl from the cafeteria was really sweet, pointing out ingredients and writing them down and searching for new words that I should get to know. Her English only went so far, and, well, you know the state of my German: But it is a work in progress! It is a hard language. Half the words sound very close to the English version, and the other half is completely new. There are many sounds that require the throat. With some sounds it helps to know Finnish. For example the ä and ö aren’t so alien and I can roll my r’s with the best of them, but when it comes to figuring out the ū, ō, β, and ϋ and adding them to the real throat gurglers- it’s as if someone stuck a rag in my mouth and it is too stunned to do anything. Meeresfrūchte, or seafood, is one that causes this mental paralysis. I got it right during dinner with the patient help of the cafeteria girl, but here I am an hour later trying to say it and just can’t seem to get the ūcht part. I really hope these walls are sound proof… if not I feel really bad for my neighbor having to hear my butchered version of his/ her language.