Nein! Das ist nicht Richtig!
Take a crack at yelling out these words:
Kaftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung
Freundschaftsbezeugung
Siebentausendzweihundertvierundfünfzig
According to one definition of “Outliers”: An outlier is an observation that lies an abnormal distance from other values in a random sample from a population.
So what am I getting at here? I want to share my perspective on what you are already aware of - the importance of understanding and knowing the local language and culture. Through my travels around the world, I have noticed how it helps build positive engagements with people and afford us a greater sense of security and camaraderie. Cultures are different so people are bound to be different. It is the outliers that we must discount and stay away from generalizations.
So why do I learn German? I was ridiculed back in the day when I spent days and weeks learning the German language (I read and watched a lot of documentaries on WWII which then got me intrigued about this language early-on). I was told that this language is hardly spoken outside Germany and has no world appeal. This did not bother me because I did not look at it in this way.
But what I wanted was an alternative approach to a history class. You can learn a lot about a country and its culture through its language – people, cities, the love for wurst (sausage), approach to life, its relationship with neighbouring countries - and it becomes even more interesting when you complement learnings with shows and movies. This has made me love the language even more and I continue to learn in my free time.
So don’t be constricted in how you shape your life. Try to find reason.
Take that first step and learn what you think is richtig! You can start now on Duolingo, Babbel or the several other mobile apps and websites. Almost free ways to take your first step:
Watch foreign shows and movies
Find Instagram and Facebook accounts that focus on language learning, culture and life in that country
Take a trial Duolingo/online course
