Did you know animals make different sounds in different languages?
I sure didn't.
Welcome, aspiring polyglot! The personal story series is back, but I’ve decided to go a different direction with it. Consequently, there will likely be no dating guide, though BowTiedPassport may get to it one day. He recently did a write up on finding the best language teacher while living abroad, it is worth checking out if you are taking your language acquisition seriously:
That said, sometimes it can be difficult to think of ways to integrate your target language into your daily life. I want to help solve that problem, but through stories of how I have done it and how some of the people I know have found success. So, welcome to the Personal Story Series 2.0. These will go out Fridays for those who need to plan a way to speak their target language over the weekend.
You can eat alligator in Florida
Years ago I was in Florida with my then girlfriend, we will call her Alice as she will likely be making a recurring appearance, and her family. I had only just begun learning German, two weeks in on Duolingo, and her parents only spoke German. They were born on the east side of the wall, so they spoke German and Russian.
Needless to say, communication was labored and by the middle of the day my girlfriend was exhausted from explaining and translating things back and forth. It took a couple days, but we were soon able to communicate through gestures and body language, for the most part. Then, one night, after dinner in the car we started talking about animals.
They couldn’t believe that they were able to eat alligator in Florida and that is what kicked off a conversation and a belly laugh I will never forget. Did you know that animals make different sounds in different languages? I sure did not. Then we had a conversation about almost every animal in existence, how they sound, and how they may sound in different situations, all without actually speaking the same language. It started simple, with birds.
Why are some so close and some so far off?
In English, we say “tweet” and that’s simple enough. In French, it is “cui-cui”, fair. From what I was told, in German, it’s “piep piep” and that also makes sense. Great! Now we know that we can actually learn new words for the sounds animals make. Never in my life would I have thought of that, but it’s another way you can connect with people and make easy and memorable conversation.
She and I both spoke 5 languages at the time, though only 3 overlapped, so we focused on those. Once we had caught our breath about the birds, we started talking about cows. Fun fact: “Oh la vache” is an exclamation you can use in French that is clean and common but it means “oh the cow” which is fantastic. In French, la vache dit, “meuh” and if you know the French alphabet, this is a fun word to pronounce. In German it’s “muh” which is just slightly off from the English “moo” which is obviously the correct way to say it.
At this point, we are doubled over because 4 people are making animal sounds in different languages to compare what they think it sounds like. We never got to put it to a vote, but hearing her mom say, “meuh” was probably the funniest thing to happen that night. Well, that is until we came up with a new idea.
Then things got out of hand. At this point we were laughing hard enough at the fact that different languages come up with different words for the sounds animals make. What we did not expect was to imitate what those animals might sound like when put in different situations. The first, and only that I will mention here, is what would a cat sound like in different languages if it were trying to attract a mate.
I don’t know if you have ever heard someone try to meow, in German (miau which is basically the same as the English), but up to that point in my life, I sure hadn’t. That’s when she did quite possibly the funniest thing I had ever seen up to that point. She made a meow sound into a wolf whistle and everyone in the car lost it. That’s when I realized something. Just because you do not speak the same language as someone, yet, does not mean you cannot bond with them and create core memories.
While I found it funny, her mom was losing it, so obviously I had to double down and so I did. Her mom was in tears, doubled over in the front seat. When I think back to it I can see it almost like a video replaying in my head, and I have never forgotten the things I learned that week. We laughed and laughed for the full forty five minute car ride home and we probably did not say more than 100 unique words to one another. Still, we understood each other and found ways to communicate despite the barriers.
That was our last night. The next day we went to the airport and I stood with her parents and her at the gate. None of us wanted to part. Odd how, even with language barriers and countless other things standing between us, we were able to form a bond strong enough to endure years, before we ever spoke the same language.
The best part? If I can do it, so can you. You never know what you may learn simply by asking questions, being curious, and being unafraid to brave the trials that come with a language barrier. Know that when you make it to the other side of the barrier, your bonds will be that much stronger for having stuck through it together.
In Spanish... dogs go Guau-guau
No idea why, because I always hear them say Órale