Something as simple as saying the alphabet can trip you up in a second language. Photo (cc) flickr user james.swenson

Sometimes when you’re learning a foreign language, it feels like you’re doing everything backwards.  When children learn a language they start small, maybe asking for a toy simply by saying “me doll!”  While adults may resort to similar sentences in must-communicate situations in their adopted language, they often have the disadvantage of wanting to start with more complex subject matter.

Photo (c) Resident on Earth

I have a beautiful red book to hold my German Wortschatz, or “word treasure.” In English, I suppose we just call it plain old boring “vocabulary.” The book has a ribbed surface, and the pages are of such a fine texture that I can’t help but flip through the book, run my fingers over the paper, and gently breathe in the scent.

As I go about my daily life, I collect German words in my Wortschatz. I write down words that I see or hear around me, such as from ads, TV, flyers, or newspaper headlines (as I look over the shoulder of the guy sitting in front of me on the train). When I get home, I look them up and write down their meaning.

Not everyone likes Hochdeutsch, as this graffiti shows… (Flickr: mkorsakov)

Just like beer, north-south differences (especially linguistic ones) are one of the defining features of Germany – and one of the things I most frequently write about on this blog. When I was learning German, I had it drummed into me again and again: make sure you learn Hochdeutsch; learn to speak like people in the northern half of Germany; whatever you do, don’t learn German in Munich! No one will be able to understand you, and you’ll sound like too much of a peasant to get a job!

Berlin, Ick liebe Dir (Flickr: K.a.i.)

Berlin is a marvelous city. The metropolis offers an endless array of cultural events and is admired by many for its international diversity. Every year, Berlin welcomes a large number of tourists from all over the world. And sometimes, they fall head over heels for Berlin, decide to stay and call this their new home. For example the Turkish. Over the course of time, a large number of Turkish immigrants have settled in Kreuzberg, making this the second largest Turkish city by population after Istanbul. Or look at the Swabians, who’ve “invaded” the oh-so-loved Prenzlauer Berg, making it hard for Berliners to find an apartment there anymore. Nonetheless, most Berliners embrace their new neighbours, and in the future we’ll likely grow closer and all live together as one big family…

One thing newcomers have got to learn about Germany is the importance of regional identities: That’s why I posted on state elections in Germany just last week. Especially for Brits, the sheer variation between different parts of this country is astonishing; Germany is far more American than British inasmuch as the capital city is not the be-all-and-end-all of everything – and every city has its own identity markers of which it is exceptionally proud.

So just as each American city has a nickname (Chi-Town, the Big Apple, etc) and a baseball team, no German city would be complete without a major football team, a regular episode of the long-running who-dunnit legend Tatort, and a trademark item of baked goods. Germany is, after all, well known for its penchant for baking, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Saying hi courtesy of Aidan Jones (Flickr)

We all know that learning another language is hard work. Even after over twelve years getting to grips with German, I still hear myself make the odd mistake – infuriatingly often in the very simple territory that I was supposed to have conquered many years back. Nevertheless, after having lived here for a while, simple things like greetings and pleasantries usually just roll off the tongue without requiring too much effort – “Guten Tag” and “Wie geht es Ihnen?” and so forth.