Ich lerne Deutsch…

I must say that I was not all that enthusiastic about learning German. If at all, I had decided that I will only learn just enough ‘to ask for water’. In swahili we say, ” ya kuomba maji” . I did four years of French at secondary school, at the end of which I could speak very well. The highlight of my learning French was going for a month-long exchange program to the ReUnion Island, somewhere in the Indian Ocean. I stayed with a family that spoke only French, and attended school where nothing else but French was spoken. By the third day or so, my dreams were happening in the French language. I returned home speaking the language fairly well.

Even though I never pursued French further, I retained most of it, and whenever I bump into a french-speaker, I always grab the opportunity to show-off, no, to practice my French. Since I also speak my mother-tongue, Kikuyu, and Swahili very well (I have to, I was born in Mombasa!!), and English, I felt there might not be enough room in my brain, for an extra language. Not to mention that my brain cells are not what they used to be.

To an extent, I was right. The moment I started learning German (on my own, using a CD and a book), I found that I was over-writing on my French. The French words I have always known, are slowly being replaced by the German words. I find this a very strange phenomenon! But someone I know has a stranger tale. His Kikuyu is being over-written by German.

As I type this post, my son Alex, soon-to-be six, is rattling about in German with his friend. I haven’t a clue what they are saying, but I have to say, it is like watching the red-sea part. It’s been just 9 months, and my kids have learnt German. Yap, they have fresh brain cells.

The biggest challenge has been reading the school briefings, and they are many! In the worst case scenario, I normally go to Google language tools and type, then translate. Luckily, I can speed type. (No, I was never a secretary!) But I do not usually type out the whole letter, just what I deem to be key. That means that I translate sentence after sentence as I type, and once a meaning is formed, I stop typing.

That landed me into serious trouble. I failed to read a very important message that appeared near the end of one such briefing. The teacher got so incensed with me that she wrote an entire A4 long ranting to us. Normally a school briefing will begin thus: Lieben Eltern [ =Dear Parents]. This particular one was directly addressed to us, Frau und Herr …. [ =Mrs and Mr...] and a quick scan through all the text revealed Alex’s name appearing a couple of times. We were in hot soup, all because Alex failed to attend an evening music concert at a neighbouring school. { how else are we going to know he has an aptitude for music?}

In Switzerland, education is free in that sense of the word. We purchase no books, no stationery, no fees. You only need to send your child to school. Infact, you are dictated upon by the council, which of the neighbourhood schools your child will attend. In short, schooling is compulsory, and any laxity or failure by parents or guardins to adhere by the school regulations can land you into much trouble. In a way, it is like children become property of the school!

Which should explain the long ‘msomo’  (rant letter) from the school. And that was all the awakening I needed to send me scuttling to enroll for a language course. The first two-and-a-half-hour lesson is always free, to allow one to decide whether they want to pursue further or not. I liked the teacher, and the class size is small, just 8 students. By the time we took a tea break, my mind was made up. I went and paid for the course and was given my study pack.

And so, I am now officially learning German, as my fifth language. So far, so good.