The Germans say we ask too many questions...

Comparing the world’s languages, whether it’s universal proverbs, or discovering words that have no meaning elsewhere, never ceases to fascinate me. Not surprisingly, travelling around and meeting people from all over the world turns out to be a great way to explore this interest. For example, in the first few days that we were staying in Auckland, the other people in the hostel were complaining about our “Free!” meal fit for a midrange size ant, or America’s next top model. One of the girls said in German that it was wrong to look in the mouth of the horse that someone has given you. A Spanish girl said that if someone presents you with a quadruped, avoidance of gum inspection is highly recommended. Or something along those lines. I told them that ours was “If someone gives you a stupidly small plate of spaghetti, you look at it with disappointment and then tell them this is the most sorry excuse of a free meal I’ve ever seen” and then throw it at them. Amazing how we have the same phrases in so many different languages isn’t it?

When we arrived at the Eco Wellness centre, Inge took us around the property to show us the gardens and all the projects that they had been working on. Naturally, I was curious about everything they were doing. Later on, when Rolf came to introduce himself, he told us that Inge said we had put a hole in her stomach. Oh man, I really don’t remember stabbing her, but I hoped there was some sort of misunderstanding that could be made more understandable. Apparently, this is a common German phrase that means we asked too many questions. Okay…. No more questions for Sarah. Not all smiles and sunshine...

Later on at dinner, we were talking to the German WWOOFers (aka the field hockey playing couple Max and Julia, and future filmmaker Morritz) about the differences in our languages. Hana had thought that Inge didn’t seem too fond of me, but the Germans assured us that she liked me fine, it was just typical cold German demeanor. This began a conversation about the differences in the ways we express ourselves. They pointed out how funny it was that we had so many words for something that is excellent. Fantastic! Great! Awesome! (I did mention earlier that the dinner looked epic, and Hana described a band as legendary which they now use all the time to describe their dessert). In German there is a sliding scale that describes things and experiences as “good”, “very good”, or “really good” (although this last one is rarely used, according to Julia only once a year, usually around Christmas). That is all.

And now the question that has been on my mind is this. In terms of language and its relation to its native speakers’ persona, which precedes which? If the German people say they are generally not very expressive in their enthusiasm, is this due to the lack of words to describe such sentiments, or is there lack of vocabulary using fantastic, excellent, etc. a result of the cultural character? Sorry if that puts holes in anyone’s stomach, but any insights would be appreciated J