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Language learning

German is so funny. Not.

By November 6, 2010July 19th, 2017One Comment2 min read8,105 views

Earlier this term I intercepted a note my 7-year-old had written to her teacher: “Ger Ger Ger; Don’t be so rude.” She was objecting to a reading comprehension exercise about sneezing, which included the following information:

If someone nearby sneezes, remember to tell them “Gesundheit!” That is a funny-looking word which is pronounced “gezz-oont-hite.” It is the German word that wishes someone good health after sneezing.

The text is another example of banal multilingualism: on one level, it’s a tokenistic nod in the direction of linguistic diversity. However, at the same time, it trivializes linguistic diversity by describing the foreign word as “funny-looking.” It’s not funny, and a 7-year-old bilingual can recognize the slight that I can only assume was unintended by and invisible to the adult teacher/writer of the work sheet.

While “Gesundheit” in and of itself is no more or less “funny” than “Bless you,” the impressionistic transcription “gezz-oont-hite” certainly makes the word look very exotic. The pronunciation information itself is entirely irrelevant both to the topic of the text (facts about sneezing) and the reading proficiency of the young target readership. All it achieves is to make the German word look  “funny” and exotic indeed. So, the writer of the text is creating the “funniness” they claim is inherent to the German word.

The politics of representation evident in “eye dialectal” transcriptions has for many years been a concern of critical sociolinguists, who have pointed to the ways in which the use of eye dialect stigmatizes identities. Representation is always an ethical issue.

The worksheet is just another example of the monolingual mindset. However, to find the monolingual ideology of English superiority masquerading as literacy education and even as some sort of foreign language teaching (“let’s learn a funny German word”) is rather sad. As the old saying goes, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. If you want to make fun of another language, at least do it in style! I’ll be recommending Mark Twain’s “The awful German language” to the author of that worksheet.

ResearchBlogging.org Roberts, C. (1997). Transcribing Talk: Issues of Representation TESOL Quarterly, 31 (1) DOI: 10.2307/3587983

Ingrid Piller

Author Ingrid Piller

Dr Ingrid Piller, FAHA, is Distinguished Professor of Applied Linguistics at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Her research expertise is in bilingual education, intercultural communication, language learning, and multilingualism in the context of migration and globalization.

More posts by Ingrid Piller

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  • L Stephan says:

    Spielwelt German Parents Association in Canberra is another of Michael Clynes fans greatly saddened to hear the news of his passing. Professor Clyne very kindly agreed to be one of the patrons of the German Australian Playschool, playgroups and scouts, saying the programs promoted the sort of Australia he wanted to be part of. His involvement and encouragement raised our expectations of ourselves and of our children, to the benefit of other language programs for children in Canberra and beyond, also. Professor Clyne, you were an inspiration to many; and your encouragement and humbleness will have long felt effects. Many thanks. In peace, and with love, from your German friends at Spielwelt.

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