It’s amazing how much of a foreign language a person can understand based on the context in which the words are spoken.
For example, the waitress approaches your table, looks at the food left on your plate and asks a question. Without being able to understand a word of what she says, you can pretty much figure she’s asking if you want a box to take home the food (or something along those lines), and you can confidently answer “yes.”
I’ve practiced this Context Conclusion theory many times since coming to Germany.
Saturday morning I did some shopping at the German grocery store called Aldi. (Some of you know it well—did you know it was a German chain?) After the clerk gave me my change, she asked me a question. By the context and tone of her voice, I figured she was asking if I wanted a bag for the few items I’d purchased. So I politely replied, “Nein. Danke.” (“No, thank you.”)
The look she gave me told me that my clever Context Conclusion theory had failed me this time. So I smiled and said apologetically, “Ich spreche nicht Deutsch.” (“I don’t speak German.”) She asked if I spoke English, and then said (in English):
“I asked you if everything was okay.”
Oops.
Just one of many language-learning adventures I have been experiencing these last months...
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