Contamination

[larryhammer]

One year I'll get the hang of learning a language without interference from a previous language. With Icelandic -- not that I'm trying to learn it, beyond ye phrasebook material -- once again* I find German getting in the way: when reaching for a word, if I don't know the Íslenska, the Deutsches pops in its place.** This is especially disconcerting for prepositions. Asking for a bus ticket nach Stykkishólmur, instead of til, will only confuse the nice salesperson. Especially if I've already established myself as an English speaker.***

* Our last visit did wonders to my conversational German. Favorite moment: three young Germans in a hostel kitchen, befuddledly watching a low-budget Icelandic knock-off of The Dating Game as they cooked dinner. Finally one figured out what was going on, and explained it to her friends -- or tried to, for it took several go-rounds. The confusion was great fun all around, but left my Icelandic even worse the next day.

** I have the same problem with Spanish invading my Latin.

*** We got the distinct impression, last time, that Icelanders want to know straight off which language a conversation will be in: starting with a cheerful "Góðan daginn"**** then switching to English seemed to disconcert many.

**** GŌ-dhahn DIE-in -- soft g is a glottal stop. And in conversational Icelandic, many word endings get slurred into a shusch. This is disconcerting, but helpful when you're not sure what's the case taken by nouns after til.

---L.

Comments

[palomapus.livejournal.com]

I don't even try to understand local Spanish. My father was from Spain so his Spanish was much different from what people speak here, and my SPanish is pretty spotty to begin with. I tend to play romance language hopscotch -- can't find Spanish word, go to Italian, run out of gas in Italian leap to French word. Funny thing -- the Spanish is the weakest of my meagre romance language knowledge!

[larryhammer]

You have no idea how much this heartens me.

---L.