Guten Tag !

One of the most often asked questions from people who want study or work in Germany - ‘Is learning German important’? YES, YES and YES. Right from mundane tasks like shopping for groceries to essential ones like making friends, knowing German will take you a long way not just in your social life but also in your career. To me, it’s a simple rule of thumb, if you are going to live in a place, you might as well learn its language.

Some other facts (read incentives) to do so:
- It is the most widely spoken language in the EU (French comes next)
- It is the second most widely published language after English and this is not trivial because the numbers of non-native speakers of English outnumber German by a huge factor. This goes to show that the language and hence the literature has evolved almost at par with technology and other changes.

The very next question is what level of German should one complete before coming to Germany. Since its always easy to learn German in Germany than elsewhere, I would suggest just knowing the basics before getting here (unless your university/company demands otherwise). But once you get here, you must make a conscious effort to learn the language as soon as you can.

Here are some simple pointers:

1. Stop complaining: This is the first and foremost rule. Because the moment you start complaining, you develop a mental block for learning the language. Many people start with ‘why shouldn’t they speak English?’ and my question to them is ‘Why should they? Do they have to let the language die like we did in India where most people can’t even write in their own mother tongues’? Even in India, if someone moves to Delhi for his/her job, he/she will be expected to learn Hindi soon. It is a simple rule of communication – having a common language that most people are comfortable with. If you are the odd one out, isn’t it your problem and isn’t it unfair to expect everyone else to change?

2. If you are a student, make the most of it: Firstly, attend language classes offered by the university. Make friends (and not just desi friends) with whom you can converse in German. As a student, you can afford to make embarrassing mistakes with the language when communicating with fellow students and this luxury is not available to you elsewhere.

3. Learn Grammar: Yes, it’s not my favorite but it happens to be essential to develop competency in the language that extends beyond speaking colloquially. I have met a lot of non-native speakers (who have restaurants and other businesses) and they speak fluent German but most of them have trouble reading and only a handful can write a couple of sentences without any mistakes. This is because they never really learnt the language formally with all the essential rules of Grammar. For example, if you learn a new noun, always learn it with its article and for a verb, make sure you know the past and present perfect tenses.

4. Speak: Always speak in German. It doesn’t matter if it’s grammatically or phonetically correct; the only way to learn it is to use it in daily life. Do not be shy about making mistakes. Germans are usually very patient with anyone who attempts to learn the language. They will wait for you to complete the sentence, will try to understand what you convey and if you tell them explicitly to do so, they will even help correct your mistakes. Everyone will understand what you mean even if you use the wrong article Das Tisch (table) instead of Der Tisch.
5. Learn the language in your own style: Think of some fun ways to learn the language, that you are comfortable with. For example, as a kid I loved Mickey and Donald comics (still do) and I used to read it in German. Since I knew what Donald says in English (at least most of the time), it was easy for me to figure out what the German sentence meant. It really helped me learn simple sentence formations and other words used in daily life. Plus I also learnt that the German version has an additional character Dagobert Duck, Donald’s uncle :D !

Other ways can be watching movies in German that you have already seen in English. Watching James Bond say ‘Geschüttelt nicht gerührt’ (Shaken, not stirred) can be fun too ! Listening to the radio, watching TV, doing simple crosswords or other word games – there are lotsa ways, what is needed is just the will !

Picture(s) copyright: 1.Geothe Institute, 2.www.phantomias.de

Good Samaritan or Nosyparker ?

It was 6 pm on Christmas eve. I decided to go jogging to the Theresienwiese (October fest grounds) since the winter festival was over and the place will be deserted - no people and more importantly, no small annoying dogs. As I expected, there was no one in the whole place. If you know the Theresienwiese there is an alley of trees with a path in between (shown in the photo), which runners frequent. As I was going down this path, I spotted someone in a distance standing and looking at something. As I got nearer, I got scared. I was seeing an old man staring at a park bench and on the park bench was a transparent plastic bag and inside it was a man - all weird thriller movies flashed through my mind in a few seconds. But curiosity got the better of me and so I approached the old man. He turned to me and he looked so benign that I felt a little less scared. Then he points to the park bench and says ''es gibt's doch nicht'' (roughly equivalent to ''can you believe it?''). Then my heart rate slowed down and I saw that a man was half-lying half-sitting on the park bench, with a huge plastic cover for warmth. I tried to talk to him but he appeared to be sleeping, so I just murmured ''schade'' to the other old man and continued jogging.

After finishing the 2km stretch of the alley, I was jogging back home and it was getting much colder (It was -2 deg c) and while I crossed the park bench, the fellow was still sitting (still inside the plastic cover) there. This time I decided to find out why he was there.

Me: Ist alles in Ordnung ? Is everything ok ?

Him (peeking out of the cover): Ja

Me: Frieren Sie sich nicht ? Are you not freezing ?

He just grunts, so I continue

Me: Sie werden hier nicht übernachten oder ? You are not going to spend the night here, are you ?

Him: Doch. Yes

The St.Paul's church is a 2 min walk from there. Being Christmas eve, I knew it would be open through the night.

Me: Warum gehen Sie nicht in die Kirche, da ist es bestimmt warm. Why don't you go to the church, it would definitely be warm there.

Him (raises his voice): Ich gehe da nicht hin. I won't go there

Me: Möchten Sie jemanden erreichen ? Do you want to contact someone ?

Him: Nein

Since I didn't know what else to do, I continued home. After coming home, I had to close all the windows and turn on the heater since the temperature had dropped a few degrees and I thought of the old man.

I made up my mind and first called the red cross. I couldn't reach anyone. Then I called 112 assuming I could reach first aid (yes, this is not a first-aid issue but I didn't know who else to call).

Me: In der Theresienwiese liegt ein Mann mit einer Plastiktüte als Decke. Er muss nicht da sein, er wird sich bestimmt frieren. There is a man lying in the park bench in Theresienwiese. I don't think he should be there, he might freeze to death.

112: Ist er bewusstlos oder krank ? Is he unconscious or sick ?

Me: Nein

112: Hat er Sie um Hilfe gebeten ? Did he ask you for help ?

Me: Nein

112: Scheint er so aus dass er Hilfe braucht ? Does he look like he needs help ?

Me: Ich weiß es nicht aber wenn er da übernachtet.....I don't know but if spends the night there....pause

112: Wir können nichts machen wenn er selber keine Hilfe wünscht und bewusstsein ist. Sie können die Polizei anrufen und sie können vorbei schauen. We can do nothing when he wishes to have no help and when he is conscious. You can call the cops and they can check on him.

I am silent and he continues...

112: Sie sind bei der ''....'' ? You are calling from ''....'' (he says my address) ?

Me: Ja

112: Sind Sie Frau Gopal ? Are you Ms.Gopal ?

Me: Ja

112: Also, bei der Polizei melden. Danke. So, call the cops. Thanks.

This time I dial 110. I repeat the whole story again. After hearing me out, he starts talking

110: Ihre Adresse, bitte. Your Address, please

I am thinking - I call from my landline and you do not know my address....dhoda ! Then I give him my address

110: Ihre Name, bitte. Your Name, please

110: Wie sind Sie da gekommen ? How did you get there ?

Me: Ich bin joggen gegangen. I went jogging

110: Wie alt ist er ? ein 50ger, 60ger oder 70ger mann ? how old is he, would you say 50s, 60s or 70s ?

Me: Er wird mindestens 50 sein. He is definitely over a 50 years old

110: Ist er Wohnungslos, was würden Sie sagen ? Is he homeless, what would you say ?

Me: Keine Ahnung. No idea (Since it was dark and he just peeked out of the cover, I couldn't even see his clothes right)

110: Die Theresienwiese ist echt groß. Beschreiben Sie bitte so genau wie möglich wo er sitzt. The Theresienwiese is really huge. Please describe exactly where he is sitting.

I describe the alley, the position as detailed as I can

110: Alles klar, wir schicken jemanden hin. Wenn alles in Ordnung ist und er keine Hilfe wünscht können wir leider nichts mehr machen. Ok, we will send someone to check on him. If he is fine and needs no help, we can do nothing more.

I thank him, hang up the phone and went deep into thought.

He could be there for a number of reasons - homeless, drunk, fight with the family, something against christmas, visiting someone (but has no money for the hotel) etc. But it bothered me so much because it was cold and he was old and I think dying without food or shelter is the worst form of death.

Then I felt horribly guilty as my mind wandered on to when I was in Nainital 4 years ago in November. I was visiting a cousin and we were shopping along the banks of the lake and it was getting chilly by the minute. As we were hurrying home, I noticed a number of huts and a huge number of people sleeping on the platform. We talked about how terrible it would be for them to stay outside in such temperatures and then got on with our work. I didn't think of calling anyone or doing anything about it.

When I am ready to spend so much effort on one man who is lying outside and who assures me he is all right, why did I not think of doing anything then ? Is it because in someway I am more socially responsible now or is it because I knew that my phone call here would make a difference while no amount of phone calls would help those people ? I don't know......

Today I went jogging along the same route and who do you think I saw ?? The same man, with the same plastic cover and he was drinking what looked like a coffee. He has survived the night, the visit from the cops and is braving himself for what looks like another night......this time I just shook my head and went on running. God and people can help only those who help themselves....

I am going south...

...if you thought I was doing badly then that's the whole point of the post ! Why is going south a bad thing ? Just because south indicates going in a downward direction in a traditional compass ?

For someone born in South India and living in South Germany, I take offence when someone uses ''going south'' for bad/declining things ! With the recession we had (yes, had, things are improving already) I have heard careers, companies, people everything going south and it irks me...really does !

I, for one, prefer going south in Italy/Spain - better weather, better places and a lot more fun.

I have also read ''going west'' and this is usually associated with the sun setting in the west and hence this expression is again used in a negative context.

Although I kind of understand the logic behind all these expressions (however twisted it is), I would feel a lot happier if we left the directions out of the nuances in the language !

Sowmya padum padu !

Indha Sowmya padara padu irukke......no, no, not me, like amma says enna padutha innorthar porandhu varanum (get her double-meaning ?)....I am talking about my poor name.....

There are quite a few desi versions - Soumya, Sowmiya, Soumiya none of which I like mainly because its not ''my'' name, I have grumbled about this before. The trouble was only with people misspelling my name then and then, I came to Germany.....and Sowmya became Sonja !

Sonja (j is pronounced as y here) is a very familiar name here and since ''y'' in German is pronounced with the ''u'' sound, calling someone ''sowmua'' is quite difficult, so people usually take the easier alternative....well, I made my peace with it.

Then someone realised that Sonja was not my name (phew...momentary...) and attempted to use my real name, hence was born Somya and her little offspring, Somi (like I said, momentary).

Well, its not over yet, there was another surprise in store for me - even desis cannot get my name right !! How so ? When I grew up, I thought every third girl was named Sowmya. Some north Indians call me Somina, Somayya and I am thinking ''how, how, how ! Isn't Sowmya a sanskrit word ??!''

I am so glad my last name is Gopal, everyone can say it (although some say Go Pal, as in a friend), spell it and since last name is more commonly used in Europe, its so easy for me to make telephonic reservations !

If you are wondering why I am writing such a completely vetti post, its because I want to get this out of my system before I shout at someone.....I usually think to myself - What's in a name ? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet (konjam over than, I know :D) but today I was called Soymya....and for the sake of my name, I have to draw the line somewhere, right ? After all, my parents did spend time choosing it, effort in registering it and money in an elaborate Namagaranam !

Statutory Warning: Comments calling me Semia or suggesting other funny versions of my name will be rejected.

Chao !

If you have been in a Metropolitan in India or somewhere in Europe, you have definitely heard this....although Chao is the phonetic spelling of the word, the actual word is ''ciao''

Many people are not aware that although ''chao'' is used for ''goodbye'', it also means ''hello''. Inevitably all Italians start their emails with ''Chao Tom'' and this surprises most people. During my first time in Italy, when I walked into a hotel in Rome and the receptionist said ''chao'', I was not sure if she was indirectly telling me I had no reservation....it took me a couple of more chaos to finally figure out that everyone is saying hello !

Chao Signor/Signora !

Can u spel rit ?

There are 3 kinds of people - people who cannot spell right, people who can but think spelling right will take a lot of time and believe in riting lyk dis and people who dont do the former and totally hate the latter ! ....and this exclamation point (and actually the blog itself) should make it clear which category I fall into or always strive to fall into....

''The sweetest words in any language are those of one's own name''

I think it is actually superfluous to use an adage to make such an obvious point - do not misspell someone's name when you are writing to them. There have been umpteen times that has happened to me be it in a email or a scrap and what I do not get is how ?! My name is in my email id and also in my orkut profile right next to where one is actually typing and how can one still not spell it right ?! And I am not talking about typos (not that they can be condoned all the time), am talking about someone taking the liberty of giving a whole new version to my name ! I am all the more appalled when someone does that in an official email, more so in case of a prospective client or partner - if you cannot spend time in getting the names of your clients or partners right, then you can be sure that you are not going to be in business with them much longer !

Not everyone is a walking dictionary; not everyone has command over languages and above all, not everyone is used to switching between desktops, laptops, blackberries and whatnots - agreed !

But is putting in effort to not massacre the language too much to ask ? There are certain short forms that I have come across, that I would rather not discuss in a public forum, that are totally ''inappropriate'' and people tend to use them unknowingly for years until someone comes along and corrects them.

The objective is communication - also agreed !

But how is ''dis'' instead of ''this'' helping ? I can even condescend to accept these in a sms but seeing people write emails or chat like this is simply too annoying !

I do not claim that I never do this, I do but I draw the line when it comes to saying ''sthing'' instead of ''something''....that for me does not constitute an abbreviation, acronym or any short form for that matter !

Abbreviations kill a language, its vocabulary and the nuances that come with it. I have known a lot of people who thought ''come-on'' was spelt ''common''...no wonder....since most people simply write c'mon !

The frequency of English words is ever increasing in German, French and not to mention the Indian languages, mainly because of technology growth and sharing. So with English being the one language strongly influencing all other languages, let's strive not to strangle it and develop a lustre-less (and maybe soon word-less) language lyk dis !