“There are no such things as synonyms!!” I still remember how these words from Tom Robbins, in Jitterbug Perfume, grabbed my attention. I wondered if it was true. Learning new languages has taught me that it is. Every language has it’s unique ‘untranslatable’ words. The most famous Danish example is ‘hygge’. I have been provided with many translations for this beloved word. The simplest is ‘cosy’, but that doesn’t do it justice. My favourite translation is more of a short story.
Hygge?
I guess the first thing I should address is why I’ve picked German to learn, especially given that I’m living in Denmark! Before even leaving for Copenhagen, I registered for language courses and decided I would make a real effort to learn the language. I’m really glad I did, it was a lot of fun and I met some great people. Learning a language as an adult was a completely different experience to learning in high school. I can’t believe how well I did. I think the main difference was that I was really enjoying learning. Having fabulous teachers absolutely helped, but I still think my pure enjoyment of using a part of my brain that had been dormant for years was the real key to my success.
The few us of who stayed til the end of Danish class, and our great teacher yielding her pointing stick.
Language, Learning, Laughs 