During the first several days after I arrived at Berlin, I wasn’t able to notice any language barriers, because all the people I met here spoke English, at least a little. And I started to imagine there would be someone speaking Chinese, until Cleo and I accomplished our first adventure in a so called Chinese restaurant. This restaurant was located in Wollankstraße, 10 minutes away from our hostel, which is named Yong Kang. We were so happy because finally we found something we felt related to our own eating habits. We went in, and as we expected, everything was in German, including the menu. The first thing we found out was that there was no English menu. We firstly thought about trying to communicate with the chef, who was also the boss, in English. And he just looked at us shockingly with brain stopped running for a few seconds, waved his head, and said “No”. OK, so the first trial was failed. What about Chinese, were there any possibilities that the chef would speak Chinese? So we started to talk to him in Chinese. However, the chef finally broke our sweat dream. He did what he did just know, waving his head and saying “No”. We were so frustrated at that time, looking around see if there were people who can help us. But we ended with tragedy.
On our way back, we started to think about why people who worked for the Chinese restaurant didn’t speak Chinese. However, if you are the owner of this tiny restaurant, will you do it differently? Actually, if I were him, the answer will probably be “No” as well. Let us just take a look at the location. Think about its target group when it is opened in a Turkish town. Cleo and I would have never been here if we were travelling all by ourselves. Agreed?
The second barrier I found was when I was doing my observations about Berlin Welcome Card. I was at the Potsdamer Platz station, and the sales point was in the corner of the second floor. I pretended to be a tourist, asking the salesperson if there were any recommendations about the tourist card. And he immediately took out the booklet for the Berlin Welcome Card. When I was asking for the price, he just typed it in the cash register and showed it to me via the screen. I tried to get more information from him orally, but he just waved his head and said “No”. But when I was asking him for the brochure of the Berlin Welcome Card, can you imagine what he gave me? He gave me the introduction for the S-Bahn train ticket, not even the City Tour Card. I have no idea whether he did it by mistake or he just didn’t get what I just asked. The whole talking, the sales person didn’t say even a word.
Is it rude? Considering the German tradition, maybe it’s not. And as a tourist, we can’t perceive smiling faces and polite behaviors from other people as are our birth rights. However, while keeping the traditions, people should also be globalized and welcoming, especially from the places that are open to the world.
I do agree with you, especially the first one, the so-called Chinese restaurant. But actually thinking in another way, it would be understandable. Maybe the owner of this small store only runs his business to German people; maybe there are only very few Chinese people live near here or just pass by on the street. So the target market would probably be just German people. The character "Yong Kong" is put there to make it more related to a Chinese restaurant, and that's it. If it is the case, they do not have to offer the Chinese menu. But as a visitor or a tourist here, menu with no English is quite embarrassing. So I do understand this situation, but I don’t think it would be recommended.
ReplyDeleteAnd then, I think I have to mention the German personality again. No matter it is true or not, some of them do not treat others very well. I think Language barrier could NOT be the real “barrier” in people’s communication. So, don’t use “I can’t speak English” as an excuse of ending a conversation.
I too felt mixed feelings of welcome and frustration when we first arrived in Berlin and encountered language barriers. It's amazing that the German people do (especially the younger generation) learn more than one language, even if it is only a little bit.Yet, when a tourist gets deep into town where the tourists and foreigners no longer linger it becomes increasingly difficult to communicate. I felt this way when we recently ventured out to eat Korean food in a completely new district. Yet, we adapt or find the help of a kind soul who somehow makes it possible for us to continue. I love the comfort of having English everywhere, but the reality is it's not everyone's main language. So, language barriers can get increasingly more difficult then what we are currently experiencing, and we should be grateful and patient in all our circumstances knowing that English is truly just around the corner as a safety net.
ReplyDeleteYvette
The same thing happened to me while doing the research for the Berlin Welcome Card. The first women that I approached to did not even make an effort to understand what I was saying; I tried to say "Berlin Welcome Card" and she just kept saying "NO" with her head.
ReplyDeleteThe second BVG representative said he spoke "a little" English, but he was able to understand me clearly. He did not make an effort to speak and he simply type the cost of the card and handed me two brochures in order to avoid any oral communication.
In conclusion and as expected, younger Germans tend to speak English, and if you approach to them in German ("Do you speak English?"), they are more willing to help you. That makes a lot of sense because it is kind of rude to approach to someone in an non-English country in English. A