Living in an English speaking country is different to just learning English at school. You do not only get to know vocabulary but also in which situtation they are used and how. So you start adapting to use certain phrases in situations you would not use in your native language – could be because the phrase does not exist in your native language or maybe it does exist but just is not used like that.
When you then talk to someone in your mother tounge, you suddenly notice yourself struggling to find an equivalent to common English phrases and miss them in the foreign language.
Here are my top favourite words or phrases that either do not exist in German or are not as commonly used as in English:
Fair Enough!
There is so such thing like "fair enough" in German. I really miss it when talking German and also started to see it as more than just a phrase. For me, "fair enough" became an attitude.
Indeed
Indeed certainly exists in German but it is very old fashioned and hardly used in day-to-day conversation. What a shame.
Shame on you
There is a German equivalent but it rather means "feel ashamed".
Nevertheless
Well, there is a German translation and it is also used. In case of this vocabulary, it is one of my favourites because of the simple sound of the spoken words. Nevertheless. Say it. It sounds like floating water. Nevertheless. Now compare it to the German translation: Nichtsdestotrotz. Sounds ugly, doesn't it?
Advertising, English culture, life and the whole world from a 20-year-old Austrian point of view.
No comments:
Post a Comment