The answer is Danish.
Norwegian is spoken in Norway.
Swedish is spoken in Sweden, not in Switzerland (apart from in the Swedish Embassy).
In the Netherlands they speak Dutch and in the Friesland part of the Netherlands, some speak Frisian, a minority language; most of you won't have heard of Frisian, so don't worry about it for now. The Dutch MP Geert Wilders believes they predominantly speak Arabic in the Netherlands, but we'll let that pass.
Why am I writing this? Some time ago, a friend faced the Herculean task of convincing her boss that in Denmark they speak Danish. The boss erroneously believed it was Dutch. I was reminded of this, and was also reminded of the uphill struggle I have faced with people whose knowledge of the globe is less than basic.
I quote from a conversation in my past:
PERSON: When you lived in Japan, did you see the Great Wall?
ME: The Great Wall of China?
PERSON: Yeah.
ME: That’s in China, not Japan. Yes I’ve seen it. I lived in China, not Japan.
PERSON: But the Great Wall of China is in Japan, isn’t it?
I began to bang my head against the wall.
I also encounter people sometimes who on learning I speak languages, will then assume that I can then instantaneously translate their name into said target language.
PERSON: How do you say Michael in German?
ME: You don't; you normally leave your own name as it is. Most names in most languages are not translatable in my experience. (I ignore the issues of transliteration into different writing systems and for example getting a Chinese name; my Chinese name is a phonetic approximation of my own name)
PERSON: So Michael Schumacher, he's German, right?
ME: Yes.
PERSON: What's his name in German then?
ME: Michael Schumacher.
PERSON: But that is his name in English. What's his name in German?
ME: Michael Schumacher. It's the same in all languages.
PERSON: Oh. I thought he had a German name or something. Did he change it?
I began to bang my head against the wall.
The lanuage of Austria is German. A colleague in a former workplace who had studied A-Level German (thus someone who should definitely know better, having been educated about the language and culture of the German speaking countries) insisted that in Austria they speak a completely different language. The colleague refused to deal with a Austrian client on the basis that my colleague didn't speak Austrian, and only spoke German as a foreign language. We argued for ages, with me insisting German is spoken in Austria. I then dealt with the client 'Austrian' speaker using German without any problems at my workplace in the place of my German-speaking colleague. The colleague then came to the conclusion and so informed everyone that they'd changed the language in Austria recently (they haven't).
I began to bang my head against the wall.
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MICASE.
1 hour ago
13 comments:
I had a similar experience trying to convince a work colleague that the language of Mexico is Spanish not Mexican.
Another one just remembered:
I was sat on a train delving into a copy of "Teach Yourself Icelandic".
Stranger on the train says: "I thought they spoke English in Iceland."
No, I replied, they speak Icelandic.
"When did they start speaking Icelandic there then?"
Apparently my reply of around 874 A.D. was sarcastic....
You think that's bad! Some friends of mine thought Saint Columba of Iona was the bloke who discovered America...
"PERSON: How do you say Michael in German?"
I'm pretty sure the answer is "Mhi-ky-el", I could be wrong though.
PS I'm not :)
I was amused to read on the Dodge City Forum some exclaim that he has only heard American and Mexican spoken in the city!
OMG I can't believe that someone would be so convinced by the validity of their own opinions that it seems more logical to conclude that the Austrians have changed their national language than to entertain the idea that they just *might* have made a mistake!!!
Shocking, truly shocking :(
Smurf - that arose from a misunderstanding based on a spelling mistake by someone who had sourced their information from the Sun newspaper, so it was inevitable that wires were to have been crossed. Everyone naturally knows (including me) that Columbus was sent from the Iberian peninsula, not a Hibernian monastery. We'll hear no more on that. Thanks. By the way Smurf, will you be at my house for 3pm on Saturday?
anelyvoice - There's an old linguistics joke: what do you call a person who speaks several languages? Multilingual. Two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who speaks only one language? American. ;)
Gamma - from having spoken with Germans, they pronounced in Michael as in the English pronunciation.
Radio - I know worse stories about that particular colleague's daftness that would not be right to publish on the web, so I'll tell you privately at some point. Remind me next time you see me.
"...By the way Smurf, will you be at my house for 3pm on Saturday?..."
That depends; Will you be wearing the little black négligée that I bought you when I arrive?
Damon - it's totally unnatural for a German to pronounce Michael the same way as an English speaker would, the phonetic rules of German don't allow such a pronunciation. Take as another example, the name Regina. How would you pronounce that in English? With a soft G right? Now lets say it belonged to a German woman, say for example, the German Alpine Skier, Regina Häusel. To Germans the G becomes hard and attacking, like the G in "gig". Another example, the German musical equipment manufacturer, Behringer. The word in German is pronounced Bayer-in-gehr but every English speaking person pronounces it Bear-in-jer, and if you even thought about pronouncing it any other way you'd be hit over the head with a pool cue.
Try this one... pretend a German person came up to you and asked about their famous brand of electrical products "Braun"... "Damon, how do you say Braun(*they pronounce it "brown") in English". I really doubt you would come back and tell them that English speakers also say its "Brown", instead of the commonly accepted English pronunciation of "Brawn".
You are rightfully arguing that names shouldn't change no matter who's saying them, and I totally agree with that, but you were asked: "How do you say 'Michael' in German?". To me that clearly means "how would a German interpret the word Michael?" In which case the "i" lengthens to an "eee" sound and the "ae" heightens to an "oy" sound. You weren't asked what's the German translation of Michael. Nor were you asked initially "What's Michael Schumachers name in German?" When you ask about specific names things totally change, as the pronunciation is dictated by how the owner of the name actually says it, so it doesn't matter a damn where the person is actually from :)
Smurf - I'll wear my gloves, deal?
Gamma - Personally I would pronounce it Regina (hard G) as well, but that's just me. :) I'd also pronounce the electrical name the same as the English word Braun, because I'm pedantic like that. :)
I also accept your point on "Michael", Gamma. On reflection, my pronunciation of Michael in German has been incorrect. Here's why I have been pronouncing Michael wrong in German.
When I learn languages, I often tend to pick up the pronunciation of the words from specific remembered conversations or texts where the words have been utilised, thus often learning them in context. The particular name "Michael" in a germanophonic frame of reference comes from a specific spoken conversation I once had. The conversation I had a number of years ago in German with Germans about Michael Schumacher, which originally led me to my conclusion, had my friends at the time using the English pronunciation (for some reason) of Michael. On reflection, I suppose that they perhaps deliberately altered it for my anglophonic ears. I have not had an opportunity to discuss anyone called Michael since then in German, so have not had the chance to be corrected.
Perhaps in this instance Michael was not such a good example for my argument.
Anyway, his name is still Michael, however it's said :)
...I'd also pronounce the electrical name the same as the English word Braun...
Oops, a typo. That should have been the English word BROWN.
Love it, Damon! Once a neighbour of mine came back from Florence and informed me, "Firenze - that's their name for Florence, you know!" [I was banging my head against the wall too.]
Welshcakes - you've just reminded me of another one: I honestly know of a man who booked flights to Vienna. He then booked a hotel online in Venice. "They have similar names, so they must be near each other, right?"
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