Das bin ich – This is me!

Servus! That is a Bavarian way of saying ‘hi’! My name is Constanze Arnold, and I am very happy to introduce myself as a new blogger here at Transparent Language. Let me tell you a little more about myself!

First off, I am from the UK. I grew up bilingual, with a German mum and an English dad. Because I was always at home with my mum, German was actually my first language until I started school, when English took over. Apparently, I used to speak German so much as a toddler that my dad once got very angry when speaking to me and told my mum, “I can’t even understand my own bloody daughter!”

But even once I blossomed into an English rose (!) who could finally have conversations with her dad, I was always very immersed in German language and culture thanks to my mum, and have been visiting Germany, and reading and studying German for as long as I can remember. To this day, I see it as an integral part of who I am. Sometimes people ask me if I consider myself more German or more English, but I always find this question too complex to answer properly. A girl at school once gave me the term “halfy” (as in, half and half), and that’s what always springs to mind when people ask me this question. Sometimes the balance tips a little to one side, or to the other, but mostly I am half. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up with two languages and two cultures, and because of that, I love learning new things about languages and culture in general.

My German family come from Bayern (Bavaria), specifically Niederbayern, or lower Bavaria, which has its own distinct dialect and culture. Amongst other things, I hope to share some Bairisch (Bavarian) with you all, so if you’re interested in learning something slightly different to Hochdeutsch then watch this space! Other than that, I hope to share some of my thoughts, experiences and knowledge of German/Bavarian life with you all.

Aside from writing for this blog I work in a café, and as a freelance German to English translator. I live in Norfolk with mein Mann (I think ‘my man’ sounds so much nicer than ‘my husband’!), a canary called Eggy, and a catfish called Hoover.

I am very excited to start writing here at Transparent Language, and I hope you’ll enjoy my posts! If you have any questions for me, please just ask.

But for now, I will say goodbye in the same way that I said hello – in Bavarian. So, Pfiat eich!