Flawless, Impossible Fluency Posted by Malachi Rempen on Aug 27, 2014 in Archived Posts
Germans have this funny habit of downplaying how good their English is. I feel pretty confident in saying that, aside from perhaps the Scandinavians and the Dutch, Germans speak the best English in mainland Europe. And yet every time I ask a German stranger if they speak English, they either fidget and shuffle their feet and say “hmm, a little bit,” or they just say “no.” A little more conversation reveals that they’re pretty much fluent in English (of course, if I start in German and make a mistake—they immediately switch to English! Figure that one out).
Admittedly, I’m not all that different. I downplay my skill in adopted languages as humbly as any German. My dad has started introducing me to people by saying, “this is my son, he speaks perfect German,” over my embarrassed protests. Many of us language learners are shy about our language ability, and I think I’ve figured out why: we don’t actually know what “fluent” means.
To be “fluent” in a new tongue is the holy grail of language learning. We want to be able to speak and understand perfectly. The trouble is, unless you’ve already climbed the language ladder once before, you don’t have any point of reference aside from your mother language. And let’s face it—to be so good at a foreign language that it is as good as your mother language is a bit of a stretch. Your language goals are somewhere up in the clouds, intangible and mysterious. You’re reaching too far. “Fluent” does not mean “perfect,” but that’s what you think it means.
So because to you “fluent” means “mother language-level,” you’re easily disappointed. You don’t know what your language level is exactly, but you know it’s not fluent, because it doesn’t come out as naturally as your native tongue. You must still be trudging along the gravelly road, the destination still shimmering impossibly far in the distance. Of course you’re shy when someone asks you if you “speak” that language, you have no idea!
Literally defined, “fluent” means graceful, easy, flowing like a liquid. It doesn’t mean impeccable, it doesn’t mean flawless. It doesn’t mean perfect. What it means for your language ability is up to you to decide.
When I decided I didn’t want to live in Berlin forever, but I wanted my German to be better than it is, I realized I had to set a very specific goal for my language learning, or I’d never think it was good enough, and I’d never leave. I decided I don’t care much about prepositions, articles, or adjective endings—you can be perfectly well-understood in German without using them perfectly, and anyway, even Germans routinely screw them up. Rather, I want to be able to speak without thinking too much about what I’m saying. Specifically, I want to be able to use all the verb tenses (future perfect, past perfect, pluperfect) and moods (past and present subjunctive II) without sitting there for ten minutes running conjugation charts in my head. I can talk about what had happened, what will have happened, and what would, should, and could have happened. At that point, I will be able to speak German fluently, by my own definition. I’ll be able to fully communicate. The rest is just new vocab words.
Now that I have defined my goal, I’m able to own my language level. “Do you speak German?” someone will ask. “Yes,” I’ll say. It’s true; I do speak it. But just as “fluent” does not mean “perfect,” “speaking” a language does not mean “fluent” in that language.
You have to decide for yourself what “fluent” means.
What about you? How do you define “fluent”? Have you reached that fluency in a language? Does that help you meter goals for other languages you’re learning?
Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.
About the Author: Malachi Rempen
Malachi Rempen is an American filmmaker, author, photographer, and cartoonist. Born in Switzerland, raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he fled Los Angeles after film school and expatted it in France, Morocco, Italy, and now Berlin, Germany, where he lives with his Italian wife and German cat. "Itchy Feet" is his weekly cartoon chronicle of travel, language learning, and life as an expat.
Comments:
Julito Mora:
Well, I never experienced such situation here in Munich. Every time I say “entschuldigung, spreche Sie English” they answer with a confident yes or in some cases “yes, a little bit”. Actually, once a woman here said that she was pleased that I asked her in German, because most people just go to answer something directly in English, which I found to be rude.
As for the grammar… well, I am obsessed with prepositions, which as you might know have a direct connection to the case, so I am trying really hard to use the proper case and in every situation.
For me fluent goes beyond “just make yourself understandable” but below speak perfectly. I always use an expression every time Germans tell me how good my German is, I just say “Ich spreche kein Deutsch, ich einfach babble ‘viel ein bisschen'”.
Malachi Rempen:
@Julito Mora I think that’s the secret – asking them if they speak English in German, not in English!
jess:
@Julito Mora that is an awesome response. (Ich spreche kein Deutsch, ich einfach babble veil ein bisschen) 🙂
Teresa Paniagua:
Hello. I just wanted to say that I’m not a native english speaker and also I’ve never been to a english speaking country but as weird as it sounds I think I am fluent in english. Though the perfect writing is a much harder goal to achieve for me haha. So I guess at the end we are never really satisfied by our progress in a language. I’m trying to learn german but that’s a whole new level of complicated. The trick is to never give up I suppose. Anyway to end this long message I wanted to say thanks for the comics, they’re always funny and relatable and also I totally want to use them in the english classes I teach, they’re going to be a ton of help to keep my students interested in the language.
Malachi Rempen:
@Teresa Paniagua Thanks for the kind words – glad you like the comics! You’re totally free to use them however you like in the classroom. I’m considering doing a series specifically for teachers…hm….
Never give up is right! I’d say you’re certainly fluent in English, which is impressive considering you say you’ve never been to an English-speaking country! What is your native language?
Teresa Paniagua:
Spanish from southamerica spanish… the hardest langueage to an english speaking person haha
Malachi Rempen:
@Teresa Paniagua I dunno, I think the Inuit language would be pretty damn hard to learn.
Teresa Paniagua:
@Malachi Rempen Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LjDe4sLER0 you’ll see my point with the spanish(I love that video). Inuit is that indian? haha all non-native languages have their fair share of difficulty.
Linda:
@Teresa Paniagua Thank you for sharing the video.Es veridad,todo different palabras en cada pais.Pero es Espanol tambien.
Alice Fiasse:
I’d say I speak English fluently, because I speak it without efforts, without preparing the sentences in my head before speaking, even though I still make a lot of mistakes. I can read a book in English almost as easily as when I read a book in French, my mother language. It doesn’t make me tired because I have to struggle with every word. When I speak English with someone, I don’t have to translate every word literally to French in my head; sometimes, when I’m speaking French, I think of an English word that would express better what I want to say than the French word I’ve used. I understand the meaning of some English words, but I can’t find the right French word for them. That’s “fluent”, for me 🙂
Colleen:
Wow!.I really like the definition of fluent. I think part of the equation as to whether you are fluent or not it what group of people are you talking to. The first time I lived in Germany I was 4 and was fluent for a 4 year old. We rotated back to the States when I was 8. We rotated back to Germany when I was 13 and stayed until I was 17. Again, most people, even Germans would say I was fluent. However, I felt most of the time…..”Yes, I am fluent if you want to talk teenage stuff. Not so much with adult conversations regarding the rent or investments”.
I don’t know how that fits into the ‘equation’ but that is part of the reason why I like that definition of fluent, because, yes…..I can sit and have a simple converstion with you and order food and go where I need to. (I do want to improve my German though….)
Malachi Rempen:
@Colleen Yeah exactly, that’s where I’d like to be with MY German. Enough to talk about regular stuff, but not perfect. I can do that with everything except the subjunctive and perfect tenses…getting close!
Sheila Morris:
I love your comic! It gets right to the heart of language-learning, whatever language one might be working on.
I consider myself to be reasonably fluent in Swedish, having started in my early 40s. I can carry on a conversation without thinking about it too much, unless we stray onto a topic I haven’t acquired the vocabulary for. In which case, I have to switch to English. I have even on occasion been mistaken for a native Swede who has lived in the US long enough to have forgotten some of the finer points of grammar!! I consider this to be a great compliment.
Malachi Rempen:
@Sheila Morris That’s amazing, very inspiring actually. Most people think that after you’re 20 you can’t become fluent in any new languages, and even if you can, that your accent will be really strong. But you prove them all wrong. Great work!
Did you learn other languages before, or is Swedish your first foreign language?
Cade DeBois (@cadedebois):
The Germans I meet in the US aren’t like that at all but they may just be used to having to use English as the default language. They are also often terribly relieved to learn I’m a German speaker and never try to correct me unless my German is so messed up they are unsure what I’m trying to say. Germans as whole I find to be painfully polite and modest and they do set high standards for themselves.
I call myself a speaker of German, French and Scottish Gaelic but my fluency isn’t spectular in any of those. But I can function in an environment where those languages are being used. I can navigate through a website in those languages, use web browser and other computer programs in those languages. I can read most news articles, follow most day-to-day conversations and so forth. But can I speak with equal ease on a wide variety of topics? No. I could help a German person find his or her way around an US grocery store, explain a recipe or chat casually about their favorite football team, but more technical topics or social or moral issues that would require very indepth debate are a bit over my head. I just don’t have that level of vocabulary and command of the language. Fluency is an ongoing journey, and I’m working my way along. But at this stage, I’m good enough to call myself a speaker.
Marit:
To me, fluent means something like effortless. Effortless for me to express myself, and for other people to understand (relatively, anyway).
If I were to say that I speak a language, I would have to be able to feel comfortable conversing in that language. Unfortunately, it’s possible I would need to be fluent in order to feel that comfortable.
Sarah:
This is one of the best posts I’ve ever seen about fluency. Excellent.
Malachi Rempen:
@Sarah That’s awfully kind of you to say. Thanks!