Cross-Cultural Conversations

Observations by a Malaysian studying in Australia

Language Barrier

A colleague came over to me with a short, middle-aged lady following closely behind her. She told me 1) The woman needs help; 2) The woman speaks very little English; 3) They both don’t understand each other.

The woman made hand gestures that look like she’s carrying something, so I asked her if she was looking for her baggage. “Very little English”, she reminded me again, with a hapless smile etched on her pleasant, but currently desperate, face.

I imitated her gesture of carrying a bag, to which she nodded vigorously. The woman continued to speak in a language that I determined as being German. “This is going to be a bit of a challenge”, I thought to myself. The only German words I know are danke, deutsche, sauerkraut and Mercedes-Benz, none of which is of much help in this particular conversation.

Luckily, there was a signboard with a picture of a bag, intended to highlight the Baggage Enquiry Office. I showed her the picture and the direction to the office, and explained, in both English and rigorous hand and body gestures, that the people at the office would be able to assist her find the lost luggage. She nodded for the last time, and hurriedly made her way to the office.

A picture is worth a thousand words. And when you don’t know a single word of a particular language, the picture is worth much more.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 07:51 | link | comments (2) |

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