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German Language Practice

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The AI chatbot in my German Duolingo app made fun of me today! It was so cool, like a real conversation.

The chatbot, who is a moody teenager called Lily, asked if I played videogames.

I said I loved videogames and my favorite one was called “My Hotel.”

Lily asked what happened in the game.

“I run a hotel and help guests with everything they need for a stay,” I explained, making six clumsy language mistakes.

“That game sounds like… work,” said Lily. “How often do you play it?”

“Every day!” I chirped proudly, making two more grammar mistakes.

“You must really like work,” quipped Lily sardonically.

Of course, people might wonder why I need to practice with a chatbot when I still run a whole department where German is taught and where there’s both a German conversation hour and a language exchange program that I personally defended from every budget cut for 5 years and made thrive.

The problem is, of course, that it’s embarrassing to appear as a beginner in front of students and graduate assistants. My hubris is keeping me from going. This Sunday is Forgiveness Sunday in the Orthodox tradition, and we conduct a very humbling ceremony. Seriously, it’s very unpleasant. I’d rather get a root canal, and it’s no joke. I’m hoping that I’ll be humbled enough to get myself to the German conversation hour next week.

18 responses to “German Language Practice”

  1. cliff arroyo Avatar
    cliff arroyo

    “it’s embarrassing to appear as a beginner in front of students and graduate assistants”

    Ukraine is in the High Uncertainty Avoidance sphere of Europe (as is Poland).

    This means, among other things, that teachers are supposed to always have all the answers (a corollary is that students like situations in which there is one correct answer and dislike answers like ‘it depends’ or ‘both forms are correct’)

    The US (like the UK) has a more Low Uncertainty Avoidance culture. Teachers need to know more than students but can admit there are things they don’t know. Students are more comfortable with open-ended situations.

    So the embarrassment is all on your side, neither students nor graduate assistants would be bothered by mistakes (an essential part of the learning process).

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Avi Avatar
      Avi

      I like this idea of cultures with differing levels of tolerance for uncertainty, but when examples of countries with high uncertainty avoidance scores include Italy, Korea, Mexico, Belgium, and Russia I start to become a bit uneasy.

      I can personally vouchsafe for the soundness of the score for Italy, Korea, Japan and Germany but I am baffled as to what such vastly differing countries may possibly have in common.

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      1. cliff arroyo Avatar
        cliff arroyo

        “may possibly have in common” resistance to uncertainty…. not danger, a known danger (like speeding in traffic) doesn’t bother people much.

        The resistance to uncertainty may be manifested in different ways, depending on other values in the culture (attitude toward inequality, preferred family size, attitude toward the future etc).

        High uncertainty cultures tend to…

        -have high levels of alcohol consumption (to relive stress)

        -high rule orientation, there is a desire for lots of rules and regulations but usually people are casual about actually following them

        -idealization of small children (more predictable and easier to control) and mistrust of teenagers (by nature unpredictable)

        -reckless driving

        -preference for elaborate and flowery language (important information has to be conveyed in important sounding language)

        -cultivate ‘us vs them’ vis a vis the rest of the world

        -lower levels of mental illness (some degree of stress is very good for mental health) and mental illness is highly stigmatized

        Low uncertainty cultures tend to

        -have high levels of caffeine carriers (coffee, tea) to stave off boredom

        -low rule orientation, limited desire for formal rules but informal rules are closely followed

        -disinterest in small children (boring) and more interest in teenagers (more exciting)

        -safer driving

        -preference for plain language

        -higher levels of mental illness (which doesn’t have much stigma).

        No single culture does all of these all the time but the general trends go in one or the other directions.

        Germany is weird not least because it mixes high uncertainty avoidance and relatively lower levels of hierarchy – so there are lots of written rules and most people follow them most of the time.

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        1. Clarissa Avatar
          Clarissa

          This is very insight-generating. According to this breakdown, I’m completely high uncertainty. And Americans tend to be low uncertainty. This encapsulates the difference perfectly.

          Wow, fascinating.

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        2. el Avatar
          el

          \ High uncertainty cultures tend to… -have high levels of alcohol consumption (to relive stress)

          Do you mean here High Uncertainty Avoidance cultures, the ones which have a strong preference for certainty?

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          1. cliff arroyo Avatar
            cliff arroyo

            “a strong preference for certainty?”

            Less that than feeling uneasy in new and novel situations.

            A quick hack:

            In culture (X) which is the more common reaction to something new?

            -a Wow! That looks interesting! I want to know more!

            -b Uh oh…. better keep an eye on that… it could mean trouble…

            In the EU, Uncertainty Avoidance is the big dividing line in terms of culture and domination by France and Germany (both on the higher end of Uncertainty Avoidance) is one big reason that Brexit happened since the UK is the model of a Low Uncertainty culture.

            When the EU expanded by 10 countries in 2004, both France and Germany immediately put restrictions on employment against people from those countries.

            The UK, Ireland and Sweden immediately opened their labor markets (all are on the lower end of Uncertainty Avoidance).

            Israel is high on UA, about one standard deviation below Ukraine, Poland and russia (which have almost identical scores).

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            1. Clarissa Avatar
              Clarissa

              I’m the one with alcohol, babies and flowery language.

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        3. TomW Avatar
          TomW

          “Germany is weird not least because it mixes high uncertainty avoidance and relatively lower levels of hierarchy – so there are lots of written rules and most people follow them most of the time.”

          It’s probably not so strange if you consider that German culture used to be extremely hierarchical. Hierarchy came to be seen as a bad thing after WW-II and the move away from hierarchy was often the result of intentional efforts as much as it was a natural development.

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          1. Clarissa Avatar
            Clarissa

            An unnecessary overreaction, in my opinions. Hierarchies are great and normal.

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            1. TomW Avatar
              TomW

              I agree that hierarchy that is at least somewhat based on qualifications, experience, and competence is a fine and normal thing. But in pre-WWI Germany, having a von in your last name was usually more important than what you were capable of doing. And then they shifted to hierarchy based on fanatical devotion to Hitler and/or the Nazi party. It does make sense that people became skeptical of the whole idea.

              The anti-hierarchical thing really slows down decision making. Germans will discuss and discuss and discuss hoping to achieve consensus. It can be exhausting to deal with, and just one or two stubborn individuals in a group can wind up being huge barriers to needed change.

              Liked by 1 person

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              1. Clarissa Avatar
                Clarissa

                This discuss, discuss, and discuss but nothing moves ahead is very similar to how things were in academia before the bureaucrats came. Now it’s all very efficient and fast but the results are terrible.

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          2. cliff arroyo Avatar
            cliff arroyo

            More specifically the measurement of hierarchies is actually about inequality and the extent to which it is accepted by those with less power.

            The powerful always want more power, what differs is how much those with less power will give them.

            The low end countries where the less powerful don’t give up everything to the powerful are Austria, in Scandinavia and the countries where the less powerful accept more inequality are places like former Soviet countries, Latin America, Africa…

            Hierarchies are found everywhere but what differs is how they are structured and perceived.

            In places like Scandinavia hierarchies are situational and flexible, a person with a high position in one area can accept a lower position in another. In places like Mexico or russia the same people are always on top and the same people are always on the bottom and the hierarchy is felt to reflect existential value.

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    2. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      I know but right now they are terrified of me and then they won’t be any longer.

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  2. methylethyl Avatar
    methylethyl

    No! Forgiveness Sunday is the best!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      I have to look every parishioner in the face while they stand very closely and touch me with hands. Physical contact with so many people is draining. But yes, the idea behind it is great.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. methylethyl Avatar
        methylethyl

        It taps me out too. But it’s only once a year, and it’s worth it 🙂

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  3. Nonna Maus Avatar
    Nonna Maus

    What.. happened to you? If this is part of some long running sponcon, I would understand it, but otherwise I am concerned, to the level of telling you to go to your analyst.

    Because being afraid of looking foolish when learning to speak languages to the point of avoiding a conversation hour is not like you in the slightest.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      I find people who put an ellipsis in the middle of a short sentence very annoying. Even more so than people without a sense of humor.

      It’s Saturday morning. Unclench and try to enjoy a light-hearted, funny post.

      Also, I didn’t make 6 grammar mistakes in that sentence. This was poetic licence to make the post funny.

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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