Sound Effects

Naturally, every language has its own intonations. They add to the unique flavor of the language. Foreign speakers often reveal themselves through lack or misplacement of the intonations. They are subtle yet so significant.

Alex, who is German, and I are both good friends with Ilona, who is Czech. We can all speak German and English in common, but of course, we bring our native language intonations into each. And of course, there are also expressions that we use which do not involve words. Sometimes, these are a language of their own.

In American English, and in German as well, to some degree, we use the sound, "Mmm?" to express something along the lines of, "I didn't hear what you said," or "What was that? Say it again."

It took us all ages to figure out that for Czech speakers, this nearly-identical sound is actually a wordless affirmation -- the equivalent of American, "Uh-huh," or "Right." The result of this is that Alex and I (even to this day!) will hear Ilona say this during conversation, and we frequently then reiterate what we had just said, as if in clarification. Meanwhile, Ilona has already understood what we said.

We can't even help it. It's an automatic, vicious cycle.

Subtle, yet so significant.