"Die Tür in meinem Auto verriegelt sich nicht"
It is amazing how intimidating the little things can be sometimes. One of the rear doors in our car was not locking and so Bob asked me to take it to the dealership this morning and have them look at it. Now in the states that wouldn't scare me. But having to figure out how to say that the door in the car doesn't lock and then understand the words when they respond to me is a totally intimidating event for me. I am very grateful for the Yahoo Babel Fish site which allows me to translate a sentence from English into German. (As well a German speaking friend to verify that it is correct, thanks Carolyn!!) But then being able to say it so that it is understood is an entirely different matter. (Hence the title of this post!) So, after looking up the word for locked "verriegelt," I wandered around the apartment practicing. (Don't you wish you could be a fly on the wall?)
"Die Tür in meinem Auto verriegelt sich nicht....
Die Tür in meinem Auto verriegelt sich nicht...
Die Tür in meinem Auto verriegelt sich nicht....
Die Tür in meinem Auto verriegelt sich nicht...."
Thankfully, the receptionist DID understand what I was saying. I began the conversation by asking if she spoke English ("Nei..." Swiss German for No) and then told her that "Mein Deutsch is nicht gut..." I'm sure I didn't need to clarify that fact for her. All I would need to do is say my rehearsed sentence and that would make it perfectly clear. But at least by telling her upfront, I was hoping she would give me some grace and listen carefully! She was very gracious.
She handed the car key off to a man in the service department (No English). He went out to the car with me and I demonstrated the problem. He told me in German that he would need to take the car into the repair bay and take the door panel off in order to repair it. (Nope. I didn't understand the words but his hand motions were very understandable!!) Heute? Ya. Danke.
After hanging around outside for a bit, the manager came out and invited me inside to sit, (That I DID understand!) and asked if I would like a coffee. "Danke. Vielen Dank." A twenty minute wait and then the repairman brought me the key and pointed to the car and said some other words I didn't understand. The car was ready and fixed. Whew. Time to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. In English.
Die Tür in meinem Auto verriegelt sich nicht...
Die Tür in meinem Auto verriegelt sich nicht....
Die Tür in meinem Auto verriegelt sich nicht...."
Thankfully, the receptionist DID understand what I was saying. I began the conversation by asking if she spoke English ("Nei..." Swiss German for No) and then told her that "Mein Deutsch is nicht gut..." I'm sure I didn't need to clarify that fact for her. All I would need to do is say my rehearsed sentence and that would make it perfectly clear. But at least by telling her upfront, I was hoping she would give me some grace and listen carefully! She was very gracious.
She handed the car key off to a man in the service department (No English). He went out to the car with me and I demonstrated the problem. He told me in German that he would need to take the car into the repair bay and take the door panel off in order to repair it. (Nope. I didn't understand the words but his hand motions were very understandable!!) Heute? Ya. Danke.
After hanging around outside for a bit, the manager came out and invited me inside to sit, (That I DID understand!) and asked if I would like a coffee. "Danke. Vielen Dank." A twenty minute wait and then the repairman brought me the key and pointed to the car and said some other words I didn't understand. The car was ready and fixed. Whew. Time to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. In English.
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