We went to the wine merchant’s again. Bernard sat in the window seat while I did the talking. Find a nice dry red wine, he said. The wine merchant smiled when he saw Bernard looking glumly our way. He loves to talk about wine and find new vinters or labels, I explained. But because he can’t speak Hungarian, he has to leave this to me.
The wine merchant told me about his wife’s cousin, a Hungarian who moved to Central America and married a woman from Ecuador. When he and his wife came to visit the family, they ended up talking in circles–literally and figuratively. Only one other person could speak Spanish…that person would translate the Hungarian to the Ecuadorian woman, who would then respond in Spanish, which would subsequently be translated into Hungarian. It slows down communication, but it also enables it to happen.
Bernard and I find ourselves in much the same situation. I am often the intermediary, translating back and forth so that Bernard and our Hungarian acquaintances who don’t speak English can still communicate. But, it gets even more interesting. My cousin Eszter, for example, speaks practically no English. I called her (she has been in the hospital with pneumonia). Anyway, she was urging B and me to go to a photo exhibit that opened recently in Debrecen. When I groped for the appropriate Hungarian word, I was able to get my meaning across because she and I both speak French.
Being faculty at the Institute of British and American Studies, most of my Debreceni colleagues speak wonderful English. One colleague, a linguist, frequently drops in for a visit. He and Bernard had a great time talking about idioms (that’s his area of research), particularly when it came to the nuances…like: are you in the closet or coming out of the closet? The point is that B doesn’t need me to act as interpreter, unless he is going to the little snack bar near the tram stop…then I have to tell him Hungarian phrases, like “Hold the ketchup.” the problem is that I don’t know how to say ketchup, but I do know how to say, “just mustard.” So we circle around to get what we want.
We have had numerous conversations with Hungarians who don’t speak much English–our landlord and his wife, the lady who runs the little coffee shop (she is the one responsible for the lovely Valentine’s window display), countless waiters, and many of my relatives. Most of the time, the circular flow of conversation works fine. Sometimes, however, people get very excited and start talking very quickly–particularly if we are talking about the current crisis or politics. It’s not that I don’t understand them, but rather, they don’t leave me enough time to translate for Bernard, before they rush on. So, unfortunately, sometimes I have to either truncate the conversation or skip translating parts entirely. Sometimes, especially after that second glass of wine, I just get mentally tired…either way, Bernard is sometimes left out of the loop.
We have decided to go to Croatia during our Easter break. I have always wanted to see the Dalmation coast. We will use our Eurorail passes and try to explore from Zagreb to Dubrovnik. It might be a little chilly for swimming, but I am told that it is incredibly beautiful. We will try to see as many of the UNESCO World Heritage sites as possible. The reason I mention this is because B and I will be in the same boat. Neither one of us speak Croatian, or any other Slavic language for that matter, and we don’t expect that many Croatians will speak more than rudimentary English. So we’ll both be struggling to communicate…hopefully with a smattering of French and German, we’ll be able to talk our way around. It’s like one of the presenters said on our first day of Fulbright orientation, “Understanding is a small miracle.” It will be an adventure, that’s for sure.
Thanks for tuning in and best regards,
Marcsi
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