I wanted to mix things up a little with the characters in Seven Graves, One Winter and I wanted to play around with the language some more. Enter Qitu Kalia, Greenlandic, understands Greenlandic, but he’s deaf, and finds it easier to lip read in Danish. Confusing? Perhaps, but I liked the idea of forcing characters to speak Danish to make a point, even though all of the characters in that scene were Greenlandic.
In my experience at schools and with the council, for example, meetings were predominantly held in Danish, even though some of the Greenlandic staff present at the meetings were neither comfortable with nor fluent in Danish. It was a small minority, to be sure, but the meetings were held in Danish for the sake of the Danish speakers present, myself included.
Danish was the working language.
That changed when we had a new headteacher, and he preferred to speak in Greenlandic. This meant that one or more of the Greenlandic staff at the meeting would translate for a small group of Danish speakers. We would huddle around one table (not great for integration, I’ll just add) and our translator would whisper the translation to avoid disturbing those conducting the meeting.
I’m pleased to say there was a translation supplement, i.e. extra hours, given to the translators. But this was not always the case. And Greenlanders have, over time, often had to fight to get the translator’s fee, and, more often than not, were simply expected to translate for free.
Now, you might wonder why we non-Greenlandic speakers weren’t sent on courses and expected to learn Greenlandic?
The answer is that we were, but often the courses were rather haphazard, and, when faced with a rapid turn around of staff – Danish and Greenlandic – it was problematic at best.
It might sound like I’m blowing my own trumpet, but I tried to learn the language by using the language every day and supplementing with CD-roms (yep, that long ago) and other material including books for toddlers as that was how I started with Danish.
Then, live, I learned how to ask for cakes at the bakery. I always bought two, and I always said “Two cakes, please,” followed by “that one.” Of course, this backfired when the same person served me every day, and, like a regular in a bar, they had my order ready for me as I approached the counter.
I also put on a lot of weight!
I had more success asking for “coffee with milk” on the Dash 7 when flying. This felt good, and I could fudge my answer when they complimented me on my Greenlandic, as the noise of the four propeller engines made conversation difficult.
I got good enough to introduce myself on courses with basic information, explaining and pointing to “where it hurts” in hospital – more times than I like to think about, and generally making a fool of myself, but earning serious points for trying.
But I was also a bad, bad boy in between.
I played the “I’m not Danish” card often, and I did it purposefully. There was some racism in Greenland towards Danes. There still is. And whether or not it is warranted, I did my best to distance myself from being grouped with the Danes. I did it through language, meaning that I made a point of saying that Danish was my second language, and I really couldn’t help with questions of grammar, etc. It wasn’t a lie, and I didn’t do it often, but I had finally arrived in a country where the British really hadn’t done anything noteworthy. The Danes were the colonizers, and I almost got a get out of jail free card.
Language is tricky and this is not a fair argument, nor is it an exhaustive one. But the question of which language to use becomes even trickier when faced with a serious lack of trained professionals, and a need to import professionals (not always particularly professional, I might add) to meet those needs.
Anyway, that’s enough behind the scenes for today. 🙂
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I’m so impressed you have learned TWO additional languages! I am still struggling with SPANISH after serving 3 times a week for 5 years at a Food Pantry in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood here! ( took French in High School and haven’t used it since!)
Ooh, I think it’s a little too generous to say I’ve learned a third language. My Greenlandic is so very limited. But Danish gives access to Norwegian without too much difficulty. And Swedish… if I squint a little at the written word. Spoken Swedish escapes me, but it is lovely to listen to. 🙂
Food Pantry? That sounds like a voluntary and charitable organisation. Is that right?
People think translation is easy and is not worth to be paid… Everywhere is the same, apparently. Even in Greenland…
Exactly.
We can be certain that anyone who thinks translation is easy hasn’t tried to do it! It not only requires a detailed knowledge of each language, but of the subtleties, nuances, and often cultural understanding, that are such an important of many stories. For my part, I can confirm that Ana Catarina certainly has a brilliant grasp on all those elements! Any author who gets to work with her is a lucky author!
Couldn’t agree more, Isabella! Especially the last bit! 🙂
Thanks! It is also a continuous discovery translating your books! 😀
Thank you for your kind words, Isabella! Actually, I’m learning a lot with your books, especially idiomatic expressions. 😀 And, yes, totally agree with you on what you said about translation.