"I need the Russian so it is not a case of not having the interest. I have access to a number of resources I can learn with and I live among a people that speak Russian predominantly so it is also not a case of not having enough opportunities to learn."
The art of learning to twist your tongue to say new things is something that is hard to master. Maybe I am considering this now because I am trying to learn Russian and it is not that easy. I need the Russian so it is not a case of not having the interest. I have access to a number of resources I can learn with and I live among a people that speak Russian predominantly so it is also not a case of not having enough opportunities to learn.
Days ago because of my deficiency in Russian, I had to find someone who speaks at least a little English to ask for directions about where I could print a document from a pen drive. From past experiences, I knew most people who speak English here belong to the younger generation. The younger generation sometimes feels that speaking English is cool and they are proud about being able to speak English when they can speak. Also, unlike the older generation, most of them also have an American accent when they speak.
So, I approached a devuska (damsel) who was waiting along the road. I greeted and asked, "do you speak English?". She replied sharply, "of course," in an American accent and I would add, in a way that suggested that my question was unnecessary. I felt sorry that I had started out by asking if she could speak English. So I proceeded to ask her where I could print. While she looked around trying to find any signpost for a computer cafe, I was still feeling sorry about my first question and I must have been thinking of apologizing to her. So she moves her eyes across the street and then focuses her attention on me. She starts out like this "I cannot see such a such." Immediately, the bomb hit me -I immediately reserved my apologies and acted normal.
I know a little Russian to find my way around town with the underground train and I can also buy in the market. Maybe, I may just be like the devuska in the anecdote above who "of course" can speak English or maybe she is better than me because she might understand everything in English. I am really scared that the little Russian I think I know how to speak might sound like pidgin Russian to native speakers. There have been moments when I learn a new thing in Russian and then I excitedly look for an opportunity to try out my Russian. Sometimes my listeners give an encouraging smile. At other times, I have met listeners who patiently listen to me blab and then they will say to me "can you speak English or not?" I do not think it is always because they understand English well, but maybe it is just that my good English is easier for them to attempt understanding than my bad Russian.
Now, I have practically rambled all through and maybe arrived at nothing. Well, there is something I have been pondering on recently which I am trying to connect to. For four years, I lived among the Igbos in a town called Nsukka in the South Eastern part of Nigeria. I had some good Ibo friends but I never learnt to make a proper "paragraph" in the Igbo language. I don't know the reason that was the case. Maybe, it was the need for dialectization of the language when one spoke to different people. I am not sure I know the answer, but whatever was the reason, what I do know now is that such must not happen again.
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