Lessons in Language

It has been a while since I have posted an update and there are several reasons for that. First, I am nearing the end of my first year as a Master student at CBS which is, from what I hear, notoriously one of the hardest/busiest times one encounters on this journey. Lots of preparation for upcoming written and oral exams has consumed most of my energy.

Secondly, I am also balancing 20 hours a week of work which includes updating the company blog once a week. Even though I love writing, all of the writing for school and work has kept me from updating the one piece of writing that is 100% fun, totally personal, and can be about pretty much anything that inspires. My blog here in Denmark!

However one thing has been on my mind for some time that I have been wanting to write about. I have noticed from both educational and professional experience that customer is one of the most commonly misspelled words. I have seen it on websites, in lecture notes, and even in company presentations as 'costumer' which is a person who buys, sells or makes costumes. Not a customer which is also known as a client, buyer, or purchaser. It's an easy enough mistake, as it's a simple switch of the letters u and o, and I am positive I have made plenty Danish spelling mistakes myself, but it's just one of those things that goes unsaid that is pretty common.

Sort of like how native English speakers begin to lose their English the longer they live in a foreign country. Another very strange, interesting side effect I have experienced from living in Denmark for nearly two years, which I can only explain by the following. The less you use or are exposed to your native language, the less you use certain words, which means they escape from memory right when you need them most. I am counting on getting them back one day, along with my emphasis on the right syllables.

So the lessons in language while living in a foreign country extend far beyond learning and comprehending a new language. It also involves getting used to my own language being spoken and written in a very different way. Which in turn I adapt to, that could perhaps prevent me from using my own language in the way it was meant to be used. Strange, but true.