My wife and kids have been learning German for the last year. We’re to the point now where I can talk to them in simple sentences and send texts to my wife.

In all of this, one thing’s standing out to me. Never in almost twenty years of German have I used ihr (plural you) so much. As a teenager and a bachelor, it was all du (thou), er (he), and ich (I). Now I’m part of a little team and it’s all wir and ihr.

For years German was a solo language for me. Now it’s a family language. It’s amazing how relationships and family can change even the language we speak.

It is not good for the man to be alone.

Get a family. Be on an intimate team. The world of ich is darker than you realize. Ihr will find a whole new perspective in the connected, dependent life.

Contents

David Walbert

When I was relearning German a few years ago so I could help my daughter learn it, I found the same thing—realized that in school we practiced one-on-one conversations and formal presentations but never said y'all. I still have trouble remembering 2d person plural informal conjugations. (Though I think I figured it out while practicing on my dogs, to be honest. Both of you, come!)

Incidentally, I also practiced by texting my daughter in German (and adding the German keyboard as an option to my iPhone), which continues almost five years later to screw up the autocomplete function. I consider this a victory over the tech lords.

2025-02-19 9:08 am