An obviously ill-informed man walked into a Luxembourg City bakery on Tuesday, looked the cashier straight in the eye, and, according to several witnesses, said, “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” Obviously, the cashier responded with “non, désolée monsieur” while still making valiant efforts to understand the customer’s incoherent utterances. Before long, both parties agreed to communicate with […]
Confusion, anger as man tries to speak to Delhaize employee in German
LUXEMBOURG-VILLE — At least one person was severely confused while a dozen people were left mildly irritated on Wednesday after a man at a Delhaize in the capital attempted to speak German to an employee stocking shelves. “Hallo,” said the man, who was later identified as a Koblenz construction worker named Manfred. “Wo ist der […]
Help! Which local language should I learn?
French, German, Luxembourgish, Portuguese … I don’t know which one to choose! By Wise Expat Sage Dear Wise Expat Sage, I recently moved to Luxembourg when my partner got transferred here. Before I begin working, I’d like to take a language course to feel more comfortable in social situations. My question: which language should I […]
Frustrated Luxembourg teen doesn’t know which of 5 languages to vandalize in
KAYL — What started off as a mission to spray paint a simple anti-capitalist message on an old building turned into a frustrating ordeal for one teen when he couldn’t figure out which of his five languages to use. Yannick Pereira, 17, had hoped to spray paint the words “I shop therefore I am” to […]
Anglophone unable to pronounce ‘vin chaud’
LUXEMBOURG-VILLE — An expat’s valiant effort to order seasonal mulled wine ended in catastrophic failure on Sunday after vendors at Luxembourg’s Christmas market couldn’t understand what he was saying. During several tense minutes, the 39-year-old anglophone tried to express that he wanted “vin chaud,” trying variations that included van chowed, vine show, and even voucher. […]