Magic Words for Language Learning

I have discovered a magical phrase that increases my ability to learn Ewe in the field by at least 100%. It took me years to discover these magic words, so pay attention.

In Togo, the assumption that Togolese make in starting a conversation with a white person (yovo) is that the conversation will be in French. They do not really have the idea of a white person speaking Ewe (or Gengbe), perhaps because not many white people do so. If they approach you, the conversation automatically goes to French.

Magic words: “I don’t speak French” (said in Ewe)

Actually, I do speak French, and my French is pretty good, albeit with a very strong west African accent, since I learned to speak French in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer. I remember when I was in graduate school, the other graduate students would make fun of me. Obviously, I knew how to speak French (even better than they did) but I had a thick accent. So for them, with their ultra-narrow world views, it seemed funny.

But in Togo, I simply refuse all French, except maybe the occasional “bonjour”. Anything past that leads to “Nyemedona Frasegbe o” (I don’t speak French). Then comes the blank stare for a moment, while the person processes this bizarre and unexpected information. Occasionally, there are follow up questions or comments. Here are some I have gotten:

“You are lying.”

“Then, what do you speak?”

“Where are you from?”

“How many years have you been in Togo?”

Once we get past the bewildered stares and clarificational comments, we can start to talk. 

I have learned so much in this way, including the fact that many people in Togo do not speak Ewe all that well, but are forced to try. This happens especially for people from the north who have recently come to the south. They all speak Ewe to some degree or the other, but not all of them are fluent speakers. I am now witness to this great variation in linguistic ability.

I have also learned quite a bit of Gengbe in this way. Anybody in southern Togo will usually speak Gengbe. It is the lingua franca of southern Togo. I do not really speak Gengbe, but by forcing these conversations I am learning more and more.

Would these magic words work for other people in other countries? 

I think that if I had been courageous enough, they could have helped me with Setswana in Botswana, where I faced a similar problem. People automatically assumed that I did not know any Setswana and would speak English. In retrospect, I could have tried “I do not speak English” (Ga ke itse Sekgoa.) That would have been a much harder sell in Botswana. Also, I have less confidence in my Setswana than I do in my Ewe. So it would have been harder to manage. But I should have tried.