Miscommunication At The Bakery

Summary

An immigrant and a Dutch bakery employee experience a language barrier and cultural misunderstanding during a simple transaction.

Abstract

The narrative unfolds in a Dutch bakery where an immigrant attempts to communicate with a Dutch employee. Despite the immigrant's effort to speak Dutch by greeting with "Ghallo!" and requesting "Two breads," the interaction is minimal and transactional, lacking a typical conversational closure. The immigrant feels a sense of accomplishment for his attempt at speaking the local language, while the employee notices the absence of a customary farewell. The story underscores the challenges of miscommunication within a multicultural society, highlighting the nuances of daily interactions in a globalized world.

Opinions

The immigrant's satisfaction with his own language skills suggests a personal drive for integration and adaptation to the Dutch culture.
The employee's observation of the missing pleasantries indicates an expectation for certain social norms, which may not be universally understood or shared.
The author, Ralph Deckers, a historian with extensive travel experience, likely includes this micro-fiction as a commentary on the complexities of cultural exchange and the silent struggles that immigrants face.
The absence of dialogue from the employee could imply a lack of effort to bridge the communication gap, reflecting a potential area for growth in multicultural understanding.

Micro-Fiction

Picture by Mae-Mu on Unsplash.

The immigrant stepped inside the bakery. The white Dutch girl greeted him with a cheerful “Goodmorning!”

“Ghallo!” The man replied.

He took a deep breath and pointed to the two dark brown pieces of bread on the top shelve and said “Two breads”.

Without saying anything, the girl grabbed the pieces of bread. The man paid and exited the shop.

He hadn’t even said thank you or goodbye, the girl thought.

The man outside patted himself on the shoulder. He thought his Dutch was getting better.

Thank you for reading this article. Ralph Deckers is a Dutch historian. He holds a BA in History and a MA in History of International Relations at the University of Amsterdam. Ralph has studied at the National University of Singapore. He’s been traveling and guiding for years and has explored over 65 countries. Due to the corona crisis his tour leading work evaporated and so he decided to start writing on Medium. He is a Top travel writer and publisher at Noteworthy, One Pin and Illumination.

Daily Friction | Language barrier | Multicultural Society

Miscommunication At The Bakery

Micro-Fiction