I already spoke the language fluently. It took much longer to learn what people actually meant.
Draft — sample text, not yet Fatma's own account
This is the only place I have been where I understood every single word and still missed most of the meaning.
"You alright?" was the first trap. It sounds like concern. It is a greeting. The correct response is "yeah, you?" and then both of you continue walking.
"Sorry" was the second. People apologise for apologising, for standing still, and — most confusingly — when you are the one who has walked into them.
Then there is the layer underneath: "not bad" meaning good, "interesting" meaning no, "we should do that sometime" meaning we will not. None of it is dishonesty. It is a shared agreement to lower the volume.
Wales changed the tone again. I learned one word, "diolch", and used it in a shop, and the whole conversation warmed by several degrees. One word.
That is the lesson I keep taking to lessons: fluency is not vocabulary. It is knowing what a sentence is doing, not just what it says.
Five things to say, and when to say them.
You alright?
in British English
A greeting, not concern
Answer "yeah, you?" and keep walking.
Cheers
in British English
Thanks — and also goodbye
Does both jobs, often in the same breath.
Sorry
in British English
Sorry / excuse me / oh dear
Used for apologising, getting past someone, and being bumped into by someone else.
Lovely
in British English
Lovely / great
The all-purpose British compliment.
Diolch
in Welsh
Thank you
In Wales, using it once changes the temperature of the conversation.