In English class we recently dealt with the topic of cultural appropriation and therefore read a text in our book.

To give you a short overview of its content: It’s about a man of black skin color living in the US, who explains the issue of how white people kind of constructed black culture during the past years due to many common prejudices ("black culture"), and in contrast to what the real black culture actually looks like.

So I thought of my own life and culture for me as a I’d call “Einheimische” or “Inghuimische” in the Allgäu.

Of course you can’t compare assumptions we are confronted with, with the problems and miserable treatment black people have to deal with but I did find some similarities to the text in our book.

I divided it into three different topics, and first of all:

The designation “Allgäuer” is not precisely what I would call myself. And I think I’m not the only one. Because the Allgäu is split up in several regions that are nothing alike. Even inside the “Oberallgäu” are all the villages and each of them has its own history and is different to all the others.

Second there is the dialect: There can be no such thing as THE ONE “Allgäuer dialect” when from village to village people talk differently and even when there are various ways of pronunciation between families.

BUT, and I think lots of people don’t know about this, there are rules of how you speak it!

When I was new at this school, there were some people who tried to speak dialect as soon as they spoke with me. Maybe they thought I would understand them better or they did it to show off, I really don’t know. But the problem was: they just didn’t know how to do it so they were just randomly changing German words into something that sounded right for them.

That’s not dialect! Of course we don’t learn grammar and spelling in school, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a proper way to speak and also how to write it. Our dialect has a long history and a personal meaning to them who call it a part of their culture.

And at last, there are the traditions:

Just because you wear a “Dirndl” you don’t automatically wear a “Tracht”. Every village has its own “Tracht” and it is a sign you show that everyone knows where you’re from.

It has a special meaning and connects you with your village and its fellow inhabitants. With your HOME! It’s not fair to call something people wear at most one time a year to the “Oktoberfest” the exact same name.

But you don’t tell these things to people who don’t live this culture and the traditions because you don’t want to stand out negatively. So don’t be too much “Allgäuer”, otherwise you count as a farmer or “Bauer”.

On the other hand, you have to be in the “Trachtenverein” and you have to speak dialect, because if not, you’re a misfit for the others in your village and the ones around. You’d be a “Städtler” and I can tell you, that’s a no go living in a village full of natives.

These are the things I think about all the time and it’s pathetic!

Because I am not my culture, I’m much more. But it’s a part of me and I’m proud of it. I wouldn’t give it up for anything in this world.

But it is difficult to live between two completely different worlds.

Sina Rekeny, 10c