This is a story of a man named Kiril, who
attends a German intermediate class. Since the students are not allowed to
speak English, they try to communicate in simple German. Kiril feels a barrier
in communication because of his poor German. The other students feel the same
way.
But even if Kiril is away from the class,
his English, which is supposed to communicate far better than his broken
German, does not convey his true feeling. He feels irritated.
At the end of the last class, the German
teacher plays Schubert: Der Erlkonig on the piano. As he plays it, he explains
how the story develops by the sound of the music like: now he sounds frightened. And here is the father. You can hear he is
strong, in his voice.
As a whole, Allingham showed how inconvenient
a language is. It is sometimes a hindrance for communication, while music is a
better tool for communication.
But a perfect commutation is after all
impossible.
