"I know some German. Mostly for trade. Weight, costs, lengths." His accent rolled though the German words, dragging the words together a bit more than most German or English speaking natives would.

"I could order a half weight of stone and negotiate the price, but my more conversational German is lacking," he elaborated in English. "I also could not say 'I am very much looking forward to eating that if it tastes half as good as it smells'."