Nur ein bisschen

I was walking in a small town in Pennsylvania in the 1990s; I met a man who spoke German. We talked a bit in English and when it came up that he was from Austria I said, "Guten Tag!" Surprised, he asked if I spoke German. I said, "Nur ein bisschen." (it means, "Only a little.") He understood, but stopped me and said, "Don't say bisschen; say 'Nur ein venig." He said that bisschen was Jewish German, and that's how people found them out. He sounded like this was from bitter experience. (yes, I know it's supposed to have that double S letter; just think of bisschen as having a tall double S letter in the middle.)