What are you doing about languages? (German language primer)

Re: What are you doing about languages?

I speak Spanish, am heading from Spain to Germany prior to the World Cup, and will be passing that off as my first language (in case I sense hostility towards Americans). If they don't speak that, well, I know a little english too

My buddy is taking German 1 right now, and he is the only one in our group of 8 as far as I know that speaks ANY German .

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

You're probably right in that most everything you'll need to read pertaining to the World Cup will be in English and many Germans already know enough English to help you get by, yet part of me thinks that that is highly presumptuous on our part. Though I likely won't have to know German, I'd feel better knowing enough to get by regardless. At the very least, it shows an initiative by an English speaker to not expect everyone else to speak English.

I bought a beginners German 6 cd set by Pimsleur. I heard this is one of the better ones. $25 at Borders.

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

Be sure not to pronounce it "Danke Shane" like Wayne Newton. The correct pronunciation uses a vowel sound not common in English, but it's somewhere between shun and shoon.

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

I speak enough German to get around. I heard, though, that the locals would rather speak english to you than listen to you fumble around if you aren't fluent.

 

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ditto the speak enough to get by, but after a few drinks I get pretty good I'm told. People can never figure out where my Deutsch has gone the next day. Anyway, there will be a lot of English being spoken at the WC.

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

I'm enrolled in a class at the U this semester. Probably not the most cost-effective way to do it, but I didn't want to repeat Korea/Japan, where I went pretty clueless about the languages. I'm hoping it'll pay off...

Besides, I'm hoping there's some hot girls in class

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

I took German for 4 years in HS and a semester in college...I'm not fluent, but I'm about as close as you can get without living there for a time (or more accurately I was at the end of my last German class 1.5 years ago). I'll definitely be able to get around and expect to be about 90% fluent by the end of the 2 weeks.

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

I took German in high school and college. Was in Germany for a month about 10 years ago and haven't said or written a word since.

Lately, in the planning for this trip, I have been emailing hotels and reading the news in the Deutsch without too much trouble. Like riding a bike, I guess.

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

Oh, yeah, a loooot of hot girls are lined up to take German. . . LOL

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?



"Ich bin ein Berliner"









"Nothing, I know nothing!"

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

When I was over there a few years ago this was very true. Oh, they were polite enough to try and help (and laugh at me) but they do prefer praticing their English to helping you practice your German...at least the people I met.

Another good word to know is pronouced something like "tchuse" (I forget the spelling), its the equivalent of "later" and everyone either says this or "ciao" when parting company (again, as far as the people I hung out with).

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

If your looking to go to a major city in Germany to practice your language skills, you may be disappointed. Most Germans under the age of 35 or 40 speak better English than most Americans do. Whenever I am in Germany or Austria, I always end up speaking in German and receive a response in English. Germans will appreciate the effort, expecially the older ones, but it is largely unnecessary to speak German.

 

What are you doing about languages?

One of the funniest quotes ever. Since "ein Berliner" is a pastry, this statement was the equivalent of saying in Copenhagen "I am a Danish!" (He should have said "Ich bin Berliner!")

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

"Ein Bier, bitte" ist gut.
"Zwei mal, bitte" ist besser.
"Viele Bier, bitte. Vielen Dank." ist am besten!
Im Himmel gibt es kein Bier, also trinken wir es hier
(In heaven there is no beer, so we drink it here)

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

Just my experience having lived in Germany for about 5 years, first in Bonn and now in Berlin.

As far as the WC is concerned, you will be able to get by just fine without a word of German, or at most 'Sprechen Sie Englisch?'.

It is fantastic to try to learn a bit more, and the locals will think much more of you for it.

In my life, I have actually found most Germans very reluctant to speak English (I also taught English for three years). I think it is a very 'German' thing that if they do not feel they speak it perfectly than they prefer not to speak it at all.

When I first moved to Bonn I had been in German class for a total of 2 days when I met my girlfiend's firends. They refused to speak English with me even though each of them had learned it for a minimum of 9 years. They gave excuses like 'but it's so embarrasing', never mind that my knowledge of German totalled two days worth of class.

That is an extreme example, but I very rarely come across Germans who willfully speak English with me. I have never been in a shop where a received an answer in English to a question in German (in stark contrast to my time living in Denmark).

But this is OK, because nearly everyone I have met has been more than willing to put up with my very bad German and have been very helpful (in stark contrast to my experience in France). A typical experience when I first arrived was me going into a shop, butchering the language as I ask for something, and being responded to in slow, clear German and lots of hand signals (it is much easier now).

So my advice is to learn a few phrases because the locals will like you a lot more, but not to sweat it, because everything 'vital' will be in English and the locals can actually speak it quite well if forced to.

 

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I flew Lufthansa from Geneva to Frankfurt one Christmas day. I was the only person in Business Class, there were a handful of people in coach. So I had two flight attendants for myself. One flight attendant just hovered over me the entire flight. She spoke English, exclusively, to me. I responded exclusively in German. She understood everything I said and I understood everything she said. It was surreal.

JBigjake, a Berliner is a donut, sold around Advent IIRC. But all the Berliners/Germans are said to have understood Pres Kennedy and appreciated the sentiment.

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

'A Berliner' is actaully a pastry. We Americans would call it a jelly-filled donut, but as anyone knows this is not actually a donut because it does not have a hole.

Interestingly, in Berlin dialect it is not actually called 'a Berliner', but rather a 'Pfannekuchen', or pancake. What the rest of Germany, as well as the English speaking world, refers to as a pancake, Berliners call 'Eierkuchen', or eggcake.

When I told my Berliner girlfriend the JFK joke, she couldn't see why it was funny because to her, he hadn't said 'I am a jelly-filled donut' as he had to the rest of Germany.

If 'a Berliner' is anything to a Berliner, it is most likely a 'Berliner Boulette', which is a meatball.

Confusing, isn't it.

And yes, everyone knew what JFK was getting on about, but that doesn't make it any less funny.

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

Some links about this urban legend:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/jfk_berliner.htm

http://german.about.com/library/blgermyth06.htm

I never found it funny, too.

But when I ask for what they call "Berliner" here, I get suspicious looks, because they don't know what I mean with "Kreppel"/"Kräppel"... It is very hard to be understood.

 

What are you doing about languages?

Of course, but it's still funny. I heard the story from Bavarians, who appear to get the joke better that actual Berliners!
P.S. I understand that JFK supposedly worked this out with an interpreter, but there are regional variations. Weren't Pres. Carter's words to the Polish people garbled from "I have great affection for you" to "I lust for you"?

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

Ach, dass ganz lustig ist!

 

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I have had similar experiences.

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

So, for those who have experience traveling in Germany....

Is it worth taking German 101 this semester, or am I wasting my money?

I don't want to go over there totally clueless like I was in 2002 and be that American, but I did get some "Learn German" and "Idiot's Guide to German"- type books and dvds for x-mas, so that's $350 I'm investing in the class that I could put to use in Germany, too....

any suggestions? I have to drop the class by today to get a full refund...