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

How do you say pizza?

 

For people with odd pronounciations of pizza, you can go with the "ts" sound in tse-tse fly.

 

If we're talking pronounciations, this needs to be repeated (copied from the site linked above) - seriously, I don't know how often I have seen the pronounciation described wrong on Bigsoccer alone :

"Ch" is a German sound which causes English speakers severe problems as it does not occur naturally in the English language, and varies in sound depending on its position in the word and the sound which precedes it.

1. "Ch" following the sounds "a", "o", "u", or the diphthong "au"
The Scots are at a distinct advantage here however, as the sound required is the one heard in "Loch Ness". Or imagine the rasping guttural sound made in the back of your throat before you spit!

2. "Ch" following "e", "i", "ä", "ö", "ü", the diphthongs "eu" or "äu" and the consonants "l", "n" or "r".
Whereas "ch" in the previous instance was a sound formed in the back of the mouth, this is one formed in the front of the mouth. Imagine saying the English words "humour" or "humane", but breathe with the tip of the tongue touching the back of the lower front teeth.

5. The sound "chs"
The German "chs" is pronounced like the English words "oxen" and "vixen" as a clear "ks" sound

6. The sound "ck"
The German sound "ck" behaves just like the English consonant "k". The vowel preceding it is always short and stressed.

 

Ich finde Deutsch sehr einfach. Es ist so wie Englisch. Alle sollen Deutsch lernen. Unfortunately, German wasn't the most practical language to take in the US. Oops. Ich liebe Deutsch und ich glaube dass es eine schöne Sprache ist.

Spater!

 

Not that I want to take anything away from the English language, but I would guess that the origins of those words (like Theater) are in almost all cases Greek or Latin .

 

Re: What are you doing about languages?

That would mean that you'd not really care about Dallas' decision.
I think AGF Aarhus' explanantion is pretty dead on.

 

the best way of learning German or learn about Germany is

find nice german friends or girlfriends/boyfriends

finding friends help you to learn the language and the country

and your trip in Germany will be more interesting..



Gruss

bltleo
Germany

 

Then please contribute something more to the thread!
zum Bespiel, wie sagen Sie (wie Sie sagen?):
"We know you have a good team. Too bad you lost."
"We were lucky. You should have won."
"Better luck in South Africa!"
"Well, you would have had to play Brazil anyway."

 

Can you sign a note for me so my wife will be understanding on this point?

 

Ha, that's funny. But wouldn't it actually be better to learn those phrases in Czech and Italian?

 

Don't forget Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga! Also, he's thinking of later rounds... we must be gracious in victory to our hosts. The thoughtful BigSoccer devotee will also learn these phrases in Portuguese, Japanese and Croatian*.




*I think asking someone to learn how to speak Australian is just cruel.

 

lol

you are funny..

I say it diplomatic: "make a friends in Germany"..it is the best way of learning German...and official slogan of the world cup is also "it is a time to make friends"

bltleo
Germany

 

lol....Americans are going to "have communication" with Czechs and Italian
in Germany

the more languages you know, the better..


Bltleo

 

Well...first day of German class today and I'm already behind. I don't think she realizes that it's a 101 class. She says by next week we won't be allowed to speak English! It's going to be challenging to say the least.
However, there are a couple of cute girls in the class. Even better, the professor is HOT. Very.
I don't plan on missing class...ever!

 

Of course, but that's a different thread! This is German primer!
P.S. Let's see what altavista has to say: We know that you have a good team. Too bad that you lost. We were lucky. You should have won. Better luck in South Africa. Well, you would have had to play Brazil anyway.
Sappiamo che avete una buona squadra. Troppo difettoso che avete perso. Eravamo fortunati. Dovreste vincere. Fortuna migliore in Sudafrica. Bene, avreste dovuto giocare comunque la Sudafrica.
Wir wissen, daß Sie eine gute Mannschaft haben. Zu schlecht, das Sie verloren. Wir waren glücklich. Sie sollten gewonnen haben. Besseres Glück in Südafrika. Gut würden Sie Brasilien irgendwie spielen gemußt haben.

 

My reasons for 2 years of German & 1 of Russian in college! Ja, jene huebschen Maedchen! те милые девушки! (Te milye devotchki? bablefish again, I think I learned more Russian reading "A Clockwork Orange"!)

 

Don't let them distract you! Focus on your goal. Yeah, who am I kidding? Good thing it doesn't count towards a degree. My last semester (more like 1/2 semester) at OU, I was in Spanish 101, got behind in the first week, and never recovered. Luckily the university was kind enough to give me W's instead of F's (of course they kept the money).

Oh, and tell your professor...
Ich habe keine Krankheiten! Machen wir einen 'drauf!

 

don´t worry about your German language skills, my English is not the best as well

 

Holy ********, grammar rape!

Here we go :
"We know you have a good team. Too bad you lost."
Wir wisse, dass ihr eine gute Mannschaft habt. Schade, dass ihr verloren habt!

"We were lucky. You should have won."
Wir hatten Glück. Ihr hättet den Sieg verdient gehabt!

"Better luck in South Africa!"
Mehr Glück in Südafrika!

"Well, you would have had to play Brazil anyway."
Naja, ihr hättet sowieso irgendwann gegen Brasilien spielen müssen.

 

How do you say "handball" in Deutsch?

 

We're listening to Pimsleur German CDs while in the car. Actually learning stuff. Interesting method.

 

Hand = Der Hand
Ball = Der Ball (maybe Das)
Play = Spiel

German = Ein/Der Handballspiel

 

It's OK, we can all help each other. That's what this thread is for.

Bltleo, your post here does remind me of a story my mother once told years ago, on a return to the U.S. from a vacation in Mexico (one of her oldest friends lives and works in the medical profession there, so she went down for a visit) -- coming back on the plane, she was sitting next to a gentleman and they were having a rather long conversation. How that came about is that he admitted that his English was only just good enough (just how you think yours is) while my mother admitted that her Spanish wasn't quite fluent, either.

So they decided to talk to each other in the other's native language, for the purpose of communicating to the other one's ears. I guess that worked out pretty well with them, during the long flight.

 

Vielen Dank!

 

Just started this myself. Most of it I still recall from HS, but I was happy with the first 2 lessons. The 30 minute classes fit in perfectly with my commute.

Which set are you using? I have the 6 CD set, but I have a feeling I'll need the 10-disk.