German Language RFI

[P30]

For the inclined German language student: Great song from the new artist Wilhelmine:



The beautiful lyrics are definitely worth some effort in order to understand them. The video was filmed in Andalusia, Spain - with a mobile phone! Andalusia is also called "land of light", it's the southernmost part of mainland Europe. I know the region pretty well, explored it by motorbike, recognized it just after a few seconds in the video. If you visit Europe, you should go there. Some legendary "Spaghetti Westerns" - also with Clint Eastwood - have been filmed there. The music video sends lots of positive vibes, could be useful in the coming winter.

[Coyotesfan97]

All my dogs know German

My first work dog was a German trained GSD. All the rest were Dutch trained KNPV Mals or Dutch Shepherds. So I know some German commands with the Dutch. The fun times are when the same word is used for different things.

[P30]

The other way around, a question from a native German speaker to native English speakers:

The following English words sound similar but their meanings are opposites:

to adore | to abhor
awesome | awful
to work hard | to hardly work

Are there more examples? I don't have a German example at hand, will think about it.

PS:
The question is not so important. It's more a game or a riddle. But on the other hand for me as a non-native speaker, these words are easily mixed up.

PPS:
Have a funny example, not German but occured in Germany.

My grandma could make a very yummy cake. It's called "Grillage-Torte" and has a French word in it. But to German ears, "Grillage" sounds very much like "Grill-Arsch" (= grilled ass). Also my grandma sometimes made fun of this.

Now, another one came to my mind. It's quite extreme so be prepared:

torte | turd

Turd Ferguson is also very funny.

[Caballoflaco]

One of the best known and difficult for people learning English.

Beach / Bitch

[OlongJohnson]

The other way around, a question from a native German speaker to native English speakers:

The following English words sound similar but their meanings are opposites:

to adore | to abhor
awesome | awful
to work hard | to hardly work

Are there more examples? I don't have a German example at hand, will think about it.

There's a joke phrase that plays on that: "Workin' hard at hardly workin'."

In general, I think we learn all these words in context and understand the meanings when we are young, so the similarity in sound isn't remarkable to us. Also, as children, the adults tend to gradually increase the sophistication of language used with us, so new words are spread apart over several or many years. Another point is that the pairs may not be used with similar frequency. You're likely to hear "adore" and "awesome" in conversation far more often than you hear "abhor" and "awful." It's not like learning a non-native language when there's a little bit of unfamiliarity to all the words and you are trying to absorb a massive amount of information in a relatively short time.

Along the lines of your question, this is a good one:

[P30]

What do you think?

A few days ago in Germany on the Autobahn. Legal. The interesting part is 1:10 - 2:50.



Maybe it's a bit exaggerated. I don't know. Dude is a billionaire from the country of the CZ75 (best gun rights in the EU). Most important thing is: No harm was done.

I only wish, our gun rights in Germany were accordingly cool! In this regard, the advantage is on the US side of the big pond.

BTW: Have a nice day!

[Jim Watson]

Looking at those little foreign countries, I can see how you need to know different languages.
In terms of land area, I always though it was interesting that England was about the same land area as my home of Alabama.
So the equivalent is to go from Alabama to Georgia and have to learn French.

But as Col. Blimp said: I do not see how anyone can fail to understand the English language so long as it is clearly enunciated and loudly spoken.

[P30]

In terms of land area, I always though it was interesting that England was about the same land area as my home of Alabama.
So the equivalent is to go from Alabama to Georgia and have to learn French.

Stating this equivalence ignores the big difference in the number of inhabitants (England 56 million, Alabama 5 million). Or am I misunderstanding you?

Learning a foreign language - English in my case - has made my life much richer. In school, I also had to learn French. But this was a bit too much for me. French grammar is even more complicated and has more exceptions than German grammar. But just for fun and if I had the time, I would continue to learn it (in fact I do a little bit sometimes). Would also like to understand Japanese or Chinese. A former Chinese co-worker told me, Chinese language is much simpler than German language.

For example, it was a great pleasure for me to get a translation of the Italian lyrics in this song by Luciano Pavarotti, and then to re-listen the song and understand it.

[revchuck38]

@P30 - How one learns a foreign language influences how difficult one finds it, and which part of the language (written, spoken, read, heard) is easiest. My university degree is in French, so reading and writing it was easier for me until I had to use it with people, when I became more comfortable speaking it. I learned my German on the street (oof der Stross, wie mann rund um Karlsruhe sagt ), so I'm more comfortable speaking German than writing.

I found French grammar easier than German because it's very similar to English.

[Jared]

I work for a German company and my boss is from Germany. Really cool guy. Anyway, he’s told me before that the German language is rather tough and that the “rules” are more like guidelines and there’s exceptions all over the place with little rhyme or reason.

Anyway, occasionally I’ll use Google translate to learn some word or phrase in German, usually something that’s not HR friendly, and slip it into conversation. Usually gets a laugh and an admonishment that while what I said was technically correct, that’s not how it would actually be said in Germany. Tough crowd, lol.