| German |
Indo-European:Germanic |
ÐÐÐ |
| Precise language of a great nation, widely
understood in central Europe, this is a demanding but rewarding language, not as difficult
at you might think. Click for the pop-up window "10 reasons to learn German" |
| Introduction
- ©www.micheloud.com |
Usefulness
definition |
If you trade with
Germany, Autria or Central Europe, a good command of german is a good asset,
although people there tend to speak english quite commonly. The problem is that going half
way is no use, Germans being usually demanding and precise people, they expect you to
master their language either perfectly or not to try. |
Beauty
Definition... |
Beautiful but this is
not the top reason why people usually want to learn it. |
Chic factor
Definition... |
In France and Italy,
speaking french is seen as the hallmark of outstanding people. It is actually so rare in
Italy that once I was in a trade show in Milan, trying to find out which language to speak
with the short, sympathetic man on the stand. When I said we could speak in french,
spanish, english or german, he immediately picked il tedesco (german) whereas he
also spoke english. And all the italians around looked at the magic dwarf who spoke
tedesco and shined with pride. I later learned that he could, being among the 3% of
Italians who spoke german well or rather well. |
Speakers
Definition... |
About 90 mio of people
speak it as their mother tongue, and another 10 as a second language. |
Countries
Definition... |
Germany, Austria, some
parts of the Netherlands and Belgium, spoken in dialects in France and Switzerland. |
Regional
variations
Definition... |
There's a standard
german, the so called Hochdeutsch, but every region has a specific dialect, often
very different. In Switzerland, people tend to be willing to talk to you either in their
own brand of schwyzertütsch, or in english. |
Travel
Definition... |
Travelling in Germany
while speaking german is pleasurable, but germans as a whole speak good english and like
to show it off, so it's absolutely not a must. |
Culture
Definition... |
Great european
culture, with a load of litterature and philosophy (not easy to read, I can tell you!),
some movies, good TV channels, a lot of excellent classical, romantic and baroque music. |
|
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| Difficulty - ©www.micheloud.com |
Phonemes
Definition... |
Quite easy for most
people, with some difficulties with the müde, the Ach, and the difference between the two ch sounds in Geschichte. |
Syntax
Definition... |
Rather tricky, with
the verb, verbs or verb parts at the end of the sentence, some weak grammatical
cases and a very rigid phrase structure. The result is very surprising, but quite regular.
|
Vocabulary
Definition... |
A nice feature of
german is that vocabulary tend to be analytical. What's that? Most german words can be
broken down in roots that are used in other words. For example, aussergewöhnlich
(unusual), can be broken down in ausser (outside), gewöhnen (to get
used to) and lich (suffix for adjectives), and then reassembled to make ausserlich
(exterior, superficial). Howver nice this can be, it does not make the language
easier, far from it. The logic behind word formation, especially for small ones, is not
easy to grasp, and the meaning of the small word parts can escape you for years. |
Orthograph
Definition... |
As simple as spanish,
you write as you speak and you speak as you write thanks to much needed reforms (look at a
Nazi era book if you want to see what I mean). A nice feature is that all nouns begin by
an uppercase letter, like der Kaiser (the emperor) |
Overall
difficulty
Definition... |
I rate this language
as ÐÐÐ, that is, rather difficult to learn, because of the strange
vocabulary and unusual, rigid syntax. Actually, I think that no language is really close
to german except dutch, so it's a flat battle field. |
Time needed
Definition... |
One or two years
should be sufficient if you begin from scratch. |
|
m |
| Learning
material - ©www.micheloud.com |
Books and
tapes
Definition... |
There's a wealth of
material to learn german. Among the best - if not the cheapest - packages, are : Pimsleur Speak and Read Essential German, 3 volumes, 90 lessons, 45 hours, to
be purchased through Amazon.com (they have a 20% discount)
FSI Basic German, that you can purchase through Barron's Educational Series for about $79 a
volume, or pay more at Audioforum.
(no, I neither work for Pimsleur nor for the FSI) |
Schools
Definition... |
Anywhere in Germany or
Austria. Some people like to work with the Goethe Institut, I've been very satisfied with
OISE (very expensive but top quality), |
Links
|
http://www.yahoo.de |