Wer spricht hier deutsch?

aruna

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Yeah, I've seen that, but don't usually go on there too often. I'm on the internet too much as it is, lol.

I don't go there much either, but it's great if you have a specific question on the way things work in Germany. It's like a huge resource where you can get loads of info as well as personal anecdotes on the various problems expats might have.
 

Dorothy

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I don't go there much either, but it's great if you have a specific question on the way things work in Germany. It's like a huge resource where you can get loads of info as well as personal anecdotes on the various problems expats might have.

Yeah, I guess I don't "need" it so much since my husband is German - he can answer my questions better, lol. Plus I've lived here for 13 years, so I pretty much know how things work (and not always to my liking, since I'm a silly American). ;)
 

aruna

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I lived there for 30 years and I still don't know how some things work!
But I can also answer some people's questions, and I like to be helpful, so I drop in from time to time to see if I can help some poor lost expat.
 

Dorothy

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I lived there for 30 years and I still don't know how some things work!
But I can also answer some people's questions, and I like to be helpful, so I drop in from time to time to see if I can help some poor lost expat.

That's nice of you. And I know what you mean - I know expats who've lived here longer than I have and are still a little clueless.

Good luck with your competition!
 

jojowa

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Ich liebe Deutsch, aber ich es sehr schlecht sprechen :p Ich lese viele Kinderbücher und einige Dichtung [:

I'd like to do my graduate school in Germany, but I have a lot of work to do on my German first ;)
 

Scriptissima

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Ich liebe Deutsch, aber ich es sehr schlecht sprechen :p Ich lese viele Kinderbücher und einige Dichtung [:

I'd like to do my graduate school in Germany, but I have a lot of work to do on my German first ;)
Actually, your German will get up to par in no time when you move there and speak it every day, so don't worry about the language. :) It will just sneak into your life without you even noticing. ;)
 

dystophil

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Just popping in to say hi! I'm a German ex-pat who's been living in the U.S. for three years now, but I was born and grew up in Germany (lived there till I turned 20).

Can't believe I haven't stumbled across this place earlier :)
 

jojowa

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Actually, your German will get up to par in no time when you move there and speak it every day, so don't worry about the language. :) It will just sneak into your life without you even noticing. ;)

Heh very true, except that I want to do my classes in German, so I'll need to have very good comprehension, if nothing else ;)
 

Scriptissima

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Heh very true, except that I want to do my classes in German, so I'll need to have very good comprehension, if nothing else ;)
I got that :), but from my experience that is precisely where (and how) you pick up the language super quickly. :) Just trust in yourself a little bit more in this regard.
 

jojowa

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I got that :), but from my experience that is precisely where (and how) you pick up the language super quickly. :) Just trust in yourself a little bit more in this regard.

...trust? ...mua? this is a very strange thing you speak of!! :D
 

Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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Oh I think it's beautifully logical, especially compared to English! Words are spelt exactly the way they sound, compound words describe exactly what a thing or concept is, and so on. Think of words like "Einstelling" or "Vorstellung" -- you place something "inside" yourself. Or "in front of" yourself.
What about this magnificent word:

Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher

(Egg-shell-should-break-place-causer)

Even if you never heard of it before, you can figure out what it is using logic; it tells you exactly! And yes, it really exists, kind of a novelty gadget with a novelty name, kind of a joke -- I've seen one!

That's exactly what I've told people who ask me if German is "hard" to learn. i always use examples like ambulance or nurse or hospital.

If you're sick, you're krank. If you're in an ambulance, it's a krankenwagen. if a nurse is treating you, she's a krankenschwester (since they used to be nuns), and if you're in a hospital, it's a krankenhaus. Perfectly logical!

It's the separable prefix verbs that are my downfall nowadays. I got A's in class when I was studying it 10-12 years ago, but it's hard for me to remember them now. For some reason, French has been easier for me to retain.

If i went to Germany though, I could still order food and beer and go to the bathroom, and isn't that what's most important? :D
 

Qbynewbie

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I just found this thread.

Ich habe Deutsch von 1967 bis 1974 studiert. Und ich habe seitdem vieles (vieles!) vergessen. And those are the first two sentences that I've written in German in many a year. I hope that they're not too mangled. :D

If anyone in this thread hasn't already read Mark Twain's wonderful little essay "The Awful German Language", please go read it right now. :) At the end of each page, there's a "Next >>" link to get to the next page. I think it's five or six pages long.
 

MissJones89

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Hallo! Ich bin aus Dänemark aber spreche ein bisschen deutsch. Offenbar verstehe ich mehr als ich spreche.
 

Raindrop

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Ich redda a betsala Elsassisch, well ìch Theater spìel. Ich kànn leider nìt Hochditsch redda. Ich verstànd's mangmol, àwer numma vu'n'ìch nìt miet ìsch. Un ìch kànn's eweràll nìt schriwa!
 

Nickie

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Ich lebe und arbeite in Flandern, spreche Flämisch zuhause aber ich verstähe und spreche auch Deutsch. Im Jaren '80 habe ich in Deutschland gelebt (Soest und Bergisch Gladbach). Dabei hatte ich zur Zeit un Deutscher Freund (Heinz). Schaue auch manchmal aufs ZDF oder WDR.


Nickie
 

DragonHeart

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Ich spreche Deutsch, nur ein bisschen. :( Jetzt es ist schwer.

I took four years of German in high school, was in the honor society and all that. Figured it would be a good language to learn since I do have German blood. Only been out of school for five years and I've already lost a lot of it, sadly. I'm considering taking it again now that I'm in college. I still use it a little now and then but not nearly enough.
 
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Deutsch ist meine Muttersprache. Ich schreibe und lese aber lieber auf Englisch, Deutsch ist mir zu schwierig, v.A. Gross-/Kleinschreibung!

Edit: I guess it makes sense if I translate: "German is my native language. I prefer to read and write in English though, German is too difficult to me, especially capitalization!

Plus, I think English has more precise words. But I always find it funny when I encounter words like 'zeitgeist', 'angst', 'doppelganger' or 'kindergarten'.
 
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Priene

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Plus, I think English has more precise words. But I always find it funny when I encounter words like 'zeitgeist', 'angst', 'doppelganger' or 'kindergarten'.

Not to mention 'Weltschmerz'. It's a fine word, and comes out of the mouth like broken glass and cinders.
 

Kuroyagi

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Or 'Rucksack', 'Weltanschauung' and 'Schnaps'!

Btw I agree with the poster above: English has a larger and more abundant vocabulary but German is more precise, grammar-wise: so, decide for yourself!

I myself also have been trying to improve my English in recent years, after all it is the lingua franca of today and for writers who are more commercially/worldly inclined (than I am) -it has a bigger market than German, too.
 

aruna

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Servus! Deutsch ist nicht meine Muttersprache, aber ich habe es gelernt when ich in Wien gelebt habe. Meine Deutschkenntnisse sind ein bißchen rostig.

Welcome, a-vee! I've lived outside of Germany for almost 10 years now and I've noticed how rusty my German's getting too!

Everyone: I'd be very grateful for feedback on my little Erzaehlung. It's for a prize, deadline end December.