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I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 12:23:41 PM

Neilster

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From: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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I'm learning German with Duolingo.com

It's free, quite fun and you get instant feedback and hear the correct pronunciation.

I know a lot of German words but no grammar so I started at the beginning. It's a bit tricky but I keep doing each lesson until I get 100%.

As you can see I've nearly finished Basics 2. Pretty soon I'll be thinking in German whilst planning my panzer breakthroughs!

Cheers, Neilster

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< Message edited by Neilster -- 8/13/2013 12:27:26 PM >

Post #: 1

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 12:46:46 PM

Neilster

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From: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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OK. Finished Basics 2 but I need to revise the various forms of "sein" (to be) and "haben" (have).

Hopefully any Germans I meet only want to talk about people drinking milk, eating bread and reading newspapers, because that's about the limit of my knowledge so far.

Cheers Neilster

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RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 1:25:05 PM

Blond_Knight

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Neilster

Hopefully any Germans I meet only want to talk about people drinking milk, eating bread and reading newspapers...

Whilst theyre planning their panzer breakthroughs! :)

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Post #: 3

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 1:30:45 PM

jday305

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Joined: 3/31/2013
From: Northeast Indiana
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Took four years of german in high school and was pretty good at it but after 25 + years all I can still remember are some greetings, simple phrases and many not so nice cuss words.

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RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 1:31:14 PM

Agathosdaimon

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Super! ein grosses Unterfangen aber es lohnt sich auf jeden fall. Die deutsche Sprache finde ich sehr schoen! vor Jahren setzte ich mich zum Ziel Deutsch zu lernen - i had been working slowly with the Teach Yourself books, but once i then bought the books Modern German Grammar and its work book and also the Practical Dictionary of German Usage books, things really came together. When i bought latter it was around 80.00 in 2006 unfortunately its now quite expensive http://www.amazon.com/A-Practical-Dictionary-German-Usage/dp/0198240023

Fortunately there are so many great resources now! A really big help is to also start acquiring some books in german on things that really interest you.

I love also die Grammatik der Deutschen Sprache, its rules end up actually making alot more sense and are more consistent than english. It may seem back to front at the start but its all in where the emphasis lies. Harrons 1001 pitfalls in German and 1001 idioms books were also superb.

Have a good dictionary with you everywhere you go - perhaps there is a good one for mobiles or tablets now

Stick with the duolingo of course - i will be interested to see how you find it! I always wanted some really comprehensive german language program for computer but never found one - that was 7 years ago though.

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RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 1:34:40 PM

Terminus

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English has no grammar except for what it's stolen from the rest of the world...

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RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 3:06:54 PM

Toby42

Posts: 1626
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From: Central Florida
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With English being a Germanic Language, you would think that it would be easy to pick up?

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RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 3:24:24 PM

Josh

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From: Leeuwarden, Netherlands
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Nice. I advice you to go read a few books in German, in my opinion one of the better ways to learn that language. Nothing like reading a biography about Rommel written in German.
Ofcourse the bestest way to learn Deutsch is to find a sch�nes Fr�ulein and then practice some german with her.

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Post #: 8

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 3:34:53 PM

Agathosdaimon

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indeed! and its spelling of words and the pronunciation just follow no set rules at all. I like how sentences with multiple verbs in german work - in simple sentences, not the compound ones and complex ones, you get the first verb in the second position and then the 2nd in the last position and all the others fall in backwards from the end , not that a simple sentence should have too many verbs but for an english speaker it makes every sentence like building a monument as Mark Twain described it and i must agree - the package that the syntax creates makes the sentence so much like a finished work.

But there is so much i love about German -its rhyming and ability for the speaker to just create new words that make perfect sense. I find it also a language steeped in philosophical, metaphysical and mythological concepts - the German Geist - this romantic wanderer and artist (by romantic i am referring to the period and not the current monochrome western marketed concept of romance) The poetry of Hoelderlin, Goethe, Rilke - all so exquisitely melancholic, mythological and imaginative. I could go on and on but i shouldn't as this is just me expressing what i love about this particular language.

But of course as English is my mother tongue, German is always so exciting and mysterious for me with all the nuances of its language. English has much that is great also - the writings of William Blake are as beautiful, intense and otherworldly

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Post #: 9

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/13/2013 4:38:24 PM

wings7

Posts: 4591
Joined: 8/11/2003
From: Phoenix, Arizona
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Neilster

I'm learning German with Duolingo.com

It's free, quite fun and you get instant feedback and hear the correct pronunciation.

I know a lot of German words but no grammar so I started at the beginning. It's a bit tricky but I keep doing each lesson until I get 100%.

As you can see I've nearly finished Basics 2. Pretty soon I'll be thinking in German whilst planning my panzer breakthroughs!

Cheers, Neilster

Thanks Joey, I will check it out!

Patrick

(in reply to Neilster)

Post #: 10

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 6:56:38 PM

warspite1

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From: England
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My youngest has just started up with this as she will be learning German at school next term. I think I will give it a go too. Great language

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RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 7:22:30 PM

Dixie

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Terminus

English has no grammar except for what it's stolen from the rest of the world...

Stolen? I think not old boy. It was just lying there unwanted, if it belonged to someone it would have had a flag...

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Post #: 12

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 9:15:00 PM

t001001001

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Thx, Neilster

I always wanted to learn another language. German would be cool, but being in south FL USA, spanish is practical for me.

The page is brilliant. I've finished basics 1 and 2. I prolly have about a 1 year old's grasp of the language so far

I don't want to brag or anything, but I'm proficient at saying "i read the newspaper' or 'she eats bread', so on

< Message edited by t001001001 -- 8/15/2013 9:17:03 PM >

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Post #: 13

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 9:42:45 PM

sullafelix

Posts: 1520
Joined: 1/11/2005
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I read that in some texts/places it is quite acceptable to write a whole page in German without any punctuation marks.

I want to say I read it in something about Kafka but I could be wrong.

To be able to write a whole page run on sentence would be great

.

Has anyone heard of this?

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RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 10:16:34 PM

RockKahn

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Joined: 10/27/2011
From: USA
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I took 3 years of German in high school. I assumed I'd never use it, but thought it would be interesting.

A couple of years later, I was in the Navy and my ship pulled into Bremen, Germany for a few days. I really enjoyed the few days we were in Germany. I was very impressed with how clean and well maintained everything was, particularly Bremen.

Anyway, some shipmates and I decided to take a train to a rock concert in Hamburg. We got into a cab. I was the only one that even had a clue as to how to converse in German. I told the cab driver, in my awful German to take us to the train station. I called it a "Zugplatz", which I believe literally is "train platform". The cab driver looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and kind of hand signaled to wait. He'd be right back. He got out of the cab and ran to another cab sitting in front of ours and returned. He said, "Oh, you want to go to the train station." Turns out he was a Brit working in Bremen as a taxi driver. I guess he only understood good German and not awful German. He told me the correct term for train station was "Bahnhof". I'm guessing, since Bremen was in the British sector back then, he was a British serviceman moonlighting.

While taking German in school, I had a particular phrase that I had a lot of trouble memorizing. It was "Vorsicht! Stossen sie sich nicht dein Kopf mit der Lampe." Which means "Watch out! Don't bump your head on the lamp." It's about the only thing I remember, now. I always thought that that was dumb. When would anyone ever use that? Well, one night in Bremen we went into a bar and ended up sitting at a table drinking beer with a bunch of German high school students. They spoke English very well. I believe they told us English was required in school. The beer pitchers were actually in the shape of large glass boots. And, guess what, the tables all had lamps over them hanging down from the ceiling. One of the students was getting up and talking with his head was coming very close to one of the lamps. I said, "Vorsicht! Stossen sie sich nicht dein Kopf mit der Lampe". He looked at me astonished and said, "You speak very good German."

Anyway, just a couple of experiences with German that I thought was interesting and a little comical.

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Post #: 15

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 10:21:39 PM

Titanwarrior89

Posts: 3283
Joined: 8/28/2003
From: arkansas
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quote:

ORIGINAL: RockKahn

I took 3 years of German in high school. I assumed I'd never use it, but thought it would be interesting.

A couple of years later, I was in the Navy and my ship pulled into Bremen, Germany for a few days. I really enjoyed the few days we were in Germany. I was very impressed with how clean and well maintained everything was, particularly Bremen.

Anyway, some shipmates and I decided to take a train to a rock concert in Hamburg. We got into a cab. I was the only one that even had a clue as to how to converse in German. I told the cab driver, in my awful German to take us to the train station. I called it a "Zugplatz", which I believe literally is "train platform". The cab driver looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and kind of hand signaled to wait. He'd be right back. He got out of the cab and ran to another cab sitting in front of ours and returned. He said, "Oh, you want to go to the train station." Turns out he was a Brit working in Bremen as a taxi driver. I guess he only understood good German and not awful German. He told me the correct term for train station was "Bahnhof". I'm guessing, since Bremen was in the British sector back then, he was a British serviceman moonlighting.

Anyway, just a couple of experiences with German that I thought was interesting and a little comical.

Now that made me laugh......

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RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 10:37:23 PM

jfk

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From: Germany
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Sorry to correct you but it's "Vorsicht! Sto�en sie sich nicht den Kopf an der Lampe."

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Post #: 17

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 10:51:41 PM

RockKahn

Posts: 165
Joined: 10/27/2011
From: USA
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quote:

ORIGINAL: jfk

Sorry to correct you but it's "Vorsicht! Sto�en sie sich nicht den Kopf an der Lampe."

Thx jfk. I was thinking while I was writing that that after 43 years I wasn't going to get that exactly right.

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Post #: 18

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 11:10:27 PM

parusski

Posts: 4804
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: Jackson Tn
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Agathosdaimon

indeed! and its spelling of words and the pronunciation just follow no set rules at all. I like how sentences with multiple verbs in german work - in simple sentences, not the compound ones and complex ones, you get the first verb in the second position and then the 2nd in the last position and all the others fall in backwards from the end , not that a simple sentence should have too many verbs but for an english speaker it makes every sentence like building a monument as Mark Twain described it and i must agree - the package that the syntax creates makes the sentence so much like a finished work.

But there is so much i love about German -its rhyming and ability for the speaker to just create new words that make perfect sense. I find it also a language steeped in philosophical, metaphysical and mythological concepts - the German Geist - this romantic wanderer and artist (by romantic i am referring to the period and not the current monochrome western marketed concept of romance) The poetry of Hoelderlin, Goethe, Rilke - all so exquisitely melancholic, mythological and imaginative. I could go on and on but i shouldn't as this is just me expressing what i love about this particular language.

But of course as English is my mother tongue, German is always so exciting and mysterious for me with all the nuances of its language. English has much that is great also - the writings of William Blake are as beautiful, intense and otherworldly

That was very well stated Agathosdaimon. German is a gorgeous language.

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Post #: 19

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/15/2013 11:30:05 PM

rodney727

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From: Iowa
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When I went to Germany four years ago I remember at the hotel the german lady asking me what part of the Midwest I was from. I had two years of german in college. All I said was Guten Tag!. It was funny because I thought I spoke "normal". Didn't realize I had an accent!!!

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Post #: 20

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/18/2013 12:37:18 PM

Alpha77

Posts: 2116
Joined: 9/24/2010
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Noticed you need to register for Duolingo site, so I wanna ask is it worth it ? I am trying French. Ich versuche Franz�sisch

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Post #: 21

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/18/2013 1:06:16 PM

Neilster

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From: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Alpha77

Noticed you need to register for Duolingo site, so I wanna ask is it worth it ? I am trying French. Ich versuche Franz�sisch

Well, it's free and the site has been independently reviewed very favourably, so I'd say yes. They maintain themselves by using advanced students to translate documents.

Cheers, Neilster

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Post #: 22

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/18/2013 2:10:24 PM

Alpha77

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Is their also Audio/Speech???

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Post #: 23

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/18/2013 2:33:16 PM

Neilster

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From: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Alpha77

Is their also Audio/Speech???

Yes. You hear the language spoken and you can speak too if you choose that option; otherwise you give written responses.

Cheers, Neilster

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Post #: 24

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/22/2013 11:04:44 PM

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Why am I reminded of the comedian who included a bit about him planning to take a course in English as a second language, just so he could blow the teacher away?

Great stories RockKhan!

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Post #: 25

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/23/2013 12:23:35 AM

Qwixt

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I spent two years in Germany while in the army. The only german you need to know is "Ein bier bitte".

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Post #: 26

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 8/23/2013 5:13:04 AM

Neilster

Posts: 2890
Joined: 10/27/2003
From: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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Right...well, each to their own.

Anyway, I just downloaded their mobile app because it now stores about an hour of lessons, enabling one to use it without needing constant mobile (cell) coverage.

Cheers, Neilster

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Post #: 27

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 10/9/2013 11:47:30 PM

t001001001

Posts: 322
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You sticking w/ this, neilster?

I never heard of duolingo til you posted it, I've been doing the spanish lessons ever since. It's slow going. The hardest part for me is memorizing the nouns. mujer = woman, so on.

Couple weekends ago I was at convenience store and the clerk was clearly spanish, speaking spanish to her friend. I set my beer on the counter and in my whiteboy accent said "yo bebo cerveza." They got a chuckle of it and corrected my pronunciation. Not a big deal but first time I conducted bidness in spanish, I'm pretty danged proud of myself

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Post #: 28

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 10/10/2013 1:08:10 AM

Gilmer

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Ahhhh Englander! Vas is Schloss?

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Post #: 29

RE: I'm learning Deutsch - 10/10/2013 1:10:25 AM

Gilmer

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It always kills me in a movie when an American is butchering some language and the foreign guy he is talking to says in perfect English, "I can speak English."

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Post #: 30