Archive for the year 2009
Essen’s SPIEL Fair 2009 Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 24, 2009
Germans take board gaming ernst. In German culture, it’s considered a family-oriented hobby, popular to the point that a whole genre of board games exists known as “German-style games,” “Euro-games,” or “designer board games.” These Spiele aren’t your Grandma’s Monopoly (though Germans play that, too). The genre is known for high production value, favoring wooden…
Dative Case Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 18, 2009
The dative case is used to indentify indirect objects. Indirect objects ask ‘for whom’ or ‘to whom’. Example: Alexander gibt seinem Freund 200 Euro. Alexander gives his friend 200 Euros. In this case ‘seinem Freund’ is the dative Here is the dative of the definite article. Dative masculine: dem Dative feminine: der Dative neuter: dem Dative plural…
Vornamen Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 12, 2009
I’ve always been fascinated by German vornamen, or first names. Today we’ll look at some of the meanings and origins of German first names. If you don’t have a German name, hopefully this will inspire you to choose a German name that best represents yourself. Anna/Anne : is a populär girl’s name. It means “grace”…
Richard Wagner Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 9, 2009
Richard Wagner war ein deutscher Komponist. He believed in Gesamtkunstwerk, which was the synthesis of art, music and drama. Richard Wagner wurde am 22. Mai 1813 in Leipzig. Sechs Monate nach seiner Geburt, am 23. November 1813, starb der Vater an Typhus. Wagner’s stepfather introduced Wagner to musical theater. He was inspired by artists such…
The Accusative Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 29, 2009
The accusative case marks the direct object in a sentence. The direct object is the person or thing doing the receiving. Here are the accusative forms for the definite article: Masculine (den) Feminine (die) Neuter (das) Plural (die) Here are the indefinite forms: masculine (einen) feminine (eine) neuter (ein) plural (keine) You might see some…
The Nominative Case Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 20, 2009
Today’s post is on the dreaded cases. For the German newbies, a case is a term used to describe the role a noun plays in a sentence. There are four cases: 1) der Nominativ (the nominative) : is where the noun is the subject of the sentence. Let’s look at the nominative forms for the…
National German Anthem Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 17, 2009
The German anthem, sung at international soccer events and other public events, is actually three stanzas long. However, only the third stanza is sung, so that is the version I’m displaying today. The title of the song is: Das Lied der Deutschen or the Song of the Germans Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Unity, and…