Archive for February, 2017
Endangered German Dialects Posted by Constanze on Feb 28, 2017
On 21st February the world celebrated International Mother Language Day – otherwise known as Tag der Muttersprache in German. On this day the hashtag #TagderMuttersprache was popular on Twitter, and when I clicked on it there were plenty of German articles about Bairisch – Bavarian! Bavarians are famously proud of their language and culture. Even…
German Culture In The USA Posted by Constanze on Feb 22, 2017
Guten Tag! When you think about countries relating to the German language and culture, the first (perhaps only) countries that come to mind are Germany and Austria. But there are, in fact, many countries around the world that have German as a second or minority language, with towns & cities that have German roots. Today…
The History of the Dachshund Posted by Larissa on Feb 21, 2017
Perhaps you have heard it before, that Dachshunde (also known as “sausage dogs” in English) are the typical dog to own in Munich, but why? Here ‘s a little bit of history about the cute, stumpy legged dogs. The breed originated from Germany and literally translates to “badger dog” (Dachs = badger, Hund = dog)…
Untranslatable German Words: Bauchpinseln Posted by Constanze on Feb 18, 2017
Guten Tag! As it was Valentinstag (Valentines Day) on 14th Februar, I thought I’d bring you a (sort of!) topical “untranslatable word”. This one will hopefully make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Today’s untranslatable word is bauchpinseln. What does bauchpinseln mean? It means to flatter or compliment someone, just like you would…
Untranslatable German Words: Wichteln Posted by Sten on Feb 9, 2017
In the pre-Christmas time, many groups throughout Germany practice an old tradition: Das Wichteln. But what is that? Find out here, in another post in the awesome series on untranslatable words in German that Constanze started on this blog! What does Wichteln mean? Wichteln is a tradition where all participants get a gift for someone else in the group. Mostly, the originality…
The German Word ‘der Kater’ Posted by Constanze on Feb 8, 2017
Guten Tag, everybody! In case you weren’t aware yet, I think the German language is truly wonderful. I love it when I tell somebody about an unusual German word and their face lights up. So here’s a post that I hope will make your face light up, too! In this post we’ll learn the German…
How To Remember What German Letters Sound Like Posted by Sten on Feb 2, 2017
Recently, a reader of the blogs commented that it is difficult to remember what German letters sound like. Really, it is, just like most about learning a language, all about Übung (practice). Übung. How do you say that? Sounds like a good word to start with! How to pronounce Übung Ok. That is Übung. I am sure, when you listen…