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Der 1. Mai Posted by on May 6, 2009

Eine Tradition die in vielen Teilen Deutschlands ist der Maibaum (A tradition that is wide spread in many parts of Germany is the May tree). Sometimes the May trees have streamers attached to the branches. Im Rheinland stellen junge Männer einen Maibaum unter das Fenster ihrer Angebeteten (In the Rhineland young men erect a May tree under…

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May 1st Posted by on May 3, 2009

I have a reading passage for you. I’d say it’s in the intermediate to upper intermediate range. The English translation is supplied right after the German. Try and see if you can figure out what the German sentences mean without peeking at the English. If you had a little trouble understanding this level of German…

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Bundes… Words Posted by on Apr 29, 2009

We’re gonna take a look at some German words that begin with Bundes-. A lot of words have to do with politics and government. See if you can guess what they are in English without looking them up. You can post the answers in the comment section. der Bundeskanzler : also known as the head…

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German Fairy Tales Posted by on Apr 27, 2009

One of the best ways to get a hold of the German language is to read fairy tales in German. You know what’s going to happen, so I’ll give you some idea of whether you’re comprehension in German is on the right track. Here are some fairy tales in German: (Rumpelstilzchen) : Rumpelstiltskin (Schneewittchen)…

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German Greetings Posted by on Apr 26, 2009

We’re going to learn Grüße und Nettigkeiten or greetings and courtesies. These greetings are a great way to start a conversation in German Chances are you’ve probably heard this before, countless times: (Guten Tag) hello (Grüß Gott) also means hello, but it’s more common in southern Germany (Grüß dich) Hello in an informal way. One…

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German R and Diphthongs Posted by on Apr 25, 2009

Time for the German Rs! Post vocalic r : does not sound like an English r. The syllable with the post vocalic r is pronounced slightly longer than the syllable without the r. To make this sound, spread your lips slightly apart. Words that contain this r : (der Herr) Mr., (hier) here Pre vocalic…

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German Consonants Posted by on Apr 24, 2009

Letters b, d, g, p, t, k are pretty much the same as English, but there are exceptions. When b, d, g is at the end of the syllable it changes to p, t, k respectively. b to p: (abheben) is pronounced as apheben d to t: (sind) is pronounced as sint g to k…

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