Archive for 'Language'
The German non-word of the year Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jan 16, 2014
The time did come again. The German “Unwort des Jahres” (non-word of the year) has been chosen in Darmstadt again. The “Unwort”-jury, whose chairperson is linguist Nina Janich, received 1340 entries with 746 different words. The first place term 2013 is “Sozialtourismus” (social tourism) as the jury informed on Tuesday. Why did the jury…
German music and lyrics: Revolverheld „Das kann uns keiner nehmen“ Posted by Sandra Rösner on Oct 14, 2013
One day last weeks I had to do some shopping. When I was waiting at the traffic light along with other cars I had the time to change the channels of my car radio. I often do this to find a song I like and to which I can sing along with. Eventually, I found…
German comma rule: Linking main clauses and subordinate clauses with the conjunction “dass” (that) Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 30, 2013
There are two basic sentence types in German: main clauses, which are also know as independent clauses and subordinate clauses, which are also known as dependent clauses. Main or independent clauses can stand alone, whereas subordinate or dependent clauses require a sentence to which they are linked. Unlike in English, German main clauses and subordinate…
Comma rules: How to linking main clauses in German Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 28, 2013
The comma is one of several punctuation characters. It serves to separate related thoughts or ideas within complex statements. Grammarians call such related thoughts or ideas clauses. German comma rules vary from English ones. Therefore, we should have a closer look at them. There are two basic sentence types in German, which you may already…
The most basic comma rule in German: Listing things, people, features, and actions Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 26, 2013
Commas are useful punctuation characters. On the one hand, they help us to sort our thoughts and on the other hand, they facilitate reading – when they are correctly punctuated. So, let’s have a closer look at the most basic comma rule in the German language: Listing things, people, features, and actions. Simple words…
“On me”: “Auf mir” or “auf mich” – German personal pronouns in the dative and accusative case Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jul 31, 2013
I received the question whether it is auf mich or auf mir, which are translated as “on me” in English. The good news is that both forms exist in German and thus they are both correct. The bad news is: Both forms are not interchangeable at will. Which form you have to use is dependent…
Germany music and musicians: Eiserner Steg by Philipp Poisel Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jul 15, 2013
It was at a birthday party about two years ago when I first heard a song of a young and very gifted musician. It was his calm but powerful and distinctive voice that pierced my ear gently. Philipp Poisel is a Germany singer-songwriter. He was born 18 June 1983 in Ludwigsburg, which is in Baden-Wurttemberg…