Archive for 'Language'
Telling the time in German: Numbers, numbers, numbers Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 29, 2012
How we cite the time usually depends on whether we read the time with digital watches or mechanical ones. In the following video I explain how you tell the time in German when you exclusively use numbers in your citation – which is usally the case when you read the time with digital watches.
German music: Ostrock (Karussell – Als ich fortging) Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 27, 2012
I have already published several post about German song lyrics and their English translations but those were rather new songs. This time I would like go back in time and suggest a song from the 1980s by a band from the former German Democratic Republic. Karussell (carousel) is a German band from Leipzig and they…
German Poetry: Theodor Fontane – “John Maynard” Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 24, 2012
Theodor Fontane (born 30 December in Neuruppin) was a German novelist and poet. His main job was actually pharmacist – a profession also carried on by his father – but always felt called to writing. His first novel Geschwisterliebe (Siblings Love) was published in 1839, the same year he finished his education in pharmacy. Ten…
German Poetry (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe): Erlkönig – Erlking/Elfking Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 22, 2012
Here is another poem of my poem-series, so to speak. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Erlkönig” is a quite gloomy poem. By the way, the word “Erlkönig” is another term for “Schwarzer Mann” (bogeyman). Wer reitet so spätdurch Nacht und Wind?Es ist der Vatermit seinem Kind; Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem…
German humor: English for runaways – Englisch für Fortgeschrittene Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 20, 2012
English is a world language and it is the first foreign language Germans learn in school. Thus, most Germans can speak and understand English to a certain degree. Some Germans even make fun of the English language by spoofing it. The spoof is that they translate German compound words or phrases word by word. This…
German Poetry (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe): Der Zauberlehrling – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 19, 2012
I wonder whether foreign learners of German do ever deal with German literature in classroom, especially with poetry. Therefore, I thought it could be maybe interesting to you to get to know some poems that also native speakers of German have to memorize at any time in their school life. For starters, I chose Johann…
How to say that you are sick in German? Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 16, 2012
Having a cold is never pleasant but from time to time all of us unfortunately have to suffer from it. Since I’m currently in that health condition I decided, without further ado, to make a video on this topic and tell you how to say that you are not doing well in German…