Robert Enke – A great guy is missed Posted by holger on Feb 2, 2010
For all soccer fans November 10th 2009 was a horrible day that shocked Germany and the rest of many soccer interested countries. Robert Enke, national goalkeeper and captain of his Mannschaft (team) Hannover 96 committed suicide due to depressions that he was suffering from for many years. He kept his Krankheit (disease) hidden from…
Die Mauer muss weg! (The wall needs to go!) – The anniversary of the German unification is coming closer Posted by holger on Feb 2, 2010
Anybody who has an interest in German culture and history remembers the pictures on TV about the wall coming down. I myself was one of the lucky ones who were able to go to Berlin in the winter of 1989 and collect a piece of the Berliner Mauer (the Berlin Wall). We saw the East…
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…