Blink182 From Azerbaijan, joined Oct 1999, 5430 posts, RR: 19 Reply 1, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 10 hours ago) and read 1252 times:
Nein, Deutsche ist sehr gut! Ich lerne Deutsche in der Schule. Ich komme aus die USA.
Translation: No, german is very good! I lern german in school. I am from the USA.
I am learning german in school right now, and I love it. Amazingly, I thought it sounded a little soft compared to what I thought it would be, however words like "Frei zeit" or "free time" sound somewhat harsh, but not too bad.
blink
Give me a break, I created this username when I was a kid...
Lindy field From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 3072 posts, RR: 15 Reply 3, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 10 hours ago) and read 1249 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW HEAD DATABASE EDITOR
German is ok if it's not being screamed at you by a police officer. Dutch actually sounds a lot worse. The Dutch word for happy, "gelukkig" is a good case in point.
Hepkat From Austria, joined Aug 2000, 2341 posts, RR: 2 Reply 5, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 10 hours ago) and read 1240 times:
At first I thought German sounded very harsh, but after living in Vienna, I can actually differentiate between the various dialects. To me, Austrian German sounds a bit softer but also slow and much more sing-songy. The German German sounds more rigid, sharp and crisp, while the Austrian version can sometimes be very slurred. Forget about Swiss German, I have no idea what category that falls into.
But, if you really want to know which language sounds harsh, it's gotta be Dutch. The other day I was flipping through my satellite channels, and I found this channel and started watching it. I knew the language was German, but for some strange reason I had a really hard time understanding it. I had to listen very carefully, and even with all that effort, I could only understand 25% of what they were saying. So I concluded it must be some strange dialect, perhaps somewhere near the Swiss/Austrian border. Then they flashed some words on the screen and I realized it was Dutch! Damn, it sounded like war!
Advancedkid From United States of America, joined Jun 2000, 762 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 9 hours ago) and read 1228 times:
Wish you all the best, Blink, with your German.
I chose not to correct what you have written.
I think this is your school teacher's job.
Hepkat, I enjoyed your remarks very much !
Hepkat, Do you recognize someone from Hamburg
or even further north?
Regards,
Advanced
Hepkat From Austria, joined Aug 2000, 2341 posts, RR: 2 Reply 8, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 8 hours ago) and read 1219 times:
Advanced, my hearing isn't quite that refined, yet. I can definitely tell that someone's from the north or south of Germany. I can tell if someone's from the west or south of Austria. But I can't really say which city someone comes from exactly. I think I'll need a few more years for that!
But I've come a long way. When I first came here, I couldn't tell the difference between an Austrian and German!
Vulindlela From Germany, joined Apr 2002, 468 posts, RR: 1 Reply 9, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 8 hours ago) and read 1217 times:
Yes Blink, I too wish you all the best in your German studies. It is good for young Americans to take an interest in foreign language, something that not many americans of any age do.
"If you take everything I've accomplished in my entire life and condense it down into 1 day, it looks decent!"
Advancedkid From United States of America, joined Jun 2000, 762 posts, RR: 2 Reply 10, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 8 hours ago) and read 1217 times:
HI Hepkat,
Thanks for replying. I agree with your
remarks about the different German dialects
you mentioned. I grew up in northern Germany
myself and guess what??!!! I 'd take a girl
with a Viennese dialect anytime as a wife.
Hopefully it would happen one day!!!
If not, I'd then prefer a girl from either northern
Germany or a girl whom I'd teach German myself !
Regards,
Advanced
IMissPiedmont From United States of America, joined May 2001, 6203 posts, RR: 43 Reply 11, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 7 hours ago) and read 1207 times:
I am not at all prejudiced. "You vill agree wis me, I know vat I am talking about!"
I can imitate Hitler's niece, I mean my ex mother in law, better verbally than I can in person.
PS : Don't flame me for this, My ex calls her "Hitler's Niece" as well.
OK, I know. Zis is not ze german language.
What is it with all the "is there a possibilty airline X will.." threads? The answer it'll is possible.
Acidradio From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 1855 posts, RR: 10 Reply 12, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 7 hours ago) and read 1204 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW FORUM MODERATOR
A significant portion of English is based off of German, which helps in the learning process. You would be amazed how many sentences in German almost sound like an English sentence. German used to be regarded as the technical language and if you were an engineer or scientist, it definately was helpful to know German.
Lt-AWACS From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 13, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 6 hours ago) and read 1193 times:
when I hear German it makes me feel like invading France.... j/k that was a joke nobody freak out.
While I don't speak it (I Speak Spanish as a second Lng) I don't think it sounds that harsh. it seems movies and media always portray it in a harsh light, i.e. whenever folks hear German it is in a War movie...
ILOVEA340 From United States of America, joined Oct 1999, 2100 posts, RR: 5 Reply 14, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 5 hours ago) and read 1189 times:
I wuerd gaern sage das schweezerdeueutsch eifachs beschte isch.
anyways swiss german in almost impossible to write without umlauts.
Swissgabe From Switzerland, joined Jan 2000, 5265 posts, RR: 37 Reply 15, posted (11 years 1 month 1 week 4 hours ago) and read 1186 times:
ILOVEA340, thats what I wanted to say...
Swiss German and the best is, that no one can understand u, exept a few smart Germans and other Swiss, and there are not a lot of them
But I like a lot of different languages as: Japanese, Thai, Bahsa Malaysia, Finnish, Russian etc...
Oh yes, German can be very nice. But always subject if the person speaks very nice "High" German. There are a few bad slangs I don't like at all...
Smooth as silk - Royal Orchid Service /// Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens - Springbok
Klaus From Germany, joined Jul 2001, 20853 posts, RR: 55 Reply 16, posted (11 years 1 month 6 days 23 hours ago) and read 1164 times:
Lt-AWACS: when I hear German it makes me feel like invading France.... j/k that was a joke nobody freak out.
Wasn´t that a quote from Groucho Marx?
Lt-AWACS: While I don't speak it (I Speak Spanish as a second Lng) I don't think it sounds that harsh. it seems movies and media always portray it in a harsh light, i.e. whenever folks hear German it is in a War movie...
The way german was used under the former militaristic regimes is very alien to today´s german culture which is very much civilian. The difference is quite obvious in the language.
And, of course, "german" in foreign war movies is again very different and hardly recognizable...
Ndebele From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 2895 posts, RR: 25 Reply 19, posted (11 years 1 month 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 1125 times:
Wow, I did not know that so many a.net members speak German! But somehow I think it was a bad idea when British Airways decided to call their German subsidiary "Deutsche BA" - nobody on this forum seems to make a difference between "deutsch" and "deutsche" any more - it's always "Deutsche"
It's very funny for me to watch the German/Swiss TV channel 3Sat. Some programs are produced by German TV stations, some are produced by Swiss TV stations. However when there is a program produced by Swiss TV, they sometimes add German subtitles...
I used to work for Swissport here in Germany, and I have to say that Swiss people really speak as clearly as possible when abroad, so it's not hard to understand them. I prefer the Swiss dialect over the Austrian dialect, especially the Viennese dialect - it always sounds like if the person suffers real pain when talking.
FDXmech From United States of America, joined Mar 2000, 3251 posts, RR: 38 Reply 20, posted (11 years 1 month 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 1123 times:
>>>ich liebe futbol und party<<<
The Southern German dialect would literally translate into, "ich liebe futbol und party....yall."
Matt86 From Germany, joined May 2001, 254 posts, RR: 0 Reply 21, posted (11 years 1 month 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 1120 times:
I wuerd gaern sage das schweezerdeueutsch eifachs beschte isch.
hmm... I think this isn't swiss dialect but Swabian Dialect ("Schwäbisch"). This Region lies between Bavaria in the southeast and Baden-Württemberg.
I can't say whether German sound harsh... it's normal for me. But I think that most other languages are spoken faster (especially Italian and French IMHO)
And in German, you really pronounce each letter... in French you normally don't speak the last letters...
German Dialects are sometimes very crazy. Each state/region, nearly each city has its own dialect.
For me as a Frankish,Bavarian and a little bit Saxon its easy to understand this dialects (and perhaps also to speak it) Most other dialects (also when spoken extremly) are easy to understand, but for example Swiss and Frisian are really hard to understand.
A small example for Swiss/Frankish:
Last year I was skiing in Ischgl at the Austrian/Swiss boarder. We had lunch in a self-service restaurant. All tables were full; so we asked some people whether they are leaving: "gä'en sie" and they answered "Gruezie". (good day in swiss dialect)
That was funny
Indianguy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 22, posted (11 years 1 month 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 1104 times:
In India, German is one of the foreign language options u have from Grade 8 to 10. The other and more popular choice is French.
I dont think German is harsh as such though i do thimk that French is kind of feminine. U know almost gay-ish. German is more *masculine*.
I chose German more because of the better grading system for the subject than for any love of the topic. But i fell in Love with German culture after that, and by the time i passed out, i was pretty much hooekd. we had a fantastic teacher which made all the difference.
Much later in college,i joined up with the local chapter of Max Mueller Bhuvan for a 3 month course, where our teacher was a German national who spoke better Hindi than i do! Way cool! (Though i still have to figure out the grammar!). Unfortunately i have never got an opportunity to use what i learnt. So thats a problem.
Its nice really to learn other languages and cultures.
Klaus From Germany, joined Jul 2001, 20853 posts, RR: 55 Reply 24, posted (11 years 1 month 6 days 15 hours ago) and read 1084 times:
Takkyu_Ishino: a girl who speaks german really turns me on
Why did I just have to think of "a fish called Wanda"...?
25 Hurricane: I chose not to correct what you have written. I think this is your school teacher's job No..really...what did Blink do wrong? I would have said the sa
26 ILOVEA340: this is very much swiss german its just that without actually saying it it is hard portray this. Remember you have to fit in all of the harsh ch's and
27 Takkyu_Ishino: flichen! down where it's better, down where it's wetter ...
28 Blink182: Hey thanks guys . Just out of curiosity(mostly for the Germans,Swiss, or Austrians here), can you all tell an American-German accent? blink
29 B737-700: Blink182, I don't think it's possible to write such an accent. But I can assure you it sounds very funny sometimes.
30 ILOVEA340: the american accent in german has to be one o the worst. The french and italians at least make german sound nice or romantic but the americans their (
31 Rickster: Ndebele, that was a good one - you made me laugh, the vienna slang sometimes can be very painful - definately Blink182, i´m sure that most native ger
32 Avion: Blink182: Yes it is very easy to tell. But most people think that it sounds really cool and its more of a positive accent. Its not like when french pe
33 Banco: Klaus: And, of course, "german" in foreign war movies is again very different and hardly recognizable... Klaus, I'm genuinely curious about this. I do
34 B737-700: I'm with you on this one, Avion ! Hehe.
35 Xtristarx: Ich finde deutsch klingt scheiße und ich bin deutscher. Ich spreche noch englisch und dänisch und beides klingt viel besser. translation: i think ge
36 Klaus: Banco: Klaus, I'm genuinely curious about this. I don't speak German, and when these films are on I always wonder what lengths the producers go to and
37 Klaus: Xtristarx: Ich finde deutsch klingt scheiße und ich bin deutscher. Ich spreche noch englisch und dänisch und beides klingt viel besser. Hmmm... the
38 EL-AL: The first thing that I think about when we speak about this language is the Holocast & the WW2. I know that u people think "what this crazy man want?"
39 VapourTrails: I love it! I watch Das Journal as often as I can! VT = Dunnunda
40 Hepkat: Well, this is one American with almost perfect pronunciation. As a matter of fact, the question I get asked most frequently is if I was born in Austri
41 RayChuang: I think when people think about German dialects, there are three distinct ones: High German (pretty much the German we learn in school, I think), Low
42 Hepkat: From an English speaker's point of view, I don't think the umlauts are that difficult for English speakers to pronounce. We actually have remnants of
43 B737-700: It must really be hard for non native German speakers to learn the cases. Very tough job ! "Der Baum" "Das Auto" "Die Kinder" ...
44 Banco: Hepkat, you're confusing me a little here. Are you talking about cases or gender in relation to English/German? In terms of gender, English does not p
45 Racko: ""Der Baum" "Das Auto" "Die Kinder"" It's even more complicated Der Mann - male Das Tor - neutral Die Frau - female Die Männer - male plural
46 Hepkat: Banco, reread my post. Cases, on the other hand, are a completely different story. We used to have as many as in German, but nowadays we probably use
47 Airsicknessbag: The problem about the cases, Banco, is that the German words (the combination article/noun) is changed depending on which case is used. Example: THE B
48 Hepkat: Banco, English does not have as many cases as other languages, simply because our language is arranged differenctly. In the case of languages that emp
49 VirginLover: Ich spreche Deustch! This is my 3rd year taking German, and I'm struggling with the grammar now, my public school never taught grammar in English, so
50 Decman: I am taking German 5 right now, and still trying to figure out the grammer. I still love the language and culture, I love the way it sounds and flows.
51 Hurricane: Supposedly one vote seperated English & German...German would have been the language of worldwide business, ATC, etc.
52 Blink182: Yeah, umlauts are pretty hard to master(especially from an american) I usually have to switch to more of a british accent when I say words like: Der B
53 B737-700: No it actually is "Der Bruder" but "Österreich"
54 Blink182: B737-700, for "Bruder", I meant in the plural. In that case, it would be "Die Bruder." blink
55 B737-700: Oh ok i see, so then it is "Die Brüder"
56 Rickster: Honestly i mean our male/female/neutral definations are somehow not logical. Der Löffel - spoon masc. Die Gabel - fork fem. Das Messer - knife neutr.
57 SEVEN_FIFTY7: Why most non-English languages assign genders to inanimate objects is beyond me. The last I checked, automobiles, stoves, televisions, sofas, and chai
58 Rickster: Btw, are you natives using the new spelling? Im not sure yet if i shall like it or not... It´s kind of "not finished" work. I have no problem to deal
59 Racko: Yes, i agree. I think they should have replaced all ß with "ss". At the moment, I'm using kind of a mixed spelling I use e.g. dass instead of daß, b
60 Matt86: Btw, are you natives using the new spelling? I normally use it, the new rules with three consonants and ss/s/ß are good. But they have also changed
61 Ndebele: The new spelling rules with the ß are sensible. Replacing all ß with "ss" would create confusions. There is a rule that "ss" makes the vowel short.
62 Ndebele: Matt86: I agree with you that those new writings you mention are strange. Call me old-schoolish, but I still write it "Telephon"
63 Klaus: The new rules just try to force the most common mistakes on everybody else as well. Horrible!!
64 VirginLover: German sounds funny when words taken from French are used, you have to switch from talking from the back of your throat to your nose!
65 Hepkat: 757: The reason many of these languages simply can't get rid of grammatical gender is because many times the gender is tied in with the rules for gram
66 SEVEN_FIFTY7: Wow, that's AMAZING Hepkat. Thanks for your examples. I was really only half-way kidding when I asked if Germans/French/Spanish speakers think of an i
67 Hurricane: Ya, being bilingual is one of my life's goals...I guess I am getting closer every German class...When I was in Deutschland I could at least get around
68 Hepkat: It's great, cause when travelling and sitting next to other people, you can understand what they're saying, even about you, without them knowing! I wa
69 Klaus: Hepkat: I'll never forget the shocked shitless look on their faces - a blond haired black man speaking German with an Austrian accent! Hehehe... I can
70 Hepkat: Klaus, we do this unofficially in English only for admiration and rhetorical reasons; it has nothing to do with grammar. You usually find this done in
71 Hurricane: So I offered them help, in German The same thing happened to me in Germany... A few friends of mine were eating (with me) on the Bodensee (
72 Klaus: Hepkat: we do this unofficially in English only for admiration and rhetorical reasons; it has nothing to do with grammar. You usually find this done i
73 Blink182: I used to take Japanese(my school required it from 3rd to 6th grade, but I have forgotten most of it) and my brother and I were in Vancouver and there
74 LH423: I'm jealous of all you who speak German. My dad started to teach me German about 7-8 years but we stopped, and I've subsequently forgot most of what I
75 Blink182: LH423- Thats exactly what my german teacher told me. "I can teach you all of the language and german customs, but going there will teach you 100 times
76 Rickster: Matt86, yes some words definately look strange to me as well now. Majonäse and Ketschup (why not Ketschap?? wich seems more "logical)), god what a sp
77 Rickster: or is it Topfenkolatsche (Duden) he he
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that was a joke nobody freak out.
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