a1/1 an introductory lesson to german (for speakers of english)
DESCRIPTION
Ever so often it is being said that German is a hard language to learn and that German society is ruled by strict norms and sometimes somewhat unusual values. Yet, every year, many people strive to learn the language for very different reasons. Here, you will gain an insight into what it is that really constitutes German society and how we bring language and culture into concept. -- Come and see for yourselfTRANSCRIPT
German Trial Lesson
The trail lesson is approximately 30 minutes long and constitutes an
introduction to the German language.
Ever so often it is being said that German is a hard language to learn and that German society is ruled by strict norms and sometimes somewhat unusual values. Yet, every year, many people strive to learn our language for very different reasons.
Here, you will gain an insight into what it is that really constitutes German society and how we bring language and culture into concept.
Welcome to your introductory course on German language!
First of all, let us explore what you already know of German by just being you!
The Great advantagefor those who speak English
is thelinguistic correlation
between both languages
Have a look at these words and see whether you
understand their meaning …
Maus
Haus
Arm
Hand
Finger
Ball
Bus
Eis
Kindergarten
Vater
Mutter
Sommer
Winter
Schuh
Land
Sand
Gras
Glas
Did you understand their meaning?
Here they are againMaus
Haus Arm Hand
Finger
Ball
BusEis
Kindergarten
Vater
Mutter
Sommer
Winter
Schuh
Land
Sand
Gras
Glas
You have just discovered something very important!
German and English belong to the samelinguistic family.
So:
Think of German
as an English dialect
.
Here are some more examples to help you understand this concept
…
laut – loudfein – finegut – goodweiß – whiterot – redgrün – greenbraun – browngroß – great (big, tall)
When looking at these words, you can see that some changes in spelling and pronunciation occur.
Generally speaking however, the similarities are far more dominating.
Read carefully and follow the changing sounds.
laut – loudfein – finegut – goodweiß – whiterot – redgrün – greenbraun – browngroß – great (big, tall)
Time and distance gradually contributed to both languages evolving separately as cultural concepts and thus language
grew more and more apart.
It’s a bit like magic really. But great magicians need practice, too.
Metamorphoses
However, observe how you can easily find the right word by adding or taking away a couple of letters.
Observe letters and sounds
The secret of the famous long words
In German, words are open to variation. In difficultsituations you simply create your own.
a slipper
is a shoe that is worn inside a house
1+1 = 2
The secret of the famous long words
In German, words are open to variation. In difficultsituations you simply create your own.
a slipper
is a shoe that is worn inside a house
1+1 = 2
Try to create your own
aglove
is a shoe worn on a hand
Try to create your own
aglove
is a shoe worn on a hand
Now, it’s your turn
?
?
?
?
Now, it’s your turn
? Fingerhandschuh
? Handball
? Gartenhaus
? Fingerring
Like most other European languages, German is closely related to Latin.
Not only do we use many words deriving from Latin but our grammar is based on that of
ancient Rome.
It is fairly simple and straight forward …
Syntax
Meine
Mutter ist
gut. – My mother is good.
Mein Name ist
Karl. – My name is Carl.
Let’s summarise
All
nouns (persons, physical and visual objects) begin with a C
apital letter
Meine
Mutter Mein Name
Basic German syntax equals that of English sentences.
Both follow the rule:
Subject - Verb - Object
Meine Mutter ist gut.
My mother is good.
Their Indirect Article ‘a’
changes to ‘ein’
for masculine or neutral nouns, and ‘eine’ for feminine nouns.
ein
Name eine
Mutter ein
Haus
Their Gender is determined by the Direct Article ‘the’
which changes to ‘der’
for masculine, ‘die’
for feminine and ‘das’ for neutral nouns.
All nouns are Gender‐relatedMasculine
Feminine
Neutral
der
Name die
Mutter das Haus
Similarly the possessive pronoun ‘my/mine’
changes to ‘mein’
for masculine and neutral nouns, and to ‘meine’ for feminine nouns.
In the Plural, however, all nouns obey to the feminine form of ‘the’, ‘a’
and ‘my’!
See if you find the equivalent in the other language
See if you find the equivalent in the other language
Can you create your very own sentences by exchanging words?
Can you create your very own sentences by exchanging words?
You have just mastered the first steps to learning German