adventures in german Archives - Page 2 of 2

Christmas in Germany: Of Sacrificial Santas and Festive Meats

December 21, 2009
by cat

I love Christmastime in Germany. Yes, it’s a hard time of year to be so far away from family and friends in the US, but as if to make up for it, Germany provides a Christmas experience so intense that there is a whole tourist industry in Europe built on enjoying it. That being said, there are a few seasonal traditions here that every year remind me I’m not in Kansas anymore. Read more “Christmas in Germany: Of Sacrificial Santas and Festive Meats” →

Crossing Cultures

Adventures in German Part 2: The Beauty of Expression

November 12, 2009
by cat

“Boy, those Germans have a word for everything!” — Homer Simpson

I am continually astounded by the beauty of my second language. I do not mean the sounds made by the voice when speaking it, which often sound like gravel being crushed by angry chainsaws (and sometimes feel like it too!). I mean the elegance, poetry, and sometimes incredible efficiency of expression in the German language.

German words are often complete pictures in and of themselves. They can be poetically descriptive and at the same time observationally efficient. Read more “Adventures in German Part 2: The Beauty of Expression” →

Crossing Cultures

Adventures in German Part 1: “Floppysheep”

September 1, 2009
by cat

At the beginning of my relationship with my German husband, I was determined to learn his language. Not strictly necessary, of course, as he speaks perfect English. But the hard-working masochist in me said “hey, turnabout is fair play!”

One of my many failures in the language has to do with pronounciation of German vowel sounds. In addition to the problematic umlauted vowels (“ä”, “ö”, “ü”) — which every beginner in the German language knows are built only for mouths that have spoken German since birth — the German language includes subtler differences in long and short vowels. These are easy for English-speakers to pronounce, but dastardly hard to recognize and remember where and when they appear. Read more “Adventures in German Part 1: “Floppysheep”” →