I have been picking up bits of German. Very small bits. And I can't say that my german class was a complete and utter waste. I can read signs and get the gist of posters, and I can more or less get across what I want, usually with a lot of pointing. But that class did really not teach me any of the german I really needed to know. For example, I can tell you about my family and my hobbies (Ich habe ein hund und er schlaft gern), but I can't ask for directions. I can tell the time and name the days of the weeks, but we never got to colors. Really I'm not sure who comes up with the curriculum for intro language classes, but they are clearly not aimed at practicality. So here is a list of the german vocab I have picked up, so that in case any of you are in a position to write an Intro to German class, you will know what to include:
gleis: platform
hauptbahnhof: train station
bahn: train
nachste halte: next stop
wagon: train car
zeit: time
spat: late
ankunft: arrivals
abfahrt: departure
karte: ticket
essen: food
mittagsessen: lunch
schwein: pig/pork
schnitzel: country fried meat
gemuse: vegetable
wasser: water
still: not carbonated
stimmt: right
schloss: castle/palace/mansion
museum: museum
briefe: mail
briefemarken: postage
waschmunchen: laundry tokens
Clearly my vocabulary is mainly picked up in train stations and cafeterias.
You left our all of the umlauts =( Oh and Hauptbahnhof is main train station. Bahnhof is train station. Also Haltestelle is stop; halte is a verb (conjugated for first person singular) that loosely translates to hold or keep. Sorry. I'll leave the rest of your German alone =)
ReplyDeleteMy German needs help. If there was a hospital for languages, that's where my German would be. In intensive care, hooked up to an umlaut-IV.
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