Here are some of the questions that I have found the answers to while studying German:
1) why are some letters capitalized while others aren't?
I found out that nouns, pronouns, and names are all capitalized. This is why there are so many capitalized words in the middle of sentences.
2). How different is the pronunciation from English?
I find it very different. There are some rules that are opposite than rules in English. For example, w is pronounced like a v. A j is also pronounced like a y. Also, words that have two vowels together, you pronounce the second vowel, not the first.
3). Will German people be able to understand my accent?
They will be able to understand my accent, I think it is because some English is based on German language, so the accent is a bit easier for them to understand.
4). How difficult is it to learn?
Extremely. My husband mentions that even German people need help speaking the language! Reading is a bit easier, but speaking and writing is very difficult. There are so many rules and pronunciation that it makes speaking very tough.
5) what are some mistakes English speakers tend to make?
They don't pronunciate consonants correctly. They tend to slur the words. They also use the wrong article of der, die, das. Another thing is that they say sentence structures backwards.
6) what are some similarities to English?
Like I mentioned above, some of English is based on German. There are a lot of words that are the same or sound similar. Fish, computer, and ketchup for example are all the same in German and English.
7)what are some major differences between English and German?
The biggest one is that they have articles in German. Also, all verbs and adjectives change with which article it is accompanied with.
8) what are some cultural rules?
Germans tend to keep to themselves. It is rude to have your hands in your lap while eating. It is rude to let a girl go through a door first; the man should go through first just in case there is any danger so they can check. Germans work really hard so they can take a lot of vacations to enjoy their lives. All stores are closed on Sundays. Germans will correct each other in speech if they say something wrong.
9) why are German words long?
What I found out, is that the words start off small, but build upon themselves. For example, zimmer means room. So any room is going to automatically have zimmer at the end, and something in the beginning. This is how the words start to get so long. Germans also like a lot of vowels too, so this adds to the length of each word
10) what are extra symbols or letters used in German?
There are three extra letters in the German alphabet. They also have umlauts and accents over certain letters that change the way you say each word.
Overall, I am happy with the progress I have made to learning this language. It is very difficult, and I have been trying to devote time to learning. I am not anywhere near able to hold a conversation with someone in Germany, but I am happy with being able to understand as many words as I do. Because I didn't feel like I could actually hold a grammatically correct conversation without my husband writing it for me and memorizing it, I decided that I would have a video of me with the flashcards of the words I have learned. This definitely shows how much time I have devoted to learning, and by doing this, I think that over the summer I will obtain my goal of feeling comfortable enough to have a conversation in German, maybe with my in-laws! That would be a great surprise for them :)
1) why are some letters capitalized while others aren't?
I found out that nouns, pronouns, and names are all capitalized. This is why there are so many capitalized words in the middle of sentences.
2). How different is the pronunciation from English?
I find it very different. There are some rules that are opposite than rules in English. For example, w is pronounced like a v. A j is also pronounced like a y. Also, words that have two vowels together, you pronounce the second vowel, not the first.
3). Will German people be able to understand my accent?
They will be able to understand my accent, I think it is because some English is based on German language, so the accent is a bit easier for them to understand.
4). How difficult is it to learn?
Extremely. My husband mentions that even German people need help speaking the language! Reading is a bit easier, but speaking and writing is very difficult. There are so many rules and pronunciation that it makes speaking very tough.
5) what are some mistakes English speakers tend to make?
They don't pronunciate consonants correctly. They tend to slur the words. They also use the wrong article of der, die, das. Another thing is that they say sentence structures backwards.
6) what are some similarities to English?
Like I mentioned above, some of English is based on German. There are a lot of words that are the same or sound similar. Fish, computer, and ketchup for example are all the same in German and English.
7)what are some major differences between English and German?
The biggest one is that they have articles in German. Also, all verbs and adjectives change with which article it is accompanied with.
8) what are some cultural rules?
Germans tend to keep to themselves. It is rude to have your hands in your lap while eating. It is rude to let a girl go through a door first; the man should go through first just in case there is any danger so they can check. Germans work really hard so they can take a lot of vacations to enjoy their lives. All stores are closed on Sundays. Germans will correct each other in speech if they say something wrong.
9) why are German words long?
What I found out, is that the words start off small, but build upon themselves. For example, zimmer means room. So any room is going to automatically have zimmer at the end, and something in the beginning. This is how the words start to get so long. Germans also like a lot of vowels too, so this adds to the length of each word
10) what are extra symbols or letters used in German?
There are three extra letters in the German alphabet. They also have umlauts and accents over certain letters that change the way you say each word.
Overall, I am happy with the progress I have made to learning this language. It is very difficult, and I have been trying to devote time to learning. I am not anywhere near able to hold a conversation with someone in Germany, but I am happy with being able to understand as many words as I do. Because I didn't feel like I could actually hold a grammatically correct conversation without my husband writing it for me and memorizing it, I decided that I would have a video of me with the flashcards of the words I have learned. This definitely shows how much time I have devoted to learning, and by doing this, I think that over the summer I will obtain my goal of feeling comfortable enough to have a conversation in German, maybe with my in-laws! That would be a great surprise for them :)