Tattoo thread
- Thread starter Jamie b
- Start date
Interesting that Carol put a photo of Beckham up. I think he has disfigured himself with the tacky and tasteless 'ink' he's had done.
I hate them with a passion. People who are covered in them look like the great unwashed. Ducks for cover......
I hate them with a passion. People who are covered in them look like the great unwashed. Ducks for cover......
Bing said:
That is the only thing that people who learnt German at school in the UK remember!
Stuart Truman said:
you'll appreciate this. It's from Mark Twain's book A tramp abroad. Great read and funny.
A person who has not studied German can form no idea of what a
perplexing language it is
Surely there is not another language that is so slipshod and systemless,
and so slippery and elusive to the grasp. One is washed about in it,
hither and thither, in the most helpless way; and when at last he thinks
he has captured a rule which offers firm ground to take a rest on amid
the general rage and turmoil of the ten parts of speech, he turns over
the page and reads, "Let the pupil make careful note of the following
EXCEPTIONS." He runs his eye down and finds that there are more
exceptions to the rule than instances of it. So overboard he goes again,
to hunt for another Ararat and find another quicksand. Such has been,
and continues to be, my experience.
I found German very easy to learn actually, much more so than Spanish and French which most people find easier. I got like 99% in my Zertifikat Deutsch when I did it in Zurich. I don't understand why people find it hard. German is a great language and Swiss German even more so.
RubyBlueZ4MC said:
I'm one of those I can also say straight on ... And I'm 14 ... All really useful stuff.
I also did Latin .... I can say nothing at all...
And French where my one phrase is "the monkey is in the tree" taken from a jack dee sketch ... Some brains mine included just fail at languages but excel in others areas .... Haven't worked out what they are yet though
pvr said:Yeah, German is rather complicated. I had it at school for 5 years and having lived "next door" for years, I am pretty fluent.
Thank goodness I did not learn the bluntness though
I have a good Dutch friend, and he's pretty "to the point". He told me that I'm an honorary Dutchman as I'm pretty "to the point" too and he liked it
bigdog said:
All verbs at the end of a sentence makes for interesting listening. It's all a bit "Yoda"
It was described to me as a polite language, you have to wait until someone has finished speaking before you know what they're talking about!Sorry. Looks to be a thread hijack.
Being an American that is only going to be in Germany for 5 years. It ends up being a tough decision on whether to jump into the language with both feet. The biggest hindrance I have seen is the German's propensity for being OCD about every thing. I once was asked by a German fella at our local bakery where i lived. I answered him in German Ich lebe hier in Mölschbach. He just stood there with the blankest of blank looks and said nothing. I asked my German friend who I was having coffee with. What had just happened. He said I was just the slightest bit off on pronouncing the umlat. Even though I had said "Ich lebe hier in Mölschbach" all the while pointing at the floor as well. He still refused to even try to understand. And the fella lives in the same village. He could have at least followed with a Wo? In Germany there is apparently no knowledge of context. It was at that point I threw in the towel and gave up. Plus so many know English. That the moment they hear your accent. They just answer in English. I want to learn. But the Germans make it much more difficult than it already is.
Being an American that is only going to be in Germany for 5 years. It ends up being a tough decision on whether to jump into the language with both feet. The biggest hindrance I have seen is the German's propensity for being OCD about every thing. I once was asked by a German fella at our local bakery where i lived. I answered him in German Ich lebe hier in Mölschbach. He just stood there with the blankest of blank looks and said nothing. I asked my German friend who I was having coffee with. What had just happened. He said I was just the slightest bit off on pronouncing the umlat. Even though I had said "Ich lebe hier in Mölschbach" all the while pointing at the floor as well. He still refused to even try to understand. And the fella lives in the same village. He could have at least followed with a Wo? In Germany there is apparently no knowledge of context. It was at that point I threw in the towel and gave up. Plus so many know English. That the moment they hear your accent. They just answer in English. I want to learn. But the Germans make it much more difficult than it already is.
I had this thing once when learning German and I think it's better to say Ich wohne in this case. I know what you mean about hearing everyone respond in English, not helpful when learning a foreign language. I had this in Switzerland as everyone speaks English and the Swiss Germans hate speaking Hoch Deutsch. They actually dislike it so much they'd rather answer in English.. Also gives them a chance to practice
I've had far better experiences using my German in Germany as found the natives really encourage me.
I've had far better experiences using my German in Germany as found the natives really encourage me.
wow!
Craigza, how long did that take?
