the other side of tradition is repression
In celebration of my first few steps into another culture’s language, I watched Run Lola Run tonight. The movie is fantastic. Listening to people speak a language that you so desperately want to converse fluently in is doubly fantastic. It’s a strange position to be in - envying an entire nation their tongue. The particular struggle I face is overcoming the lack of pronunciation an American socialization provides, since German has two or three extra sounds that don’t exist in spoken English.
I mentioned to someone my current summer plans of self-teaching myself this language, as far as I can do with just books and audio lessons. “I’m trying to teach myself German.” She responded, “Are you sure, Ryan? I mean, that’s an entire country.”
My only complaint so far with the self-teaching is that the audio lessons seem to set me up for approaching a German and begging that [s]he speak English to me. Phrases like “ich verstehe nicht” and “aber nur ein Bisschen” are not precisely empowering. However, I will conquer my fears and tackle this language like… Jason tackled the Minotaur. Even though I don’t believe there was a physical scuffle involved. But that’s ok. Tonight I will partake in a Nightime Nyquil and that’s all that matters, at the moment. Mach’s gut.
June 9th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
What product are you using, out of curiousity? I admire your … gusto … but German is probably not the easiest language to try and teach oneself.
(On the other hand, once you’ve learned it, it’s a pretty flippin’ sweet language.)
Also, if you liked Lola, check out The Princess and the Warrior (same director, same lead actress.)
Good luck!
June 11th, 2006 at 1:00 am
I am using Pimsleur’s auditory lessons and Swick’s “The Everything Learning German Book”. Together they seem to work well. The lessons by CD (now iPod) are very easy for me since they work well with my walking commutes.
A few people I know can speak fluent German (one is from Berlin) so I have opportunities to try and discourse with them. But so far, I am restricted to telling people I can only moderately speak the language.
I have seen The Princess and the Warrior actually, and I am a big fan of Franka Potente and Lars Rudolph.
Perhaps we shall converse one day.
June 12th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Ack, I’m not such a fan of some parts of the Berlin accent. From what I recall, the “ch” sound is a fairly hard “ck,” for example.
Have you seen Goodbye, Lenin? Head On? I enjoyed Nowhere in Africa, but it is paced a bit slow. Mostly Martha is also wonderful, as is a film from 1990, The Nasty Girl, and there’s a lot of slow dialogue in both of those that makes comprehension relatively easy.
I’ve also run across several audiobooks on iTunes available in German, which might be another way to improve comprehension and help gain an “ear” for the language.