Day 3: der Wasserhahn, the faucet. Which, now that I look at it, means water rooster. ...Ok. I won’t forget this again. #deutsch #deutschlernen #german #leadwithlanguages
Omg, y’all. Are you watching Dark on Nexflix?? Like, you all recommended it, but you were not kidding. I’m getting goosebumps like my whole life was planned and leading me to watch this tv show.
May I just say:: come for the German lessons. Stay. For. The. P.L.O.T. I’m on season 3, and this show:
1. Never lightens up, but like in a good way. Like I love a drama, but the Germans are next level. Comic relief suddenly feels very American to me, and I’m here for it and taking notes.
2. Is such a good show. The plot is never ending. If you love Sci-fi, time travel, paradoxes, slow-burn reveals, complex story lines, human psychology, and an unexpected anti-hero, then this show is for you. Grab some popcorn and prepare to get lost in the best of ways. Season 3 of Westworld could never.
3. Is an amazing aid in learning German. As someone who is treading the line between intermediate and advanced fluency, this has been an incredible bridge to help me fill in the gaps. I’m finding that I can listen without watching with subtitles and know what’s going on. I usually watch in German with subtitles (personally I love to read a movie) but there are English subtitles and English dubbing. The language can be complex and really pushes my knowledge, but it is also very poetic at times and I find myself pulled in and really caring about what exactly each character is saying. I feel motivated to look up what I don’t know. German and English don’t always translate directly across, and watching this show gets me interested in understanding the differences between translations. The plot helps me retain what I learned. If you are advanced, intermediate or just want to jump into the deep end and get pulled along, this show is a really great way into entertaining yourself into learning German as a second language. 10/10 would recommend. It is very convoluted and, well, um, Dark, at times. If sci-fi and slow-burn, complex plots leave you cold, I would recommend giving it a shot to see if it’s your speed first.
Day 7: Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische; Frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritze! Was it’s das?!?
Day 17: Ländlich. So I’m the son of a cattle rancher from Nebraska. The nearest town is 35 miles away. So my word to describe my hometown is “ländlich”, meaning ‘rural’. This is a word I didn’t know I needed!
The jolly bear grinned, it’s red scarf jauntily wrapped about, shielding the bear’s neck from the bitter cold. “No,” the bear laughed, “I’m a ghost.” His hearty chuckle echoed through the night time wind...
Day 5: Rüpelhafte. The bar scene from Inglorious Basterds is a gem. My ear always pinned this word down when Michael Fassbender’s character was scolding a German soldier. Rüpelhafte is translated in the movie as ‘boorish’ but I’ve also found definitions meaning ‘lousy’, ‘bullying’, and ‘bawdy’. It also has a way of rolling off the tongue.
Day 15: Da steppt der Bär. Y’all, I didn’t know this little gem existed. Da steppt der Bär. Literally, “There tap dances the bear.” Meaning, it will be a great party. Also, upon further research I find that ‘steppen’ can mean ‘quilting’, or ‘knitting’. Although I know it means dancing, I’m going to be thinking of a wild party with a quilting bear in the corner because THATs the party I want to know all about!
Kartoffellöffel: potato spoon! Always and forever my favorite word in German. #leadwithlanguages #deutsch #german #bilingual #Languagelearning #linguistics #kartoffellöffel #lieblingswort
Day 24: die Höhle. I’ve been binge watching Dark on Netflix, and honestly it’s my new favorite show. The word that constantly recurs is die Höhle, the cave. I highly recommend the show. If you love moody foreign films with a the occasional dash (or more) of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Secret Societies, and Time Travel, mixed with a juicy cop drama, then this show is so for you. And it’s all in German, so I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve watched it with and without English subtitles just to get a sense of the dialogue as it translates, and I’ve got to say it’s weirdly poetic and interesting. Anyway, Höhle!