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[cloudwalking]

Boo. Guess I have to use my american card again which kind of sucks. :/ I just sort of naturally assumed it would be a card you could use online and use as debt like the US does.

yeah i was surprised to learn this too when i came here. debit and credit cards are always separate here as far as i know, and yeah it does suck. more cards clogging up my wallet for no good reason.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

yeah i was surprised to learn this too when i came here. debit and credit cards are always separate here as far as i know, and yeah it does suck. more cards clogging up my wallet for no good reason.

It's just frustrating since with the sometimes crappy delivery companies (Hermes is fucking garbage) a package never gets delivered and when I'm refunded it's in euros and I may lose money because of the exchange rate. Sucks too since if your only here a short time it doesn't make sense to apply for an actual credit card or something to shop online with instead. Just surprising to see it be different.

 

[RedSwirl]

 

[Donos]

a good one.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Maybe someone here can help me since I didn't get an answer on the gaming side. Does anyone have a PS3 and uses PSN in germany? Are all the games in german? I would assume some might be in english no? I've been looking at rpgs for PS1 on it and all I see is the summary of the game and then it explaining that you can only have it active on two machines and then the copyright info but I see nothing about what language. Am I missing something or all they all in german and I don't have to worry about it? Thanks if anyone can help me.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Maybe someone here can help me since I didn't get an answer on the gaming side. Does anyone have a PS3 and uses PSN in germany? Are all the games in german? I would assume some might be in english no? I've been looking at rpgs for PS1 on it and all I see is the summary of the game and then it explaining that you can only have it active on two machines and then the copyright info but I see nothing about what language. Am I missing something or all they all in german and I don't have to worry about it? Thanks if anyone can help me.

Err, it mostly uses the language you set your PS3 to. I bought the German edition of BF3, but have my PS3 set to English, because I can't stand that weird German stuff they say in those games.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Err, it mostly uses the language you set your PS3 to. I bought the German edition of BF3, but have my PS3 set to English, because I can't stand that weird German stuff they say in those games.

But would all of those games be translated? Like especially old PS1 rpgs? I'm just curious about them because of all the text in those games and I think it was Arc the lad that is up on the european store that Vic and monkeypaw put out it only in english and was just curious if the older games were like this at all. I'm assuming any PS3 game I buy would just be in german, I just wasn't sure if that was the case with old RPGs.

Edit: WTF, games I bought in the US store are in German if I switch the system language to german. My mind is fucking blown. I have to try this with ps1 games now and not just PSN games. Holy shit.

Edit 2: Doesn't work for any ps1 games I have. RPGs or otherwise. :/

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

you're looking for them to be in german, oder?

it'd be a great way to better your german as you're dilly dallying

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

you're looking for them to be in german, oder?

it'd be a great way to better your german as you're dilly dallying

Yup! Apparently the PSN or PS3 games you download switch to german if you switch your system language but the PS1 games haven't been. I don't mind buying PS1 games from the German store as long as there in german or if some aren't if there is a way to tell. I don't mind replaying old games to help improve my german. I've been playing a lot of psp games I got here cheap in german to try and help too.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

sweeeeeeeeeet! good thinkin'
what are you doing for the Weihnachts Pause?

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

sweeeeeeeeeet! good thinkin'
what are you doing for the Weihnachts Pause?

Gar nichts? Ich kenne niemand hier. Alle hat nach Hause fuer Weihnachts gegangen. Ich wuensche dass ich auch nach Hause gegangen habe.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Does anyone know another place I can get the Werner Herzog / Klaus Kinski Box Set (6 Discs) (Anchor Bay) that was recommended besides play.com? Apparently they don't accept US credit cards for billing information and since I can't use my bank card for online purchases I can order it. :/

Edit: Nvm, Amazon in the US has it but Amazon.de doesn't. I'll just wait until I get home then.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

Gar nichts? Ich kenne niemand hier. Alle hat nach Hause fuer Weihnachts gegangen. Ich wuensche dass ich auch nach Hause gegangen habe.

gegangen bin, usw.! was ich dafür gemacht hab, sie zu unterschieden, war, dass ich einfach mit mir selber diese Sätze immer wieder wiedergeholt hatte, bis mein Gehirn erschöpft geworden war.

ich habe etw gemacht
ich bin da gegangen

usw. es ist suuuper wichtige!


wo wohnst du denn genau? es gibt ja keinen Gründ, allein während Weihnachts zu sein. Ich beabsichtige zumindest um Deutschland (herum?) zu reisen. Wir könnten uns vielleicht verabreden, in dem Fall ich in der Nähe wäre. Gib mir Bescheid!

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

gegangen bin, usw.! was ich dafür gemacht hab, sie zu unterschieden, war, dass ich einfach mit mir selber diese Sätze immer wieder wiedergeholt hatte, bis mein Gehirn erschöpft geworden war.

ich habe etw gemacht
ich bin da gegangen

usw. es ist suuuper wichtige!


wo wohnst du denn genau? es gibt ja keinen Gründ, allein während Weihnachts zu sein. Ich beabsichtige zumindest um Deutschland (herum?) zu reisen. Wir könnten uns vielleicht verabreden, in dem Fall ich in der Nähe wäre. Gib mir Bescheid!

Ja, ich habe nicht gedacht. :/ Sein ist immer mit bewegung. Und ich bin in Heidelberg, Baden Wuerttemberg. Ich weiss dass du in der Naehe von der Grenze bist aber bist du in Baden Wuerttemberg oder Bayern? Mein Gedaechtnis ist so schlecht.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

lol! keine Sorgen. ich bin in Konstanz, so BaWü (?) oder wie man das nennt

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

ich bin in Konstanz, so BaWü (?) oder wie man das nennt

Ja, das ist auch Baden Wuerttemberg.

AND HOLY FUCK, if I forget what beobachten means one more time I'm going to jump out of my window. I've literally looked up that word AT LEAST 40 times and I can never remember the definition. So frustrating.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

lolol keine Sorgen, lass keine grauen Haaren wachsen!!

 

[LazyLoki]

Apropos herumreisen:

Das Angebot steht noch, falls jemand nach München kommt sagt Bescheid!

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

Apropos herumreisen:

Das Angebot steht noch, falls jemand nach München kommt sagt Bescheid!

das wusste ich nicht, dass es überhaupt ein Angebot gab! Wenn ich endlich nach München reise (es muss gemacht werden, irgendwann!), sage ich dir Bescheid.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Apropos herumreisen:

Das Angebot steht noch, falls jemand nach München kommt sagt Bescheid!

Pff, München. Bergisches Land is where the magic happens.

 

[LazyLoki]

Pff, München. Bergisches Land is where the magic happens.

Weils außer Magie da nicht viel gibt...

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

Weils außer Magie da nicht viel gibt...

looool

es ist merkwürdig, die manchmal krass unterschiedene Meinungen des deutschen Volk (oder Germanophones allgemein) zu beobachten. In den USA, da wir so jung sind und seit Anfang hatten wir relativ politisch gleichtartigkeit, haben wir noch nicht derartige kulturelle Unterschieden wie sie Deutsch

 

[LazyLoki]

looool

es ist merkwürdig, die manchmal krass unterschiedene Meinungen des deutschen Volk (oder Germanophones allgemein) zu beobachten. In den USA, da wir so jung sind und seit Anfang hatten wir relativ politisch gleichtartigkeit, haben wir noch nicht derartige kulturelle Unterschieden wie sie Deutsch

Ein einzelnes Land "Deutschland" gibt es ja erst seit Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts. Sogar das Kaiserreich davor war in mehrere kleinere Königreiche aufgeteilt, und davor war es noch extremer (Deutscher Bund, Norddeutscher Bund etc.). Also hatten alle deutschen "Völker" genug Zeit, ihre jeweils eigene Identität, Sprache und Kultutr zu entwickeln.

Aber ich mein's meistens nicht böse, jede Region hat ihre Vor- und Nachteile. Nur leben möchte ich nirgends anders als hier in München

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

Jup, das weiss ich schon ^_^ Deutsche Geschichte, insbesondere die Vereinigung der Staaten durch bismarcks Realpolitik, war zugegeben einer die Hauptgründen, wovon ich endlich beschlossen hatte, die deutsche Sprache sich selber zu studieren. Deutsch als ein Volk is zwar ganz neu in der Hinsicht der Weltgeschichte und das ist glasklar von der krass Unterschieden. Ich habe aber angenommen, dass gewissermaßen eine allgemeine "proto-deutsche" Identität von Otto festgestellt worden war?

Wie betrachten die Deutsche auf z.B. die Heilige Römische Reich?

 

[LazyLoki]

Jup, das weiss ich schon ^_^ Deutsche Geschichte, insbesondere die Vereinigung der Staaten durch bismarcks Realpolitik, war zugegeben einer die Hauptgründen, wovon ich endlich beschlossen hatte, die deutsche Sprache sich selber zu studieren. Deutsch als ein Volk is zwar ganz neu in der Hinsicht der Weltgeschichte und das ist glasklar von der krass Unterschieden. Ich habe aber angenommen, dass gewissermaßen eine allgemeine "proto-deutsche" Identität von Otto festgestellt worden war?

Wie betrachten die Deutsche auf z.B. die Heilige Römische Reich?

Otto war ja Preusse, deswegen war eine deutsche "Wunsch-Identität" entsprechend preussisch beeinflusst.

In dem Zusammenhang ist es auch sehr interessant, wie Ausländer die Deutschen sehen.
Pünktlichkeit, Gründlichkeit etc. sind eigentlich preussische Eigenschaften, keine deutschen. Genauso ist das kulturelle Bild (Oktoberfest, die Alpen etc.) typisch bayerisch und nicht deutsch

Das Heilige Römische Reich Deutscher Nation kennt man zwar als gebildeter Deutscher, es spielt aber eine eher untergeordnete Rolle. Die Weimarer Republik ist viel wichtiger, weil sie zum einen der erste demokratische deutsche Nationalstaat war, und zum anderen unser Rechtssystem nachhaltig geprägt hat.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Is Negerlein not such an offensive word in Germany? Does it not mean the same as "Nigger"?

 

[Damon Bennet]

Is Negerlein not such an offensive word in Germany? Does it not mean the same as "Nigger"?

It basically means the same but especially older people learned it as a normal "only-a-little-offensive" word.
Additionally only a small % of the german population is actually black, so many people dont even think about the meanings of it (and many stereotypes dont exist, for example the "black people love chicken" thing. black culture does not exist as a thing here, so many ideas based on black identity and culture are not part of german culture).

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

It basically means the same but especially older people learned it as a normal "only-a-little-offensive" word.
Additionally only a small % of the german population is actually black, so many people dont even think about the meanings of it (and many stereotypes dont exist, for example the "black people love chicken" thing. black culture does not exist as a thing here, so many ideas based on black identity and culture are not part of german culture).

Ah, ok. The reason I ask is I'm watching "And then there were none" which the book was originally called "Ten Little Niggers" but was changed and in the movie the song/rhyme that is song was changed to ten little indians for the movie but in the german movie they say Negerlein which seems silly since there are 10 indian figures on the table and they disappear one by one as each of the ten guests are killed. It just seems weird that they would translate it still as negerlein for the movie instead of indian.

 

[el retorno]

I´m debating my next language to learn and I think I´m between German and French but leaning towards German. My question what is the best way for a college graduate to live in German for any significant time to better my skills. I feel its the only way to really learn a language really well.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

I´m debating my next language to learn and I think I´m between German and French but leaning towards German. My question what is the best way for a college graduate to live in German for any significant time to better my skills. I feel its the only way to really learn a language really well.

zu ihrem Leidweisen (der Deutschen lol) i'm going to say not study German. Hables Español, si?

By the time you are just a lingual baby in German you'll be wooing chicks in French, reading Molier or whatever the hell.

Unless you secretly already know some hard ass language as an L2, like Arabic, then i'd skip German (not forever!) until you've got French and Portugese at least.

But idk, it depends on your wishes as well. I am a diehard fan of german culture, history, the land(s) itself, i plan on living here to some extent in my life after already being here for so long, and i think you need to have this hardcore Leidenschaft in order to become even a decent speaker.

and if it's some business purposes you want for german, don't even fucking bother unless you plan to become a C2 Master Level as the germans at that level are way too pragmatic to dick around in your bad (german's don't like mistakes..... :'( ) german when proceedings could be in English

and what's more, is that German simply is not a "practical" language outside of central Germany, when practical is defined by a pragmatic use of day-to-day communication. It's not an international language like Spanish and French, you simply get more people over a wider Campus Linguae and with far less effort.

I'm definitely not saying to NOT study german ever, i could kiss ass about the qualities of it but that's a given, just simply be smart and practical with your assumed knowledge of Spanish and your end goals.

Otto war ja Preusse, deswegen war eine deutsche "Wunsch-Identität" entsprechend preussisch beeinflusst.

In dem Zusammenhang ist es auch sehr interessant, wie Ausländer die Deutschen sehen.
Pünktlichkeit, Gründlichkeit etc. sind eigentlich preussische Eigenschaften, keine deutschen. Genauso ist das kulturelle Bild (Oktoberfest, die Alpen etc.) typisch bayerisch und nicht deutsch

Das Heilige Römische Reich Deutscher Nation kennt man zwar als gebildeter Deutscher, es spielt aber eine eher untergeordnete Rolle. Die Weimarer Republik ist viel wichtiger, weil sie zum einen der erste demokratische deutsche Nationalstaat war, und zum anderen unser Rechtssystem nachhaltig geprägt hat.

Vor wie lang haben die Deutsche die "Preussische" Identität abgeschüttelt? Ich weiss, dass das Land selber ist längst von der Mappen ausgestrichen und ist nicht mehr Teil des Lands, aber gibt es doch noch ein entferntes Gefühl von der alten Preussisch Identität? Meine ururgrosseltern kammen direkt aus Deutschland nach den USA, und heißt sich selber als Preussisch. Deshalb fing ich ursprünglich mit deutschen Geschichte an, um meine Geschichte besser zu verstehen (und von daher ja endlich die Sprache). cool

 

[Kenka]

Ich bin leider (lol) in der DE-Zone umgezogen und meine Kentnisse der Sprache sind etwas limitiert (FR ist Muttersprache).

Haben andere GAFfers hier Deutsch dank der TV-Sendungen über die Bundesliga gelernt ? Seit elf Jahren folge ich wochentlich Ran auf Sat.1 und so könnte ich mich deutlich verbessern. BL is da shit.

I´m debating my next language to learn and I think I´m between German and French but leaning towards German. My question what is the best way for a college graduate to live in German for any significant time to better my skills. I feel its the only way to really learn a language really well.

If you're studying engineering and plan on living in the EU, then I'd strongly recommend German since many high-quality manufacturers are in Wurstland.
In other cases, study Spanish, but let french aside, it is totally useless, even for getting laid.

edit : oh crap, I should have paid attention to your username. Alright, if you speak Spanish then go for Hindi/Arabic/Chinese. Brush the rest aside.

 

[maeh2k]

looool

es ist merkwürdig, die manchmal krass unterschiedene Meinungen des deutschen Volk (oder Germanophones allgemein) zu beobachten. In den USA, da wir so jung sind und seit Anfang hatten wir relativ politisch gleichtartigkeit, haben wir noch nicht derartige kulturelle Unterschieden wie sie Deutsch

Von meiner Perspektive aus scheint es mir schon so, als gäbe es derartige Unterschiede in den USA. Sowohl über Staaten als auch über Städte.

Beispielsweise wird auf Fox News gerne zwischen 'real America' und den Küsten unterschieden. Insbesondere auf GAF sieht man auch von Zeit zu Zeit abfällige Bemerkungen über Florida (G.A.F, bugs bunny gif).

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

but let french aside, it is totally useless, even for getting laid.

speak for yourself brother! French is a pretty important language, don't get caught on any of these other stupid fads. French has been the right choice for hundreds of years, rich culture, literature, huge linguistic domini and the most studied next to language.

i hate hearing that languages are useless (ja ja ich weiss doch, dass du ein FR Müttersprachler bist)

Von meiner Perspektive aus scheint es mir schon so, als gäbe es derartige Unterschiede in den USA. Sowohl über Staaten als auch über Städte.

Beispielsweise wird auf Fox News gerne zwischen 'real America' und den Küsten unterschieden. Insbesondere auf GAF sieht man auch von Zeit zu Zeit abfällige Bemerkungen über Florida (G.A.F, bugs bunny gif).

Naja, als du vielleicht weißt, Fox News ist keine echte darstellung unserer Kultur, sondern vielmehr ein Mittel Propagandas, das betont gern vorgestellte Wahrnemungen und spielt also unserer ökonomische / klassische Unterschieden, die zwar riesig sind, gegen einander.

Größtenteils haben wir West/Mid/East/South... und Florida/Hawaii/Texas sind ja ihre eigene ausgeprägte Kultur. Im Endeffekt es gibt keinerlei Unterschieden zwischen ein Texan und ein New Yorker in Vergleicht mit die Unterschieden zwischen die Swäbisch und Plattdeutschen. Selbst die Sprachen zwischen die Germanophone sind fast nicht gegenseitig Verständlich, sie müssen ja das Mittel Hochdeutsch benutzen, um mit einander reiblos zu sprechen. Es gibt weniger Unterschied in der Sprache zwischen Australien und den USA als es gibt, sag mal, zwischen Oesterreich und der Schweiz.

Stimmt? oder habe ich total falsch aufgefasst?

Es gibt weniger Unterschied in der Sprache zwischen Australien und den USA als es gibt, sag mal, zwischen Oesterreich und die Schweiz.

 

[Milchjon]

the germans at that level are way too pragmatic to dick around in your bad (german's don't like mistakes..... :'( ) german when proceedings could be in English

While the pragmatism aspect is probably true, Is it really that bad with the mistakes? The people I know wouldn't be like that, especially those who are trying to learn another language and know how hard it is to become fluent.

and what's more, is that German simply is not a "practical" language outside of central Germany, when practical is defined by a pragmatic use of day-to-day communication. It's not an international language like Spanish and French, you simply get more people over a wider Campus Linguae and with far less effort.

Isn't that a myth promoted by the French? Apart from parts of Africa that most of us won't ever visit, where else could French be useful?

Other than that, I kinda agree with your assessment.

Spanish, Arab, Russian or Chinese are definitely more useful.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

While the pragmatism aspect is probably true, Is it really that bad with the mistakes? The people I know wouldn't be like that, especially those who are trying to learn another language and know how hard it is to become fluent.



Isn't that a myth promoted by the French? Apart from parts of Africa that most of us won't ever visit, where else could French be useful?

Other than that, I kinda agree with your assessment.

Spanish, Arab, Russian or Chinese are definitely more useful.

Maybe not useful for French but it's more common. (At least as an American). You could go to Louisiana or Quebec in Canada and actually make use/study French compared to some other languages. (Even if you argue those versions of french are a bastardization) Something like German however literally grants you no opportunities unless your just lucky enough to live next to the only german person in a 5 state radius of you. Same with Spanish, although that's many times more likely than French, but Spanish and French pretty much being a language option on every DVD/movie ever produced makes it easier also. For me in the US at least, I've had a handful of opportunities of being around people who spoke French fluently where as German I've been around no one but the 3 teachers I've had over the years. :/ I'm sure it's different in other places but that's the feeling as an american.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

While the pragmatism aspect is probably true, Is it really that bad with the mistakes? The people I know wouldn't be like that, especially those who are trying to learn another language and know how hard it is to become fluent.

es kommt darauf an, aber in alltags sogar die kleinsten Fehlern sind Ausrede, auf Englisch zu schelten. Seit ich mich verbessert habe, ist es einfacher zu sagen "ah auf deutsch bitte!" und dann alles ist klar.

Isn't that a myth promoted by the French? Apart from parts of Africa that most of us won't ever visit, where else could French be useful?

Other than that, I kinda agree with your assessment.

Spanish, Arab, Russian or Chinese are definitely more useful.

it all depends on your definition of usefulness and your end goal with it. For strictly business purposes there are (in my ignorance) literally zero reasons to learn Chinese or Arabic unless you started 10 years ago and can finally now produce non emberassing utterances.

I think learning a language solely for big boy professional suit wearing business purposes is often just a measure of flattery rather than a measure of improving efficiency.

But language learning for personal development and opening up sooo many opportunities is where it shines. So to say a language is 'useless' in any real terms doesn't hold water, which is why i say depending on your end goal German (or put language here) shouldn't/should be studied. I'd like to live and spend some time in France and Quebec, this means knowing French. The business opportunities go as far as being able to get a job where i can support myself during my stay there, which is not what most people mean when they say "business purposes" (big boy firm i'm assuming). Same for Argentina. So for my end goal to know the people, land and culture better, use the language in a pragmatic and meaningful manner in every day, be able to consume media, etc. etc. is my end goal. I'm almost there with German, not quite though! hopefully i get this hotel job i just applied for, it'd be a sick gelegenheit, damit ich mein deutsch verbessern kann.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

So, can anyone help me out? Is there any sites that people resell sports tickets? Like usually on team's page for tickets it has a "ticket exchange" that you can buy tickets from people reselling directly through ticketmaster. (Since most are done by ticketmaster) Or something like stubhub or something in the US? I want to go to the Mannheim adler game tomorrow but apparently it's sold out and it only sells new tickets on their site.

 

[Kaizen]

So, can anyone help me out? Is there any sites that people resell sports tickets? Like usually on team's page for tickets it has a "ticket exchange" that you can buy tickets from people reselling directly through ticketmaster. (Since most are done by ticketmaster) Or something like stubhub or something in the US? I want to go to the Mannheim adler game tomorrow but apparently it's sold out and it only sells new tickets on their site.

hmmm du könntest mal dein Glück bei eBay Kleinanzeigen versuchen: http://pages.ebay.de/kleinanzeigen/

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

hmmm du könntest mal dein Glück bei eBay Kleinanzeigen versuchen: http://pages.ebay.de/kleinanzeigen/

Blech, ebay ist dumm. :/ Ich habe zu viel Angst fuer ein falsch Ticket. Ich habe gehofft dass es eine Website gleich als die USA gab.

 

[LazyLoki]

Vor wie lang haben die Deutsche die "Preussische" Identität abgeschüttelt? Ich weiss, dass das Land selber ist längst von der Mappen ausgestrichen und ist nicht mehr Teil des Lands, aber gibt es doch noch ein entferntes Gefühl von der alten Preussisch Identität? Meine ururgrosseltern kammen direkt aus Deutschland nach den USA, und heißt sich selber als Preussisch. Deshalb fing ich ursprünglich mit deutschen Geschichte an, um meine Geschichte besser zu verstehen (und von daher ja endlich die Sprache). cool

Das ist ja der Witz, diese Identität hat intern nie für ganz Deutschland gegolten, es war wohl eher Wunschdenken Bismarcks bzw. eine Projektion der eigenen preussischen Tugenden auf ganz Deutschland. Diese preussischen Tugenden gehen meines Wissens auf Friedrich den Großen zurück unter dem sich Preussen ja extrem weiterentwickelt hat.
Kein einziger Bayer oder Baden-Württemberger hat sich jemals mit diesen Eigenschaften identifiziert. Das heisst nicht dass alle Bayern faul sind, aber unser Selbstbild und das wie uns andere Deutsche sehen ist komplett anders.

Und "Preussen" als "Konzept" gibt's heutzutage schon noch, z.B. in der "Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz" oder auch als Definition für alles, was nicht Süddeutschland ist (zumindest aus Sicht der Bayern).

Eine wichtige Rolle was vor allem was die Sicht der Ausländer angeht spielt sicher auch die Zeit des Wiederaufbaus nach dem 2. Weltkrieg. Hier sind die alten preussischen Tugenden Disziplin, Fleiß, Sparsamkeit usw. auf ganz Deutschland ausgeweitet worden.

 

[Phantast2k]

Wie geht's Amis?
Because we talked about movies a few pages ago, here's some entertainment for the holidays: http://www.sonnenallee.de/ - the first movie to be officially uploaded to youtube (at least that's what the website claims).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177242/

A group of kids grow up on the short, wrong (east) side of the Sonnenallee in Berlin, right next to one of the few border crossings between East and West reserved for German citizens. The antics of these kids, their families, of the "West German" friends and relatives who come to visit, and of the East German border guards, all serve to illustrate the absurdity of everyday life on the Sonnenallee, and therefore throughout the former East Germany.

Btw. our version of "It's a Wonderful Life" (a movie ppl. like to watch on Christmas) is "Der kleine Lord".
Surprise.....

Das Erste
Freitag, 23.12.11
20:15 - 21:55 (100 Min.)

http://programm.ard.de/Programm/Sender?suche=der+kleine+lord&list=search&sendung=281067172626703#top

/edit

BL is da shit.

Damn straight!

 

[cloudwalking]

zu ihrem Leidweisen (der Deutschen lol) i'm going to say not study German. Hables Español, si?

By the time you are just a lingual baby in German you'll be wooing chicks in French, reading Molier or whatever the hell.

Unless you secretly already know some hard ass language as an L2, like Arabic, then i'd skip German (not forever!) until you've got French and Portugese at least.

i don't agree with this advice. just because french would be easier for him doesn't necessarily mean he should learn it first. he should go with whatever language he likes more. learning french first (or portuguese, although mr. de los sapos may not even have an interest in that) is not going to make learning german any easier for him anyway, since they're from completely different language families. so why not start with german?

But idk, it depends on your wishes as well. I am a diehard fan of german culture, history, the land(s) itself, i plan on living here to some extent in my life after already being here for so long, and i think you need to have this hardcore Leidenschaft in order to become even a decent speaker.

sure, you have to obviously have a good motivation to learn a language in order to be successful, but i don't think you necessarily need to be deep into a country/region's culture or history in order to accomplish that. i had absolutely zero interest in learning german or in german/swiss culture, but i simply trudged through it because of the need to communicate with people. and through that i learned to like the language a lot.

and if it's some business purposes you want for german, don't even fucking bother unless you plan to become a C2 Master Level as the germans at that level are way too pragmatic to dick around in your bad (german's don't like mistakes..... :'( ) german when proceedings could be in English

i believe this is a stereotype. it's like saying "swiss people are always on time". you'll meet germans who are like this and others who are not. either way, the company you're describing is not one i'd like to be working at. in my experience, i've never once caught flak for my german skill level at any job i've held (including the "business" job at the large international company).

and what's more, is that German simply is not a "practical" language outside of central Germany, when practical is defined by a pragmatic use of day-to-day communication. It's not an international language like Spanish and French, you simply get more people over a wider Campus Linguae and with far less effort.

sorry, but this is just plain wrong. that's like saying english isn't a practical language outside of the USA.

german =/= germany. right off the bat, you're forgetting about austria and switzerland (you can throw liechtenstein in there with ch), two beautiful, culture-rich countries where german is also the majority language. if you ever plan to visit, work, or live in these countries, german is needless to say a huge asset. german is also a minority language in several other countries (belgium, italy, luxembourg, off the top of my head). not to mention the thousands of german-speaking expats in countries all over the world, and german niche communities that are still found today.



anyway, in reply to the original question

I´m debating my next language to learn and I think I´m between German and French but leaning towards German. My question what is the best way for a college graduate to live in German for any significant time to better my skills. I feel its the only way to really learn a language really well.

it's hard to give you any solid advice without knowing what exactly your plans are after college, and what kind of degree you have. can you elaborate?

have you looked into the possibility of working in germany at all?

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Wie geht's Amis?
Because we talked about movies a few pages ago, here's some entertainment for the holidays: http://www.sonnenallee.de/ - the first movie to be officially uploaded to youtube (at least that's what the website claims).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177242/


Btw. our version of "It's a Wonderful Life" (a movie ppl. like to watch on Christmas) is "Der kleine Lord".
Surprise.....

http://programm.ard.de/Programm/Sender?suche=der+kleine+lord&list=search&sendung=281067172626703#top

/edit



Damn straight!

You're such a horrible liar... Ist das Leben nicht schön? is obviously the german version of "It's a wonderful life". What a goddamn liar....

Spoiler

Edit: And for other people complaining (Not necessarily you guys) about TV in the US, Germany has some pretty corny shows themselves since they seem to be all I can get when I look at channels online. Zwei am grossen See is so corny of a show.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

sorry, but this is just plain wrong. that's like saying english isn't a practical language outside of the USA.

Absolutely not. You just substantiated your point with two countries who combined don't add up the the total Oberfläche of Arizona, and whose linguistic presence is isolated within them. Using English doesn't even begin to draw a fair comparison because it's the global lingua franca who is dispersed far beyond Native Anglophoniq but gewissermaßen as an Amt und die Verkehrsprache der Welt.

Again, German is not an international language. It's a (the) working language of EU, it's of course the Amtsprache of the Germanophone countries. But by fact, simply a fact, not an international language like Spanish, Portugese, French and English are.

This doesn't reduce the inherent quality of the languages or whatever you want to say, of course not, but when the end goal doesn't involve extended stays in Germanophone countries or a career in Engineering then there is little pragmatic use unless you want to read German literature or really like Tatort, which i assume isn't the main reason Retorno is considering German.

And clearly German and French aren't related, but French and Spanish are, and as i said before, the amount of effort needed to become decent at German far exceeds a comparable effort for French even without previous Romance knowledge, and with it it is almost a cake walk and a matter of rearranging puzzle pieces. Again, I'd rather spend a year on French and get great and then have that under my belt before i tackle german, then slog through german for years. I personally don't regret my decision in any capacity, but when he is choosing between the two, French is the way to go in my opinion.

and my point was that no German businessman is going to want to dilly dally with the intermediate german of someone when there is serious business to get to. He might think it cute and nothing more.

Ich hoffe, ich schein nicht vorworsvoll oder sowas

 

[Fritz]

I think the business argument is redundant anyway. English will get you anywhere already. If its not for constant business relations in either of these countries learning the language is a "waste of time". Same goes for traveling btw, when you buy a house at the Cote d'Azur it might make sense to get that French going, otherwise not so much.
So if none of those factors plays part in the decision - and don't get me started on theoretical practicability based on the number of countries the language is used at - it's all a matter of individual preference.
It's much more about actually mastering any foreign language that gives you new perspectives and satisfying achievements.

 

[Alpha-Bromega]

I think the business argument is redundant anyway. English will get you anywhere already. If its not for constant business relations in either of these countries learning the language is a "waste of time". Same goes for traveling btw, when you buy a house at the Cote d'Azur it might make sense to get that French going, otherwise not so much.
So if none of those factors plays part in the decision - and don't get me started on theoretical practicability based on the number of countries the language is used at - it's all a matter of individual preference.
It's much more about actually mastering any foreign language that gives you new perspectives and satisfying achievements.

eben!

Estonian or Basque or whatever can be x10000 times more practical, fulfilling and all those words to the person who wants to use it, than Spanish is for those who don't care.

Das ist aber meine Meinung.

 

[meadowrag]

Am trying to lernen.

 

[Fritz]

eben!

Estonian or Basque or whatever can be x10000 times more practical, fulfilling and all those words to the person who wants to use it, than Spanish is for those who don't care.

Das ist aber meine Meinung.

I learned Spanish because I told myself it is the most used language after english, and although it's rather easy I never really "got" it because I couldn't get into the culture. In retrospect I would have loved to learn Italian, which is arguably the most "useless" of the bigger European languages. But I just dig the Italian style ten times more.
So my advice would be to get an idea of the culture behind it, and if it's only via Wikipedia. As long as you find something you like and that will keep you going it will be worth the effort.
I know, that's pretty much what you were saying and I guess it's something we all can agree on.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Haha, they have Monty Python in German on TV!

 

[Milchjon]

Haha, they have Monty Python in German on TV!

Oh, die sind sogar ziemlich gut synchronisiert. Eine der (Film-)Serien, die auf deutsch ähnlich viel Spaß macht wie auf englisch. Wobei sie glaube ich nicht wortwörtlich übersetzt ist, was aber wohl ein Grund ist, dass es so gut ist.