Originally posted by Stoo: At this point, I'm just trying to build up the vocabulary. Once I can read the local tabloid well enough I'll then shift gears and work on the speaking bit.
OK, next bit of advice from aunty Mim (who is never wrong). Don't bother with trying to learn one part of the language and then starting another part when the first is down pat. Just throw yourself at it!!! Learn a few phrases (especially "wie heisst dass auf deutsch") and just talk. In between a few words here and there and hand gestures you can learn your vocabulary while you are learning to speak - 'a la' two birds with one stone.
Mim, my dear boot, I've been battling learning this new mud speech language for a while now, and I think I know my own capabilities and limitations. Seriously, it took me 2 years just to start hearing the sounds decently--like the 's' in salat vs. the 'ts' of zahlen. Divide and concur. That is my approach, and so far so good.
I really am beyond pathetic when it comes to languages. Your approach is just to overwhelming...it would fry my little brain.
btw: Ich bin störrisch!
______________________________________________________________________ "You weren't half as weird as I expected." -- skobb
Posts: 3128 | Location: Zürich | Registered: 28 August 2005
Here's one I just did the other day - I switched my Flickr account to Italian. There are other websites you can switch like that, too, just look around at the ones you use regularly.
Originally posted by JessieS: Here's one I just did the other day - I switched my Flickr account to Italian. There are other websites you can switch like that, too, just look around at the ones you use regularly.
Hey, that's a decent idea. There are plenty of website I could safely do that with. (Like everything but e-Banking!)
Grazie!
______________________________________________________________________ "You weren't half as weird as I expected." -- skobb
Posts: 3128 | Location: Zürich | Registered: 28 August 2005
The only problem, Stoo, is that I don't know if there's a big difference between German and Swiss German - I've only seen German on various websites, but I guess it would be better than nothing.
And static, there are plenty of times when Italian is still all Greek to me.
Originally posted by JessieS: The only problem, Stoo, is that I don't know if there's a big difference between German and Swiss German - I've only seen German on various websites, but I guess it would be better than nothing.
And static, there are plenty of times when Italian is still all Greek to me.
Swiss german is really only a dialect of German. Swiss-Germans when they write, actually write German, maybe with the odd word different. Therefore German is the language, but Swiss-German is a way of speaking.
It's like us (pretend we are Germans) trying to understand Scots (aka Swiss). You know there is something there that tells you that they are speaking English, but you just can't wrap your ears around it - can't make out the words. At least most Swiss are willing to repeat something using high German - Scots just can't do it!
Ha, great comparison, Mim. I like to use Jamaican English myself.
On the 'switch to High German' point, it seems that a surprisingly large number of Zurich-based Swiss are uncomfortable with it. They prefer English before HG. There seems to be a strong correlation with one's level of education (weak High German goes with a lower level of formal education.)
JessieS: "Same, same but different"...if you know what I mean. Some words are the same, some are just slight different, some are totally different, and some are French. Also, Swiss German does not have a formal written form. Web sites tend to be in High German
______________________________________________________________________ "You weren't half as weird as I expected." -- skobb
Posts: 3128 | Location: Zürich | Registered: 28 August 2005
That makes sense. The last time I was in Zurich (for less than 24 hours, sadly) visiting relatives, I listened to their dinner conversations and found I could only understand the words that weren't German - I heard a smattering of French, Italian and English in there. Very funny.
Here's another one I've been doing recently - put on a music CD in the language you're studying and just leave the damned thing on repeat (I've had one Italian pop music CD in my car for a week and a half). Bit by bit, I'm piecing together various phrases and lines. It helps that the singer I'm listening to enunciates really well, so even when I don't know the meaning of all the words I can at least go look them up. It also helps that I really like his music. Oh, and that the lyrics are printed in the CD's liner notes, so I can double-check myself if I need to - just not while I'm driving.
To follow up on something I wrote awhile ago, I've now switched several websites to Italian - Google (and Gmail), Flickr, Yahoo, and Skype - and it's kind of fun as well as being educational. For some stupid reason, I could never remember the Italian word for "trash can." Now, thanks to seeing it every time I log into my Yahoo and Gmail mail accounts, I remember it's "cestino." Very handy.
I get a bunch of little cards (calling cards/ones for speeches) and write the foreign word on one side and English on the other. I join 'em all with an elastic band and test myself when on public transport. Filter out the cards you have learnt and try some more next time. This technique works well for all kinds of study (periodic table or phonetic alphabet for example).
Make sure the vocab is relevant to you. Not just random stuff from the dictionary but stuff you have seen/heard that day.
Posts: 123 | Location: Sydney, Aust | Registered: 28 November 2007
Seriously, it took me 2 years just to start hearing the sounds decently--like the 's' in salat vs. the 'ts' of zahlen. Divide and concur. That is my approach, and so far so good. 
