Archive:Introduction to German: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 04:32, 8 June 2009

There are many reasons to learn German...

Welcome to Introduction to German, part of Foreign Language Learning and Language and Literature school. The aim of this beginner level course is to tell you about the basics of German, no prior knowledge is required. It helps however, if you are good in English (while this material is written in it) and also some knowledge of grammatical terms comes handy. So... If you know the know what is the difference between "plural" and "singular", you can move further :) ...and join the German Stream if you want.

First steps

Congratulations! To continue reading this page you just made the first step to learn German. So you can now say the classical phrase: "Ich lerne Deutsch".

Now you have two things to master:
Vocabulary
and
Grammar

The trick is, that you can't focus just on one of these. You may think that vocabulary is enough. If you know the words, than you can say and write anything you want... But it is not that true. You also have to learn how to say and write it! Fortunately for you there is a good opportunity to practice this right here at Wikademia.

Vocabulary

All material concerning the German vocabulary is concentrated at German vocabulary and its subpages. Please help develop it further, possible in cooperation with Wikibooks using the well developed German textbook.

Alphabet/Pronunciation

Please see The Alphabet (at Wikibooks).

Grammar

All pages about grammar in German should be focused at German grammar. Proceed there for more information.

Typing German characters into a computer

For a PC, you have quick access by typing the following:
ß - alt+225
ä - alt+132
ö - alt+148
ü - alt+129
Ä - alt+142
Ö - alt+153
Ü - alt+154

On a Mac, the commands are as follows:
ß - ⌥ + s
ä - ⌥ + u, a
ö - ⌥ + u, o
ü - ⌥ + u, u

Note: the umlaut can be assigned to any vowel by first holding '⌥' and pressing the 'u' key. It will then wait for a vowel key to be pressed.

Assignments

To help you get acquainted with the written language, use this subpage to get in contact with German speaking Wikademia participants.

Related materials

German language- Wikipedia article
German - An open-ended textbook at Wikibooks

Learning materials and learning projects can be used by multiple departments. Cooperate with other departments that use the same learning resource.

Learning materials and learning projects are located in the main Wikademia namespace. Simply make a link to the name of the lesson (lessons are independent pages in the main namespace) and start writing!

Learning Resources

A podcast for students Slow German is spoken clearly and slowly. Mehr Informationen unter www.slowgerman.com

Active participants

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Please see [[Template_talk:Unit_boilerplate]] for more information.
+{{ntnes}}
+[[Image:Gerlinde jaenicke.jpg|thumb|There are many reasons to learn German...]]
+[[Image:Patrick Nuo.jpg|thumb|...also for those who didn't really like the first photo! {{smile}}]]
+Welcome to '''Introduction to German''', part of [[Foreign Language Learning|Foreign Language Learning]] and [[Language and Literature|Language and Literature school]]. The aim of this beginner level course is to tell you about the basics of German, no prior knowledge is required. It helps however, if you are good in English (while this material is written in it) and also some knowledge of grammatical terms comes handy. So... If you know the know what is the difference between "plural" and "singular", you can move further :) ...and join the [[German Stream]] if you want.
-==Unit Summary==
+== First steps ==
-* '''Course code:''' ALAU101:
+'''Congratulations!''' To continue reading this page you just made the first step to learn German. So you can now say the classical phrase: ''"[[German/lernen|Ich lerne Deutsch]]"''.
-* '''Suggested Prerequisites:'''
+<p>
-** ...
+Now you have two things to master: <br>
-* '''Time investment:'''
-* '''Assessment suggestions:'''
-* '''Faculty:''' Humanities
-* '''School:''' [[School:Language and Literature]]
-* '''Department:''' [[Topic:Language Aquisition]]
-* '''Stream''' [[German Stream]]
-* '''Level:''' Beginner
-==Content summary==
+<big>[[German vocabulary|Vocabulary]]</big> <br>
+and <br>
+<big>[[German grammar|Grammar]]</big> <br>
+<p>
+The trick is, that you can't focus just on one of these. You may think that vocabulary is enough. If you know the words, than you can say and write anything you want... But it is not that true. You also have to learn ''how'' to say and write it! Fortunately for you there is a good opportunity to practice this [[Learning by doing|right here at Wikademia]].
-==Intended outcome==
+== Vocabulary ==
+All material concerning the German vocabulary is concentrated at [[German vocabulary]] and its subpages. Please help develop it further, possible in cooperation with [[b:|Wikibooks]] using the well developed [[b:German|German textbook]].
-==Unit materials==
+=== Alphabet/Pronunciation ===
+* Please see [[b:German/Appendices/Alphabet#The_Alphabet|The Alphabet (at Wikibooks)]].
-* '''Study guide:'''
+== Grammar ==
-* '''Wikipedia article:''' [[w: __Article Name__ ]]
+All pages about grammar in German should be focused at [[German grammar]]. Proceed there for more information.
-Learning materials and learning projects can be used by multiple departments. Cooperate with other departments that use the same learning resource.
+== [[Introduction_to_German/Input|'''Typing German characters into a computer''']] ==
-* ...
+{{col}}
+'''For a PC''', you have quick access by typing the following:<br />
+ß - alt+225<br />
+ä - alt+132<br />
+ö - alt+148<br />
+ü - alt+129<br />
+Ä - alt+142<br />
+Ö - alt+153<br />
+Ü - alt+154<br />
+{{break}}
+'''On a Mac''', the commands are as follows:<br />
+ß - ⌥ + s<br />
+ä - ⌥ + u, a<br />
+ö - ⌥ + u, o<br />
+ü - ⌥ + u, u<br />
-Learning materials and [[Portal:Learning Projects|learning projects]] are located in the main Wikiversity namespace. Simply make a [[link]] to the name of the lesson (lessons are independent pages in the [[Wikiversity:Namespaces|main namespace]]) and start writing!
+Note: the umlaut can be assigned to any vowel by first holding '⌥' and pressing the 'u' key. It will then wait for a vowel key to be pressed.
+{{colend}}
-===Texts===
+== Assignments ==
-* [[Wikibooks:__Textbook Name___]]
+To help you get acquainted with the written language, use this subpage to get in contact with German speaking Wikademia participants.
-* ...
-===Lessons===
+== Related materials ==
-* Lesson 1: German alphabet pronunciations and pronouns.
+* [[Wikipedia:German language|German language]]- Wikipedia article
+* [[b:German|German]] - An open-ended textbook at Wikibooks
-===[[Introduction_to_German/Input|'''Typing German characters into a computer''']]===
+Learning materials and learning projects can be used by multiple departments. Cooperate with other departments that use the same learning resource.
-For a PC, you have quick access by typing the following:<br>
-ß- alt+0223<br>
-ä- alt+0228<br>
-ö- alt+0246<br>
-ü- alt+0252<br>
-<br><br>These are the only atypical German characters.
-=== Vocabulary ===
-Tag (day)
-Nacht (Night)
-===[[Introduction_to_German/Greetings|'''Common Greetings''']]===
-Guten Tag (Hello; Good Day)<br>
-Grüß dich! (Informal hello)<br>
-Tag! (Hello)<br>
-Hallo (Hello)<br>
-Guten Tag, ich heisse --- (Hello, my name is --)<br>
-Wie geht's? (How are you?; How goes it?; How's it going?)<br>
-===[[Introduction_to_German/Numbers|'''Numbers''']]===
-Root Numbers 1-10<br>
--One - Eins<br>
--Two - Zwei<br>
--Three - Drei<br>
--Four - Vier<br>
--Five - Fünf<br>
--Six - Sechs<br>
--Seven - Sieben<br>
--Eight - Acht<br>
--Nine - Neun<br>
--Ten - Zehn<br>
-<br>
-'''
-, 12, and Teens 13-19'''<br>
-<br>
--Eleven - Elf<br>
--Twelve - Zwölf<br>
-<br>
-*Thirteen through Nineteen are created by combining the first digit number with the number Zehn(ten) as a suffix, pronounced with stress on the first syllable.  Note that the "-s" in "Sechs" and the "-en" in "Sieben" are dropped in the combination<br>
-<br>
--Thirteen - Dreizehn (Drei Zehn, "Three Ten")<br>
--Fourteen - Vierzehn<br>
--Fifteen - Fünfzehn<br>
--Sixteen - Sechzehn<br>
--Seventeen - Siebzehn<br>
--Eighteen - Achtzehn<br>
--Nineteen - Neunzehn<br>
-<br>
--90<br>
-*In German, two digit numbers are created simply by adding the suffix "-zig" (similar to English "-ty").  There are exceptions however (not unlike English).  Note the spelling differences in Zwanzig (20), Dreißig (30), Sechzig (60), and Siebzig (70)<br>
-<br>
--Twenty - Zwanzig<br>
--Thirty - Dreißig<br>
--Forty - Vierzig<br>
--Fifty - Fünfzig<br>
--Sixty - Sechzig<br>
--Seventy - Siebzig<br>
--Eighty - Achtzig<br>
--Ninety - Neunzig<br>
-<br>
-*In German, two digit numbers that do not end with zero (0) are spoken first digit first, joined with the word "und" (and), and followed with the second digit number; as though adding them together to make the new number.<br>
-<br>
-Example: Twenty-Three (23) would be constructed first digit-and-second digit: "Dreiundzwanzig" (directly translated "three-and-twenty)<br>
-<br>
-- Einundzwanzig<br>
-- Siebenunddreißig<br>
-- Sechsundvierzig<br>
-- Vierundsechzig<br>
-- Neunundneunzig<br>
-<br>
-, 1.000, 1.000.000, 1.000.000.000, 1.000.000.000.000*<br>
-<br>
-- Hundert<br>
-.000 - Tausend<br>
-.000.000 - Million<br>
-.000.000.000 - Milliarde<br>
-.000.000.000.000 - Trillion<br>
-<br>
-*note: Periods (.) are used to divide large numbers into groups of three (ex/ 1.000 = one thousand), and commas (,) are used as decimal points for numbers less than 1 but greater than 0 (1,001 = one point zero zero one, one and one thousandth).<br>
-In German, the roles of the period and the comma are reversed from American English
-===Sports===
-(der)Fußball (Football)<br>
-(der)Amerikanische Fußball (American Football)<br>
-=== Important verbs ===
-Verb tables below
-*[[Sein]]
-*[[Haben]]
-*[[German modal verbs|Modal verbs]]
-*[[Regular verbs]]
-=== Other Verbs ===
-*[[gehen]] to go
-*[[machen]] to do
-brauchen- to need
-essen- to eat
-heissen- to be called (as in, "her name is"; "sie heisst Claudia...")
-wissen- to know (knowledge, information)
-kennen- to know (acquaintance)
-===Assignments===
-To help you get acquainted with the written language, use this subpage to get in contact with German speaking Wikiversity participants.
+Learning materials and [[Portal:Learning Projects|learning projects]] are located in the main Wikademia namespace. Simply make a [[link]] to the name of the lesson (lessons are independent pages in the [[Wikademia:Namespaces|main namespace]]) and start writing!
-==Active participants==
+== Learning Resources ==
-*[[User:Exorcist_bob | Exorcist_bob]]
+* A podcast for students Slow German is spoken clearly and slowly.  Mehr Informationen unter [http://www.slowgerman.com www.slowgerman.com]
-*[[User:Mjvp13 | MjVP13]]
-*[[User:Daniel M. Roberts | Daniel M. Roberts]]
-*[[User:HappyCamper|HappyCamper]]
-*--[[User:Smithgrrl|Smithgrrl]] 02:38, 5 November 2006 (UTC)  Ich spreche deutsch nicht besonders gut aber moechte gerne helfen, wenn ich kann!
+== Active participants ==
 [[Category:German]]
 [[Category:Introductions]]
+[[Category:Multilingual Studies]]
+[[Category:Language introductions]]

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