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Reading German Texts | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| theb0mbers4ever Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4365 days ago 4 posts - 6 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin Studies: Japanese | Message 1 of 8 03 June 2013 at 3:28am | IP Logged |
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For someone who's goal in the German language is to read original works by philosophers,
writers, etc., can any recommend the best textbooks/workbooks to do so? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6086 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes  1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 2 of 8 03 June 2013 at 9:54am | IP Logged |
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oooh, I had to do a paper on Kant's Metaphysics of Morals in college and that was no walk in the park.^^ Are you looking for language workbooks or workbooks on the authors? Knowing your level in German would help with finding the right sources but just right off the bat I have Xlibris. They have what they call "Kurzzusammenfassungen" (like CliffsNotes).
your title says "reading German texts" but the Internet has some stuff to watch on Kant in particular that might be interesting: Let's Denk. Other than that: Kant für Anfänger which is a nicely-made show about a young lady, Sophie, who discovers Kant in the library. (Sophie's journey into philosophy. -- in German) Also on you-tube. There's also "ZUM-WIKI" a great source for students, if you can navigate the site there's plenty to work with. I found for instance, Zauberlehrling im DaF Unterricht (DaF = Deutsch als Fremdsprache) which has worksheets and quizzes. Langenscheidt has some books with "interpretations-help" (also like CliffsNotes) and MP3 audio Die Verwandlung, for example there's so much out there... you can try googling the following: Interpretationshilfe + (author) (author) + für DaF Unterricht mit Arbeitsblätter (author) + Anfänger ... hope some of that helps... edit: I'm assuming you're studying German (I gave you all-German resources). If you want stuff in English then let us know ^^ Edited by Sunja on 03 June 2013 at 10:16am 5 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5866 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 3 of 8 04 June 2013 at 9:21am | IP Logged |
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I think they were asking for materials aimed at preparing you to read (rather than speak) German.
There was a book published in the 70s called "German for Reading" which might be what you're looking for. I've never used it, though, so i can't comment. The individual chapters can be downloaded here: http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/%7Erfburger/language/German%20for %20Reading/ EDIT: I think this is the same book: http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Programmed-Approach-Graduate-U ndergraduate/dp/0133540197 The reviews mention a lot of the samples being taken from works of philosophy, so it might be just what you're looking for. Edited by Crush on 04 June 2013 at 9:27am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| theb0mbers4ever Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4365 days ago 4 posts - 6 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin Studies: Japanese | Message 4 of 8 05 June 2013 at 4:17am | IP Logged |
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Thank you to you both for your wonderful answers!
@Sunja: I'm looking more for English textbooks or workbooks that would get me started on reading technical texts in German. My German is not nearly as up to par as to have me work with German textbooks. @Crush: The "German for Reading" book seems to be just exactly what I'm looking for? However, it's a whooping $285 on Amazon...I'll keep looking for a cheaper (much cheaper, actually) source for it, but thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| theb0mbers4ever Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4365 days ago 4 posts - 6 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin Studies: Japanese | Message 5 of 8 05 June 2013 at 4:18am | IP Logged |
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After that post I noticed that those chapters were downloadable. I'll be utilizing this
to the maximum. Thanks again. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5866 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 6 of 8 05 June 2013 at 5:19am | IP Logged |
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If you end up using it, i'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the course :)
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| schoenewaelder Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5561 days ago 759 posts - 1197 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 7 of 8 05 June 2013 at 12:59pm | IP Logged |
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Assuming that copy of "German for Reading" is the same one that I once downloaded, then I
think a lot of the pages have been photocopied in the wrong order. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| daristani Senior Member United States Joined 7145 days ago 752 posts - 1661 votes Studies: Uzbek | Message 8 of 8 05 June 2013 at 1:37pm | IP Logged |
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All three of the Sandberg books for reading (for French, German, and Spanish) seem to get very good reviews and strong recommendations on Amazon.
They're all "programmed" books based on reading sentences, and on explaining the grammar and vocabulary as you go along. Another book that's well thought of for German is German Quickly, by April Wilson. It has a bit more of a grammatical approach, but is likewise focused on developing reading ability as opposed to facility in speaking. Here's a summary of it from the Amazon page: ---------------------------------------------------- German Quickly: A Grammar for Reading German is a thorough, straightforward textbook with a sense of fun. It teaches the fundamentals for reading German literary and scholarly texts of all levels of difficulty. It can be used as an introductory text for scholars with no background in German, or it can serve as a reference text for students wishing to review German. The grammar explanations are detailed and clear, addressing common problems students encounter while learning to read German. This book includes thought-provoking and entertaining reading selections consisting mainly of aphorisms and proverbs. There are also twelve appendices, including a summary of German grammar, descriptions of German dictionaries, a partial answer key, strategies for learning German, and a humanities vocabulary section of about 3,800 words. ------------------------------------------------- You can read a number of commentaries by readers there, most of which seem to be very positive. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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