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Has anyone learnt German as an adult? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| nway Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/Vic Joined 5416 days ago 574 posts - 1707 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean | Message 9 of 53 04 December 2011 at 3:19am | IP Logged | ||||||||
No, no adult has ever learned German. Ever.
Do you really think the same answer will apply to everyone in the world? The person who wrote that blog probably hasn't tried learning many, if any, languages other than German. Considering most languages have irregularities and arbitrary quirks, the blog may well have been titled, "Don't learn a foreign language." Not to mention, there's at least one straight-up inaccurate statement:
It hardly needs to be said, but that's obviously not true. That said, the post is still funny and much of what the blogger says is true. But you wouldn't learn German to use it at business meetings or (hopefully) listen to Tokio Hotel. You'd learn it to chat with Germans (who of course feel more comfortable speaking German amongst themselves) or engage in German culture (literature, music, film), which is of course predominantly in the German language... 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5263 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 10 of 53 04 December 2011 at 3:39am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I have always loved Mark Twain's account of learning German as an adult- The Awful German Language- I guess you could call this the 19th century equivalent of a "funny blog post". Hey, cut Mr Twain some slack, he didn't have Assimil, Pimsleur or even Rosetta Stone!
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| blackcherries Groupie Canada Joined 4749 days ago 41 posts - 48 votes Studies: German | Message 11 of 53 05 December 2011 at 12:51am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Thank you all for responding.
I want to learn German cause I want to travel there and not depend on English though it appears most people speak English. Also, to me I always try to speak the national language of whatever place I go to, as I believe it to be disrespectful to want to learn about a different culture but not even attempt to learn a few words prior to going there. And, I'm a foreign-film lover. I watch more foreign movies than Hollywood. I have always wanted to be able to read translated books in their originals too. It's gonna take years I suppose... 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| mjhowie1992 Diglot Newbie AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5181 days ago 24 posts - 27 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Mandarin | Message 12 of 53 05 December 2011 at 3:06am | IP Logged | ||||||||
You sound far too much like me! I plan to go to Germany and I do not want to have to rely on English to get around. I do know that many Germans speak English, but it is because many English-speakers go there and expect the Germans to speak English anyway. I want to also not just rely on Hochdeutsch, but learn a bit of the dialect, such as some Upper German Boarisch or maybe Plattdüütsch. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| giuls Newbie Italy Joined 5019 days ago 23 posts - 31 votes Speaks: Italian* Studies: English, German | Message 13 of 53 05 December 2011 at 5:27pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I hope not! I recently started with German (this time for real..) and, maybe I have too high expectations, but I want to be able to understand well enough to enjoy movies, media and books within a year or less! p.s. I'm a so called adult myself Edited by giuls on 05 December 2011 at 5:30pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6440 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 14 of 53 05 December 2011 at 5:57pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Speaking tourist German won't take you years if you go about it reasonably. Nor will reading German; I've heard good things about April Wilson's "German Quickly" for learning to read.
People routinely learn enough German to attend university courses taught in it within a year: they're still at a disadvantage to native German speakers, but they're functional. And most such people don't even have a Germanic language (like English) as their native language - you have an advantage. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| blackcherries Groupie Canada Joined 4749 days ago 41 posts - 48 votes Studies: German | Message 15 of 53 05 December 2011 at 9:50pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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[/QUOTE]
I want to also not just rely on Hochdeutsch, but learn a bit of the dialect, such as some Upper German Boarisch or maybe Plattdüütsch.[/QUOTE] What exactly is "Hochdeutsch"? Never heard of "Boarisch" and "Platt..."! Do explain. Actually I heard Germans know Eng. not because of tourists but that they study Eng. in school for an average of 7 years. And, they seem to love Eng. music. I watched the Carla & Hanna subbed storyline from Verbotene Liebe on Youtube and every bloody song on the show is Eng.! Ahhhhhh....my quoting other people thingy never works...what am I doing wrong? Edited by blackcherries on 05 December 2011 at 9:53pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| blackcherries Groupie Canada Joined 4749 days ago 41 posts - 48 votes Studies: German | Message 16 of 53 05 December 2011 at 9:58pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Well, that might be unrealistic. I suppose if have a knack for languages...but don't forget how many years of learning we did and do in our native language. But I'm sure within a year you can understand a lot... 1 person has voted this message useful |
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