SalzSäule's Multilingual Mess

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SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:17 pm
Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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SalzSäule's Multilingual Mess

Postby SalzSäule » Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:35 pm

Ei Guudee.

I've been learning German for quite a long time (about 3.5 years iirc) now and I'm at the point where I need to actively start investing and expending more time in improving my skills, because my usual tactic of just pick up words as I go along has pretty much reached it's plateau.

I know that I reached a C1 level about 20 months ago. A few months after that, the ERASMUS test classified me as C2 but I remained sceptical since this doesn't take into account writing or speaking skills. I know reading is my strongest skill, and the test confirmed this because I was expected to read extracts from Kant and a poem from Goethe and choose what I believed was the most appropriate meaning.

But even then, I still don't know how to classify myself, but I find such classifications to be of limited purpose. A more concrete description would be that I can usually understand everything someone says to me, providing there is not too much background noise, I can enjoy various multimedia, I understand some dialect, and I can live my life fairly easily in this country without massive struggles. My biggest struggles are with older-ish novels, and still when I speak. I speak rather well I think, but there are simply so many expressions which I utilise in English, that I simply don't know the German equivalent of — expressions which I am sometimes ashamed to not know in my TL. Today I had to google 'to mess with sb.' and 'to be on a knife edge' in German for at least the seventh time and there's nothing more frustrating than knowing you've looked up a word so many times, and that you've got to do it yet again.

I also still have significant confidence issues and this hinders my speaking the most. This isn't really a language specific issue, since I know I've had social anxiety for a lot of my life. I've come a long way and I've improved it a lot, but when speaking in my TL it gets intensified since I worry the other person is not just judging me in general, but also my language skills. I hope to work on this as I work on the blog too.

Sorry for the tirade :) you can mostly expect me to be here reporting on the books I'm reading (necessary for my degree), the new words I've made an active attempt to learn, the mini ''papers''? I've been writing to get ready to practice debating (for my degree), and whatever technique I figure out can improve my speaking and confidence beyond my current seemingly inadequate strategy.

Oh and French will be making the occasional appearance ! Right now I am going through a book of A2-B1 level French stories and using Lingvist.
Last edited by SalzSäule on Fri Dec 01, 2023 6:00 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:17 pm
Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:42 pm

02/08/2021

Went travelling to Bonn today so I've spent most of my day pre-occupied with that (they /really/ love Beethoven). Didn't stop me doing some stuff for my TL at least though !

* Read more of Fentischka (reading as online text so there's no chapters or pages listed) and listened to the audio up to the point I'd read to. Currently about 1/7 through the book. New words I recall without looking at the text: Selbstkasteiung (penance), Fiaker (fiacre), and wedeln (syn. for schwänzeln).

* Trying to read more challenging texts so I read thus far through about 1/5 (33 pages) of a collection of Wirtschaftsbegriffe and their respective definitions, and wouldn't read the next term without making sure I understood the previous one fully. Got easier as I carried on reading, and definitely recall a few obscure words. Mainly a test to read harder texts though, not to remember these words — I do not plan on having a conversation about Akkordlöhne, Kuxe or Briefhypotheken anytime soon.

* I have a huge backlog of words/terms I saved as bookmarks that I'm trying to learn. Lately I've been into just shoving the words unter a pic on a ppt. slide and calling up the ppt. every so often, I'm not sure why but I've always enjoyed it a bit more than Anki. Terms I've added today: auf Abwegen sein (on the wayward path), etw.DAT. vorsitzen/den Vorsitz führen (preside), zum Ritter /schlagen/ (to knight, didn't know the right verb), als Eigentor/Bumerang erweisen (backfire), 'nach fest kommt ab' (easy does it), Grille/Zirpe (cricket), räuberisch (predatory like an animal), lüstern/draufgängerisch (sexually predatory), an allen Ecken und Enden sparen (cut corners), Zuckerschote (sugar (snap) pea), Mir knurrt der Magen (my stomach is growling).

* Regretfully due to limited space in my hand luggage I couldn't take as many books with me to Bonn as I wanted. I was reading a book about Geflügelte Worte and their origins (my username is inspired by one) before I left and have tried to recall the ones I purposefully wrote down last night to remember. Linsengericht (mess of pottage), Es geschehen noch Zeichen und Wunder (Wonders will never cease), Erdenkloß (clump of dirt), himmelschreiend (outrageous), zur Salzsäule erstarren (turn into a pillar of salt) are all I currently remember actively. If you couldn't tell, I am on the first section of the book which is to do with dictums stemming from the bible.

* As part of trying to be more confident and social, actually engaged in small talk with the hotel receptionist. I also recorded a video where I just chat about my day and life in German for ten minutes. I need to think of some kind of concrete debate topics that I can practice on video.

Had a good day overall :)
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SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
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Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Tue Aug 03, 2021 8:05 pm

03/08/2021

Still travelling around Bonn, but leaving tomorrow. Genuinely a great city, would fully recommend for a short visit. In the Haus der Geschichte I picked up a few words: Junker (Squire), Schlotbaron (industrial magnate im Ruhrgebiet), Sperrsitz (front row seats in the theatre but back row in the cinema, basically the second-best option usually), Loge (box seating in theatre), Eber (boar), and Gaul (horse, typically of poor/old health and pej.). I also saw a black swan which has nothing to do with learning the language, but was super cool.

I have, however, just found out that the German word for black swan can be either Schwarzschwan (like en.) or Trauerschwan (lit. Grief-Swan) which I find pretty cool.

* Carried on reading Fenitschka and then listening to the audiobook too. I'm currently about 1/4 of the way through the book, even though we're not going to be discussing it at university for two months. This might be the most prepared I've been for anything. Not so many unknown words discovered today, or words that weren't simple compounds. All I recall are Spitz (a breed of dog also apparently called Spitz in English...), and Droschke (a droshky taxi-carriage).

* Have made it about 1/3 a way through the book on economic terms. There's one definition which straight up flew over my head and into the next room, which I'll have to come back to. Most important word I can recall from that book today is Ecklohn (base wage/salary).

* Added new terms to my ppt. today for learning — Hirngespinst (chimera, fantasy etc.), fortfallen (cease to exist), in die Parade fahren (rain on sb.'s parade), einen Ansatz wählen (adopt an approach), ähnlich verfahren (take a similar approach), in der Hölle schmoren (rot in hell), schielen (squint, have a lazy eye), tuckern (to tug along like a train or vehicle would), Lückenbüßer (stopgap, rebound person), verpfänden (to pawn), grölen (bellow/bawl out, usually a song), beanstanden (to object to, query, find fault with sth.).

* Recalled another idiom from the list I was trying to remember yesterday (which I left back at home): wie Sand am Meer.

* In terms of the getting-better-at-social-skills journey, I have just been trying to keep up the pace and engage in more small talk and try out new foods and shops that I otherwise wouldn't go into, as well as being more willing to ask for help instead of trying to figure everything out painstakingly myself.

For the remainder of the evening I will be locating a detailed list of some debate phrases I found ages ago, and planning how I want to go about learning some of those.
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DaveAgain
Black Belt - 1st Dan
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby DaveAgain » Tue Aug 03, 2021 8:51 pm

SalzSäule wrote: I also saw a black swan which has nothing to do with learning the language, but was super cool.

I have, however, just found out that the German word for black swan can be either Schwarzschwan (like en.) or Trauerschwan (lit. Grief-Swan) which I find pretty cool.
I was dumbstruck the first time I saw one of those (in Hyde Park). I didn't realise there were different kinds of swan. :-)
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SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
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Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:02 pm

DaveAgain wrote:
SalzSäule wrote: I also saw a black swan which has nothing to do with learning the language, but was super cool.

I have, however, just found out that the German word for black swan can be either Schwarzschwan (like en.) or Trauerschwan (lit. Grief-Swan) which I find pretty cool.
I was dumbstruck the first time I saw one of those (in Hyde Park). I didn't realise there were different kinds of swan. :-)


I knew they existed in the world, but I thought only in Oceania. I never in my life reckoned I'd see one in Europe. I think on the German Wiki page it suggested that there 'seem to be' small self-sustaining groups of them in North-Rhine Westphalia, the Netherlands, and in the extreme South West of England.

I've never walked with such eagerness towards a swan before in my life lmao.
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Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:17 pm
Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Sun Aug 08, 2021 8:14 am

08.08.2021

Been busy travelling around lately so I haven't been around or doing much :D I'm now back home (for now...) until my next trip to Hannover or Braunschweig. Honestly I've been very lazy the past few days, haven't read anymore of Fenitschka, and have only read a bit more of the economic terms book.

Now I'm back home I have way more resources thankfully (and an awful lot of books to read before I leave Germany). I just found a mindmap?esque?diagram-thing where I wrote down: dartun (demonstrate, explain), sich daranmachen/-setzen/-gehen (to set about doing sth.), darangeben (sacrifice), darüberlegen (superimpose), sich dareinfinden (come to terms with sth.) so I'll be trying to learn these today.

A few more expressions that seem to have stuck from the Geflügelte Worte book (again, all from the bible section): steinigen (to stone), ja und amen sagen (to agree meek and mild to sth.) von Scheitel bis zur Sohle (from tip to toe), wie seinen Augapfel hüten (guard sth. like gold), sein Herz ausschütten (to pour one's heart out)]

I am actually going to Mainz today so :lol: will hinder my time. I'm thinking I will start reading Don Quijote (in German) on the train ride there and back, because this book is 1100 pages long (!). And I'm already seeming numerous elevated words which I'm gonna have to look up.

Might give a short update tonight, might not.
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Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:17 pm
Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Sun Aug 08, 2021 8:23 pm

08.08.2021 #2

Today absolutely did not go as intended :lol: I did not end up going to Mainz and I have been incredibly sloth all day. I did read some of Don Quijote and some more of the Geflügelte Worte (although most of these were either identical in English, or so rarely used it wasn't worth it — Tod im Topf is the only groovy one I found).

Words from Don Quijote, which I won't be making an extremely conscious effort to learn for reasons of relative obscurity: Unbill (hardships, endeavours), Wams (doublet, jerkin), Gebresten (infirmity, disease), and Grobian (ruffian - which I really should have figured out based on 'grob').

Aside from that I've been trying to read some more German Wikipedia pages to keep up comprehension. I learnt that the description of a single-standing house (e.g. farm house) in an area can be an Einöde (Einzelsiedlung), that when there is a few houses strewn about it's a Rotte (but not too far apart, or that's a 'Streulagen'....), and when it's both more compact than a Rotte, and bigger, it's a Weiler. Always fun to learn a bit of random knowledge.
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Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:17 pm
Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Wed Aug 11, 2021 9:03 pm

It was a mistake to read Don Quixote in another language without having read it in English... That's it, that's the update.

J.K. But I've accidentally learnt more interesting terms like sintemal (outdated way of saying because) and fürbass gehen (to continue on one's way, also outdated), as well as darob (therefore) which I remember vaguely from the distant past.

I also read some of Faust, don't know why. But this time it seemed a hell of a lot easier than when I tried to read it a few months back, so I might actually finish this one quite quickly.

I've also abandoned the Lexicon of economic terms because it got to the point where it was easy to read and understand, but actual new words being acquired was so minuscule that it simply wasn't worth it. I do have two other lexicon books on financial terms which aren't so dated, so I'll be flicking through those.

Still been trying to update Germany-based wikipedia topics and through my investigations today I have acquired the words Dependance (elevated word for 'branch' of a company) and nach jds Begehr fragen (elevated way of saying to inquire after sb's wishes. From a Duden facebook post I've also learnt vortigern which seems to be a slang word meaning to hastily go somewhere.

And just now I have discovered the German word for clockface is Zifferblatt. I would never have guessed that in a 1000 lifetimes.
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Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:17 pm
Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Thu Aug 12, 2021 6:26 pm

Maybe an update or a half-update? I have to student house-hunt this evening so depends how long that takes :? .

Forgot to mention yesterday I learnt Gage (fee esp. in arts industry) from Faust. I read some more of Faust today, a bit more than yesterday, and it's not too bad. Because it's essentially a poem-novel it makes for more enjoyable reading.

I have a book called A Practical Dictionary of German Usage which lists tricky words to translate into German, usually owing to the number of translations depending on the exact meaning. Today I read through and made notes on the 'clever' section and learnt: pfiffig (''bright'', ''streetwise'', of a young, ingenious boy usually), gewiegt (ugs. ''astute, shrewd''), gewitzt (like pfiffig, but via experience), geistreich (witty e.g. answer), verschlagen (not straight-forward, always conceals intentions and sometimes pretends to be opposite of who they are), and abgefeimt (so obscenely cunning and crafty, it's unforgiveable).

And I just updated my PowerPoint of ''flashcards''. The newest ones are: Wildwechsel (deer/wild animal crossing), im Leerlauf (at rest, idle, in neutral), Hehlerware (''hot goods''), Schuft (scoundrel, wretch), Plackerei (drudgery), Graupe/Kochgerste (piece of pearl barley), Infusionsbeutel (IV Bag), Tantieme (royalties for the arts industry), hobeln (to plane/smooth down, also in ugs. to masturbate).

Also worked on another Germany-related article for Wiki today and have been getting back into German music more and more lately :)
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Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:17 pm
Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Fri Aug 13, 2021 7:41 pm

Today was pretty good, at least on reading. I'm enjoying Don Quijote now and no longer ripping my hair out.

The new words I encountered in Don Quixote today: annoch (still), kärglich (meagre), Scharpie (kind of material), Meuchler (assassin), Flick ('patch' like patchworker), hinfür[o] (henceforth). Thankfully a lot of the bizzare words are appearing repeatedly so remembering them is quite easy.

I also carried on with Faust today, about 1/4 through the book now. I recall looking up verprassen (blow/squander sth.) and Zinnen (battlements). I'm kind of enjoying Faust, but obviously with the layer of poetry and age of the book it's not as enjoyable as it could be.

And I've cleared some more bookmarked words and added them to my flashcards: brüntig (in heat), Schlucht (ravine), Schmach (disgrace, ignominy), Latzwerge ('electuary' or regional fruit [plum] jam), Kahn & Nachen (boat, 2nd = poetic), behänd (nimble, agile), Schleudertrauma (whiplash), Gurtgeschirr (harness), lobhudeln (adulate), Memme (sissy, coward, cry-baby etc.). Some of those were from Faust too.
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Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.


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