An Unusual German ReaderStudents of German interested in expanding their vocabulary of military terminology via readings of actual BBC broadcasts in German, addressed to the citizens of their erstwhile WW2 adversary, might be interested by
“News in German” by D.H. Stott, published in 1942 by George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd.
News in German 1.JPG
The Preface to this 64-page pocket-sized booklet advices the reader:
“This short course of ‘news’ is so arranged as to include the words most frequently used in the [BBC] broadcasts in German. It is the result of the author’s experience with army classes, with which it has an outstanding success.
Very easy at the start, the passages gradually work up to the point where the actual [BBC] broadcasts can be understood. With the pronunciation guide and full vocabulary, compiled for use without previous knowledge of the language, even the beginner can tackle this course; by listening to the [BBC] broadcasts broadcasts in German, and with the help of this book, he will be able to pick up the correction pronunciation, train his ear to understand German, and go a long way towards learning the language.
The readings are based upon [BBC] broadcasts sent out at various dates in 1941, and do not profess to represent the war situation up to date. A number of extracts from actual broadcasts – made available by the courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] – are given in an Appendix.”Imagine yourself sprinkling your conversations with
“Eines der besten russichen Unterseeboote, unter dem Kommando von Kapitänleutnant Starikow, ist dreimal versenkt worden – allerdings nur von Goebbels. Als sich Starikow wieder einmal in feindlichen Gewässern befand, sichete er zwei bewaffnete Transporter, die vor einer Hafenmole ankerten. Er torpedierte sie ...” and how suitably impressed your fellow students of German would be (or should be)! This little reader begins at the CEFR A0 level and moves quickly into the CEFR B2-C1 range. Here are two example pages:
News in German 2.JPG
News in German 3.JPG
EDITED:
Expansion of the text to include: "Imagine yourself ..."
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