German group

[DaveAgain]

I guess what it comes down to is that reading something and responding to questions about it is much easier for me than listening to something, storing it in my short-term memory in a foreign language, and then responding to questions about it. That's why I'm really looking for audio.

You could just summarise things then. Listen to a news clip/programme, then speak about it.

[Carl]

DaveAgain wrote
You could just summarise things then. Listen to a news clip/programme, then speak about it.

Yes, with a lot of use of the pause button, that would probably be a reasonably similar alternative.

I did find something pretty directly analogous to Unlimited Spanish, though. I emailed Oscar Pellus of Unlimited Spanish and asked him directly. He pointed me to learn-german-easily.com. They're so similar that learn-german-easily.com even has a link to Unlimited Spanish. I've just started playing with it; I'm not yet sure whether it's at too easy a level for me.

[tungemål]

I'm watching a nice historical movie, "the red violin". A polyglot movie with English, Italian, German, French and Mandarin dialogue.

I heard several times a word for "boy" that must be archaic. I thought I heard "Bugend" but after looking it up I found out it must be "Bube".

[Chameleon]

I'm watching a nice historical movie, "the red violin". A polyglot movie with English, Italian, German, French and Mandarin dialogue.

I heard several times a word for "boy" that must be archaic. I thought I heard "Bugend" but after looking it up I found out it must be "Bube".

Bub (or is it Bube?) is Bavarian dialect, isn't it?

[Doitsujin]

Bub (or is it Bube?) is Bavarian dialect, isn't it?

I'm not an expert when it comes to Bavarian German, but, AFAIK, they only use the spoken form bua.
Bube is standard German, but it's no longer in use, except as the name of the jack in card games, e.g. Pik-Bube = jack of spades.
It's also used in a couple of negative expressions.

For example:

Spitzbube = rascal, rogue, scoundrel, scallywag
Spitzbubenstreich/Dummerjungenstreich/Spitzbüberei = piece of roguery
Milchbubi/Milchreisbubi/Milchgesicht = fresh-faced adolescent; callow youth

[Kraut]

"Der Bube" with "e" is not used, it sounds archaic, stage German."Der Bub" is less used, but the dialectal form is very common. In Swabian it's "der Bua" or the diminutive form "des Buale", which would be "das Bübchen" in standard German. It is noteworthy that the grammatical gender is neuter : "das Bübchen", which grammatically corresponds to the neuter in "das Mädchen" (some people claim that here the neuter discriminates against women, because of the parallel "der Junge" vs "das Mädchen.) but this is not the case here, it's just grammar..
Compare
"die Magd" vs "das Mädchen"
"der Bub" vs "das Bübchen"
"der Junge" vs "das Jungchen"
or "der Kerl" and the diminutive "das (kleine) Kerlchen,
or "der Mann" and "das Männchen"

-CHEN words are always neuter, "der Wagen" - "das Wägelchen". "der Kasten" - "das Kästchen" etc

[tungemål]

Bube is a n-noun, meaning that the form is Buben in all forms except nominative singular.
The word was probably used to give a 18th century flavour to the movie. The place was Wien, so Austria, maybe that is a factor.

Compare
"die Magd" vs "das Mädchen"
"der Bub" vs "das Bübchen"
"der Junge" vs "das Jungchen"
or "der Kerl" and the diminutive "das (kleine) Kerlchen

Are you saying that "das Bübchen" is still in use?
"die Magd" - is that archaic or still in use?

[Kraut]

Are you saying that "das Bübchen" is still in use?
"die Magd" - is that archaic or still in use?

No. no, I was explaining (historic) word formation, not meaning and usage. My parents used the word "Magd". There was a "Magd" in their household when they were young, which would be a house employee (Hausangestellte) today. However, I would expect the word still being used in rural areas.
"Bübchen" and "Jungchen" are not used, it would be "kleiner Junge": "Zwei Mädchen und ein kleiner Junge spielten im Garten".

[tungemål]

I thought that I had come across Magd in a video - but I was thinking of another word.

Mädel - that's still in use. "Hallo Mädels - wie geht´s?"

[Nicola]

"Bübchen" and "Jungchen" are not used, it would be "kleiner Junge"

True, I never hear them, except when my 91 year old father-in-law is on the phone to my husband. He starts every phone call with "Hallo, Jungsche' "