10-08-2009 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree Romy the Cat Boston, MA Posts 10,400 Joined on 05-28-2004 Post #: 1 Post ID: 11924 Reply to: 11924 I wish I could speak German! fiogf49gjkf0d With all heritage-inspired hate to German language in my youth (you need to be Russian to understand it) the older I become the more and more I am falling with love with German language and German expressionism. All my adult life   German composers and German writers were the very pinnacle of my interest and admiration. The German writing ironically is a reference to me in Russian language. For instance Thomas Mann’s “Joseph and His Brothers” was translated to Russian by Solomon K. Apt, and this translation to me an absolute reference of Russian prose. There is nothing in Russian literature even remotely close to the Mann’s translation! So, the last few years I was thinking to learn some German, just to get some very basics. Of cause being adult a pragmatic 42 year old jerk I do not what to invest efforts and I would like to get it “easy”. Perhaps I need to pick a German girlfriend and get German by the “other” means. Here is the case to point. Lately am listing frequently the Franz Schmidt’s oratorio “Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln”. It is Schmidt’s renderation of the Book of Revelations that in a way inspired my Thomas Mann with his “Doctor Faustus”. The Schmidt’s oratorio is beyond wonderful – it just gives some sub-conscious intellectuals relaxation – it almost like the drugs. How wonderful would it be if I spoke German and might appreciate all of it in original language! I wonder how much efforts would  it take to “get German”? The Cat "I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche

10-09-2009 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree jp Posts 39 Joined on 02-25-2006 Post #: 2 Post ID: 11931 Reply to: 11924 Finding real motivation fiogf49gjkf0d is difficult.  Ive been contemplating learning German for the last year or so for slightly different reasons but have not gone forward with it.  I guess Im waiting for that moment when I just feel the need to learn, weighing the pros and cons.  In any event, I looked into the Rosetta computer program...and friends of mine swear by it, but who knows.

10-10-2009 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree Axel South Africa Posts 80 Joined on 07-18-2009 Post #: 3 Post ID: 11937 Reply to: 11931 Ah ja? Oh, yes? fiogf49gjkf0d Nun, das ganze scheint eine interessante Idee. Well, that all seems an interesting Idea. Ich muss allerdings zustimmen, das es nicht ganz leicht werden wird. I have to agree that it will not turn out to be really that easy. Ich hatte Englisch sprechende Kollegen und die fanden tatsächlich, Französisch wäre die einfacher zu lernende Sprache für sie. I had some English speaking colleagues, and they found that French was the easier language to learn for them. Now, there was a youngster that turned out to become a philosopher and he learned Latin apparently by just reading it loud, having no idea what texts meant... Eventually it just all made sense --- mystical? magic? maybe. Greetings, Axel

10-13-2009 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree el`Ol Posts 225 Joined on 10-13-2007 Post #: 4 Post ID: 11962 Reply to: 11924 The top address: fiogf49gjkf0d http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/bos/lrn/enindex.htm

12-01-2011 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree Romy the Cat Boston, MA Posts 10,400 Joined on 05-28-2004 Post #: 5 Post ID: 17458 Reply to: 11924 Love it or hate it..... fiogf49gjkf0d http://classical-scene.com/2011/11/23/music-abroad/ The Cat "I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche

07-12-2012 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree rowuk Germany Posts 461 Joined on 07-05-2012 Post #: 6 Post ID: 18377 Reply to: 11924 Learning German fiogf49gjkf0d Romy, I can only agree with your desire. I wish that I had started learning Russian for the same reasons you mention for German. I am an American that has been living in Germany since 1975. It took a couple of years to be able to understand the deeper meaning of things - when I could spend time. Real time performances or lectures still require me to prepare. The danger for you is the insistance of technical law and order in the German way of thinking. Many things are not as "free" as Mann, Kafka, Eichendorff would have preferred. Considering your love of Bruckner, maybe the Austrian dialect would be better. Vienna, Salzburg and Graz as well as Bruckners own Linz are wonderful places for inspiration. Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

07-21-2012 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree N-set Warsaw, Poland Posts 642 Joined on 01-07-2006 Post #: 7 Post ID: 18432 Reply to: 11924 Deutsch fiogf49gjkf0d Out of 6 languages that I speak German has been for me the most difficult to learn (i inherited 3 slavic languages, otherwise they, or at least Russian, would occupy the top). Spanish, at least basic, is a child play. I spent 3.5yrs in the capital of Hoch Deutsch-Hannover, have a German degree,  but still even in the peak moment (loong gone) my German was...awful IMHO. I just could not crack it (possibly also due to Eastern EU origins and some genetical repulsion).   What always helped me to break the ice ist aber ein Bierschen ;-)! Prost! Mit freundlichen Gruessen, N-set Cheers, Jarek

11-12-2012 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree steverino Posts 389 Joined on 05-23-2009 Post #: 8 Post ID: 18739 Reply to: 11924 I think it's the other way around fiogf49gjkf0d "Perhaps I need to pick a German girlfriend and get German by the “other” means." I would think that it's more customary to  learn German (or fill in the blank language)  because one Wants a German girlfriend rather than the other way around. Certainly women think that guys want to learn a language because they are attracted to the women of that country. As for reading the original vs the translation I think it makes a difference more for an appreciation of the artistry than the thought or meaning behind it. I  can read French and have actually translated some French poetry. The meaning is not hard to state, its just that the form or surface characteristics of a language suggest or facilitate certain ways of expressing a thought that don't work precisely that way in translation. I think dual language texts are a good way of presenting poetic translation for that reason. Translations of prose or non fiction are generally very good quality in my experience and don't really "lose" much.