Die Kaffeestube Teil 2 - virtual Kaffeeklatsch in Germany and Austria

[cheaspicks]

Chat for those living in a German-speaking country, or anyone else who is interested.

That Baby Talk book looks interesting, Linzer. The David Crystal book doesn't give any (explicit) tips for stimulating a child's language development, it's more about what features to look out for and what to record, so the two books may well complement each other.

ploom dd doesn't ask "why" much, which is why I said she isn't very chatty, despite talking incessantly. The one question she does ask is "what did you say wrong?" every single time I make a slip of the tongue, aargh!

admylin I wish I could find a hairdresser here that I was happy with. Are you sure your dd will grow out of shopping? I can remember going into town every weekend as a teenager, although all we bought were joss sticks and the like.

I met the man of my dreams in 1975, who was german ( sadly deceased now) in Majorca, of course. He couldn't speak english, and I couldn't speak german, but it was love at first sight for us both and we married later and I moved to Germany, having been quite successful at learning german, with a thick english accent, of course. I loved the peaceful and beautiful countryside, the food, standard of living, cleanliness , NHS system, but not their long hard winters and short wet summers. Yes we lived in the north, 1 hrs drive from Hamburg airport. The language is not so difficult to learn, but then I had incentive and was a necessity

digerd thanks for sharing

When I started learning german it was obvious immediately that german spelling is much easier than english. Every vowel in the word is pronounced in german, not so in english, and pronunciation is clear, never slurred, and their vocabulary is limited compared to the rich variety of synonyms in english. Even as an adult when I learned german , I never had difficulty with the spelling, but in english I still do at times, so please excuse any I may have made. !!

That's wonderful for you

I agree digerd, spelling in English is more difficult and unlogical sometimes! Dd sometimes asks me why on earth certain English words are written is such and such a way! I'd probably need a research degree in the history of the English langauge to answer her!

cheaspicks I also remember joss sticks and buying alot of lip gloss! Dd wants bags, tops, necklaces and for a few weeks now she's spent alot of time in the make-up aisle of Rossmann but hasn't decided what to buy yet!!

ploom hope the babysitting went OK! 2 year olds are so cute, I'd never be able to be a Kindergarden teacher as I find them all too cute to dish out enough discipline! My dc even tell me I'm not strict enough with them even!

Yes, German spelling is definitely far easier than English. Also, if you see a word you've never come across before, you can be fairly sure of how it's pronounced - not the case with English at all. Unfortunately the clear pronunciation isn't true of Austria and I'm not sure it would be true throughout Germany either; our (German) neighbour was telling me her DH has relatives near Hannover who are virtually impossible to understand. (Am not sure how much is to do with unclear pronunciation and how much is related to her unfamiliarity with the dialect, but if a native German speaker has problems understanding them, I'm assuming it would be even more difficult for a non-native speaker.)

I've spent most of the morning having coffee with friends, which was lovely but I now have rather a lot to fit into my final child-free half-hour - including three lots of washing, as DS wet the bed last night. He'd been so much better recently, but now it feels like one step forward, two steps back.

Relatives near Hannover who are virtually impossible to understand , yes right?!

I see this thread is really meant to be for Non-Germans in Germany, so it's time for me to cut my losses, me thinks. to you all who were lovely to get to know

world I know, that was what I said to her - that I'd always heard that the "purest" German is spoken in Hannover. I'm not sure exactly how far these relatives were from Hannover but she said they're in an area where there's a very strong local dialect.

Don't feel like you have to go, world - the thread is open to all (although those with absolutely no interest in German-speaking countries might get a little bored!) and it's been great to have your contributions.

I agree with linzer, it's virtual Kaffeeklatsch after all! No membership rules or nationality requirments here!

Otherwise it will be back to cheas and me squabbling over die Feinheiten der deutschen Sprache.

Its a season for firsts on this thread - first near bunfight and now a gently flounce. Didnt think we were that awful .
I agree with admylin & linzer - no membership rules here! Think even people with a german shephard dog would be welcome .
But enjoy the rest of MN world!

Just to change the subject a second: I saw ds walking to school with A GIRL!!! I thought he didn't even speak to them. He had a late first lesson so he set off 5 minutes before I went out to the shops so I passed them on the street as I drove past. My baby....

Won't that be weird when they get their first boyfriends and girlfriends, admylin? Maybe your DS already has one?

sobs over old baby and toddler photos.

OMG admylin - maybe its all starting!! How old is he?? I think he's 14 but i'm not 100% sure. I remember what I was like at that age - I was beyond distracted by the opposite sex despite not even kissing a boy till I was nearly 15! Oh I am not looking forward to my dc having boyfriends/girlfriends!! Can I stop time?

Yep - 14. I am going to have to control myself and NOT ask him who she was and what they were talking about when he gets back aren't I?

Good luck, admylin - I'm not sure I'd be able to control myself, but then I'm innately nosey. I would try and subtly work it into the conversation and then end up not being very subtle at all.

good luck admylin - I'd be desperate to know all the details too. Maybe he left at that time so he could meet her? Aw its like something out of Jackie magazine (am I showing my age??)

Jackie was the highlight of my week, Ploom (and I refuse to believe that I am old, so you can't be either).

Ummmm Jackie magazine? Mind you we never really had magazines, so I wouldn't know what my relevant girls magazine was . My brothers used to get the beano comic which was considered good value because we would all read it.

World if you are still lingering please come back! I've enjoyed your input and perspective!

Awww admylin I thought that as a Mum (especially of a teenage boy) it is your duty to be nosy and find out who your DS was walking with :)

Goodness, I can't spell at all today, this post is taking me waaay too long! But totally agree with German spelling and Pronunciation being more straightforward - very much a say what you see scenario. But I do enjoy teaching English pronunciation... although spelling I often have to check, and I keep finding that I want to spell in a more German influenced way... the number of times I've written schock on MN instead of shock is really rather shameful!

Oh, I'm always writing schock Nutella. Strangely enough, MN appears resolutely monolingual and refuses to turn it into a .

Linzer and Nutella yes, yes I am lingering around