Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with German

List of simple word roots

Monkey0nCrack — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:44:35 -0800

I am looking for a text file of a list of words (roughly the 5000-10000 most common English words) and their root word and root word language. My Google Fu only turns up single words or pages that I can type in a word to get to another page to get the etymology. Wikipedia has some stuff, but it is sorted by language root, which is not what I am looking for. I would like to have a long list of words in a text file so that I can manipulate it programatically. Comma separated or whatever, any format would be great. Here is one use case: Yoke - [list of words that have yoke in the etymological history] (Many, many many English words come from the root work for Yoke.) All answers appreciated!

Help me chill out my dog

corn_bread — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:33:00 -0800

I super love my 4-year old German Shepherd, but his desire to work/have a purpose has not waned with age, and I feel like he would be so much happier in life if I could help him find that purpose. His favorite thing on earth is playing fetch, but I know I can give him more than that. Suggestions? He is incredibly intelligent, athletic and has seemingly boundless energy. I'm looking for things I can train him to do and/or activities he can participate in.

Decode This German Shorthand Mystery Letter From 1939!

The Whelk — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:56:03 -0800

This envelope with a letter inside was found inside a large decaying bound edition of Shakespeare auf Deutsch in a junk shop in Bushwick that was only apparently open for a few months before disappearing. The letter, postmarked 15 March, 1939 - was sent to Paris by a Mr. Henri Wolf. The contents of the letter appear to be German shorthand. Included was small piece of what looks like code, there's nothing else on the back.The letter, envelope, postcard, etc in question are at this imgur album. Hivemind: What the hell is this?

Tell us about cornbread

ricochet biscuit — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:28:23 -0800

I am at a meetup in Boston at a German restaurant (Jacob Wirth) and we have been served cornbread as an appetizer, but none of the mefites present thinks of cornbread as a German food. Can anyone tell us if there is some Germanic cuisine connection we are missing here? Hope us, please -- a half-dozen curious mefites are baffled.

VERY BRIEF 1940's German/English Translation Help Requested

ProfLinusPauling — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:09:34 -0800

Hello, Hive. I'm working on a historical graphic novel and a portion of it involves four sentences in German. I've made an effort to hammer something out by testing Google Translate's gibberish against some German language textbooks and grammar sites. I'm sorta confident about them, but would love for any bilingual native German speakers to give them a once over. Particularly, if you have any insights into generational differences in the German language, as this piece is supposed to take place during WWII. Posting them after the jump. • Warten Sie bei Childs Restaurant auf 34th Street
[Wait at Child’s Restaurant on 34th Street.]

• Suchen Sie nach einem Mann mit einem "New York Times" in seiner linken Hand.
[Look for a man carrying a "New York Times" in his left hand.]

• Folgen Sie ihm zu einem Tisch und tauschen Passwörter.
[Follow him to a table and exchange passwords.]

• Der Mann wird Ihnen die Mittel, die Sie angefordert.
[The man will give you the funds you requested.]

Thanks in advance!!!!

How to replace non-ascii characters with HTML entities?

the latin mouse — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:32:30 -0800

I’m currently working on an international project and need to format documents written in German, Polish and Croatian for use on the web. What is the quickest way to convert all the non-ASCII characters into the relevant character entity? Some sort of web form would be my ideal solution, but I’d settle for a freeware program.

Tips for learning advanced vocabulary and grammar in a foreign language?

kristi — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:31:16 -0800

What are your tips and techniques for learning advanced vocabulary and grammar in a foreign language? I'm happy with my techniques for learning basic vocabulary (sky, street, house, speak, run) in another language. I'd like to do better with more advanced vocabulary, especially:

* more abstract words (such as the adjective "striking")
* related words with specialized differences ("ship" vs. "boat")

I'm also struggling a bit with the best way to learn and review advanced grammar (for example, in Spanish, the personal subject pronoun can usually be omitted, but there are times when it's required).

What resources do you use?

What techniques do you use?

My main target languages are Spanish and French, but I'd also appreciate suggestions for Italian and German, as well as Russian and Japanese.

I am a huge fan of Anki spaced-repetition software, so I'd be delighted to have suggestions that take advantage of SRS. (For example, if you use additional material, such as example sentences that use the target, do you put them on the back or the front of the card?)

Thanks!

Help me begin my study of German on a firm footing.

gnossie — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 08:23:53 -0800

I would like to know, when one is studying German, what do you have to learn with nouns? With verbs? I think with nouns you must learn the gender and the plural form, but that's it. Should you also learn declension? With verbs, what must one memorize in addition to the root word? I ask because I've had bad experience before: Latin teachers, for example, failing to clarify (until after I've studied thousands of words) that, for verbs, one must learn 4 principal parts instead of just two, etc.

I don't want this to happen to me. I've just started studying German. So somebody please clue me in: unless the nouns and verbs are irregular, what other info do I need to memorize with them?

Thanks to any who can help.

Quick help with very basic german

[@I][:+:][@I] — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:17:21 -0800

We have this "German translation" of a template, which is obviously incomplete: Sie haben einen Termin mit Dr. [DOCTOR'S NAME] on [DATE] at [TIME]. I don't trust google translate, so I come to you, German speakers of metafilter. Can you please finish the translation? Thanks.

"I'm in Love with a German Film Star"

Blazecock Pileon — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 13:49:59 -0800

Where is the sample of German from at the end of Ana Tijoux's Las Horas from the album La Bala?

Veet-suhl-zoot-ehn; high-falootin'.

BusyBusyBusy — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:29:50 -0800

What is this non-English, possibly German word? Sounds like veetsul zooten, means emotional from an impending change. My father says that while he was flying home from Tanzania, transiting through South Africa, he met a man who told him about a German (or Swedish, or Yiddish...) word meaning to be emotional about an impending change or period of transition. He says he recalls it being pronounced veet-suhl-zoot-ehn but as it has been years, he could be remembering it incorrectly.

My google-fu is failing me. Seeing as I am currently and frequently feeling this word, I would love to know what it is. Any guesses?

He's just 75 pounds of pure love . . . HOME ALONE!

ablazingsaddle — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:23:27 -0800

I'm visiting my family for the holidays in Boston. My senior German Shepherd dog cannot come with me. How can I make sure that my house is not destroyed and neither my dog nor my roommate are traumatized by the experience? The current plan is to have the usual dog walker come twice a day and take care of walking and feeding, and my roommate will be home and will hopefully play with and hang out with him. I have a cheat sheet with feeding instructions, emergency numbers, tips and tricks, and I will be checking in with the dog walker and/or my roommate every day.

And I am a fucking nervous wreck.

-My dog has a history of digestive problems, and I think we're pretty much out of the woods now, but I'm still worried that he will have a diarrhea attack when I'm out of town. I have the special sensitive stomach food the vet gave me and a week's worth of antibiotics if necessary, but I'm mostly crossing my fingers. His last shit-all-over-the-porch incident was last week, and I think the one before that was at the very end of October. Is there anything else I should do?

-My roommate last night offered to "take him to the dog park sometimes." How can I communicate to her that I don't trust her to take him out without saying that explicitly? My dog is kind of a pain in the ass, and my roommate is nice but a little clueless about some things. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I also want to make sure nothing bad happens.

-After a panic-induced emergency trip to the vet last night - he ate some tinfoil - my poor old dog peed on the floor. First time ever. Now I have something else to worry about. Is possible that he just had a weird accident, and I should forget about it?

-It's not that cold in LA, but he's old and used to sleeping inside. If my roommate forgets to bring him inside or isn't home, are temperatures in the forties going to hurt him? He has a dog house/crate with lots of blankets, but he doesn't go in there that much.

-I don't want to stress him out when I pack, so my current plan is to leave my suitcase lying around from now until I leave on Monday. Will he get used to the suitcase, or is this a stupid idea?

-He currently can't get on my bed. (Or rather, he can but is afraid to jump that high inside. That's fine by me). Should I get him some pet stairs? I kind of like the idea of not having to worry about coming home to a chewed up mattress, but I also feel guilty about leaving him and want to make his week without me as pleasant as possible.

I figure that whatever happens, he's better off at home with people he knows than kenneled at the vet's office. He's a sweet, mellow old boy, and he will probably sleep most of the week and handle all this better than I will. But still, Hivemind, what are the best practices for leaving a dog for a week?

Ich weiße nicht!

droplet — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:51:11 -0800

What is this greeting?/ Was dieser Gruß? I am taking the "Deutsch - Warum Nicht?" podcast series of German lessons from Deutsche Welle, and I can't find the greeting used for each lesson that's said after the opening audio sting.

It sounds like the guy is saying "Liebe Hernegergen und heure." Is that what he's saying? I checked in the printed materials and Google also, und nicht! I'm one of those people who needs to see the words as I hear them, and this is starting to really bug me. Wirklich.

Can any Deutsch speakers help?

Vielen dank.

Importing a German R.V. to the U.S.

tangyraspberry — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 17:59:48 -0800

Is there a cost effective way of importing a German vehicle, that is not sold in the U.S., to the U.S.? I've been shopping around for an R.V. and came across a model made by Westfalia called the Sven Hedin, however, the company said that they have no plans on selling the rig in the U.S.

I was left wondering what's involved in purchasing the vehicle in Germany and having it shipped to the U.S., etc?

Wedding congrats in German?

John Borrowman — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:31:46 -0800

How can I congratulate the bride's parents in German? I am attending a wedding tomorrow. The bride's parents are from Austria and speak only German. Most people at the reception will speak only English.

Please help me with a short, congratulatory phrase in German that is appropriate to their position as the bride's parents, and which will make them feel more welcome.

(They'll likely assume I speak German. But, I'll deal with that later.)

Identify two lieder

amtho — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:40:33 -0800

Could someone please identify these two lieder? I think they are German art songs. I can't even make out any phrase to use as a search term (so if you can, that would be great): one; two. Thanks in advance.

Text of the "Swabian Tale" cherished by Einstein?

zaebiz — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:50:33 -0800

Where can I find the text of the poem "Swabian Tale" by Ludwig Uhland that Albert Einstein extracted the term "Valiant Swabian" to refer to himself in communication with his wife Mileva? I imagine it was originally written in German so the above quoted terms might be translations.

Background info.

German Intelligence during the second World War

mousepad — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 08:43:27 -0800

If true, why did German Intelligence pale so much in comparison to the British and Russians during WWII?

Wilde Liebe? Or something?

Acheman — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:19:52 -0800

What are the German equivalents of the Savage Lovecast, This American Life or Judge John Hodgman? Doesn't have to be a podcast, but I do need to be able to listen online. I'm trying to listen to more German radio and so forth, but by god are all the things I end up listening to dull. I don't even want to understand half of it, and if I hear anything more about Angela Merkel or the music scene in Munich I will kill somebody. Is there something I can listen to that's just people, talking about their own lives in a not-entirely-po-faced manner?

I don't live in Germany and it's not likely I'll go there in the next year. If the language used is relatively simple that's a bonus, but the priority is something that's bearable enough for me to be motivated to work out what's being said. Please. I'm drowning in stuffiness and awful zany 'youth' nonsense.

What are some popular grocery store books in Germany?

coolxcool=rad — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 00:16:45 -0800

Can you suggest any German language, German originated, modern novel series for light reading? I'm asking on behalf of a friend who is looking for the German equivalent of book series' that are popular, or have been recently popular, in the United States. Examples of this include Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, The Hunger Games, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc. The series needs to be originally written in German and popular in Germany. Additionally, the writing should be somewhat light in its verbiage without the story being too juvenile.

I've read the other AskMeFi question that is similar to this but I want this question to just focus on discussing works that are popular and somewhat in serial. Thanks

How to find Hermann Hesse in English?

Cobalt — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 07:14:17 -0800

Hermann Hesse apparently published a book called Bäume: Betrachtungen und Gedichte (Trees: Reflections and Poems) and I'm trying to find a version in English, because it sounds awesome. Look. I say "apparently" because while the book is readily available in Amazon, it doesn't seem to appear in any of the bibliographies. Also, it was published a long time after the dude died, so it was clearly published by someone else. Mysteries, people. Our sort of thing, yes?

Zee German?

xaire — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:31:35 -0800

What is "the German" (dance? Game?) referred to in several Louisa May Alcott books? It is referenced in Rose in Bloom and An Old Fashioned Girl, and possibly Little Women, and seems to occur in the latter half of young adult parties, after dancing. LMA references Rose and Charlie "leading" the German, and also mentions Rose coming home with paper hats, beads and flowers from The German. In OFG, Polly talks about she and the younger boys not knowing it. Google turns up little that is satisfactory (ie, I don't think it's the waltz as that is mentioned separately). I've never see the term referenced elsewhere. Any ideas? This, her reference to a velocipede, and her repeat reference to some story about a girl named Rosamund have always perplexed me.

Dog diarrhea is not fun for anyone (Gross details inside)

ablazingsaddle — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 09:56:07 -0800

My senior German Shepherd has had a few bouts of diarrhea recently, and I'm not sure why it's happening or how to stop it. I haven't changed his food, and fecal analyses and blood work didn't turn up anything. Is occasional diarrhea just something that happens, or should I be more worried? My dog had a recent bout of explosive diarrhea, pretty much apropos of nothing. I took him to the vet, and upon noticing that he had lost about four pounds (yikes!), the vet was very worried and asked to run a bunch of tests. He brought up EPI (Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) as a possibility, but it does not appear that my dog has EPI (thank god), and that usually shows up at a much younger age. He also tested negative for parasites.

So, just some flukey diarrhea, right? On our walk this morning, my poor pup had a normal stool, and then stopped for a few squirts of nasty dog diarrhea. (I really tried to clean it up, but without a hose . . .) Fortunately, I had an extra course of diarrhea meds from the vet, so I started him on those this morning in the hopes that my bedroom will not be destroyed by dog shit when I get home from work. Last time, he was unable to control his bowels at all, and at least this time he seemed to have some control over where and when he let it out.

Possibly relevant info:

We just moved this weekend, and moved a month earlier. I'm hoping that this current place is a long-term situation. The doggy and I are both pretty stressed out.

It's been really hot in LA. September is the cruelest month here.

He's been working on a peanut butter stuffed Kong for a few days, and before he got sick the last time, he had also eaten a fair amount of peanut butter. Peanut butter is like crack for dogs and he loves it, but is it possible that he has a problem with peanut butter?

making friends in a second language

colfax — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:52:24 -0800

Making friends in a second language: Can you explain to me why it doesn't matter? I am an American living in Germany and although I'm getting relatively good at the language, I still make all sorts of mistakes. My sentences still get jumbled sometimes, I still have to resort to gesturing periodically, and every time I try to explain or describe something, all I can see are how many words I'm still missing in German. And when people talk to me too fast or use non-basic vocabulary, I still miss things sometimes. And yet, I've somehow managed to make good friends here: smart, articulate people who are frequently hilarious and incredibly kind. These friends are also German, and German is our main language of conversation.

At some very basic level though, I don't understand why they want to be friends with me, and why all of my mistakes in their language don't seem to bother them. I feel like it must be so much more work to communicate with me than with their fellow Germans. And we're living in a pretty big city, so it's not like my friends don't have other opportunities to talk to other native speakers: people who don't have to continually pause in the middle of their sentences to ask how you say "humbug" or "fork" or "solidarity" in German. Most of those other native speakers probably don't mangle articles or violently mispronounce words very often either.

So if you have people in your life--good friends, casual friends, significant others--who are not native speakers of your language, can you explain to me why it doesn't matter to you that they can't speak your language perfectly? The thing is, I have had friends myself who were immigrants and didn't speak English perfectly, and that never bothered me, but I can't seem to extrapolate from that to my own current experience. I think hearing other people's stories might help.

JLLERT - German printer?

kirsti — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:31:11 -0800

Information on JLLERT (German printer?). I have an old German olive oil label. I am trying to determine just how old it is. In small print, it reads "JLLERT No. 7516 (or 4516)". I suspect that JLLERT is the printer's name. The label was used by August Grill (Schorndorf), a store that was in operation from 1912 to 1965. I would like to know when JLLERT was in operation.