3 Kinds of Germans

Rolando   Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:34 am GMT
Can anyone tell me the diffrence and a small discription of this kinds of Germans...?


Low German
High German
Standard German


Which is harder to learn?
JLK   Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:20 am GMT
You should start with Standard German. There is no point learning a dialect before the standard language. Having said that, dialects do tend to be simpler grammatically than the formal language. One can see this with Arabic. I haven't done extensive research on German dialects, but I think this holds true with them as well.

[removed by moderator]
Guest   Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:38 am GMT
Rolando,

You should probably write "kinds of German" with no "s" here. At first I thought this was about German people and I wondered what three kinds there would be.
Rolando   Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:46 pm GMT
Thanks alot... I have heard that writing and speaking German is the same thing a writing and speaking French...


1. To many accents
2. Certain letters are not prnounced
3. when writing in German you have to add more words rather then when someone speaks it.


if this is the case then damn!!!! thats kinda hard. I also heard that German is related to English, can anyone state if that is true
guest   Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:59 pm GMT
<<Thanks alot... I have heard that writing and speaking German is the same thing a writing and speaking French...
...
1. To many accents
2. Certain letters are not prnounced
3. when writing in German you have to add more words rather then when someone speaks it.
...
if this is the case then damn!!!! thats kinda hard. I also heard that German is related to English, can anyone state if that is true >>

I have never heard of writing and speaking German as being the same as French, but

1). Standard German doesn't employ accents, only umlauts which affect pronunciation, so there's no guessing about when they're used
2). In German, all letters are generally used to affect pronunciation. "Unvoiced" letters, like those in clusters (eg. "sch") do not really exist. If they are unpronounced, they are usu. replaced with apostrophe's (ich habe > ich hab') but this is in casual speech/casual writing.
3). Never heard of this before.

English and German are related--more like first cousins. German is not as closely related to English as Dutch and Low German are (English siblings)
guest   Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:01 pm GMT
<<CORRECTION>>

<"Unvoiced" letters, like those in clusters (eg. "sch") do not really exist.>

That should read "Unvoiced" letters, except those used in clusters (eg. "sch") do not really exist."
Guest   Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:58 pm GMT
I don't think Dutch is my sibling. I find German easier to pronounce and use. Dutch is fun, though, and sometimes there are the surprising sentences that sound like a fun version of English.

Dank u wel. Thank you very much
Hoe kom ik naar de markt. How do I get to the market?

Try to say them if you don't know Dutch. They'll remind you of English.

German: How do I get=Wie komme ich_____________
It doesn't feel as close, but it isn't hard to say.

Remember Earle and the Frisian guy? Frisian is supposed to be the closest to English, but Earle claims they could only communicate through signs.

A Dutch friend told me that my Dutch sounded like Frisian. I think that was not a compliment.
Guest   Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:53 am GMT
Dutch sounds like Mandarin to my ears. People tell me I'm mad, but that's the simple truth and I can't change how it sounds!
Earle   Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:18 pm GMT
I'm still here. :) I've had almost thirty years experience in languages since the hitchhiker, and I wonder if I could do a better job of understanding him now. When I find myself in that situation, my brain sort of goes into "cognate-searching" mode. And I have a lot more cognates stored in inventory now.
Guest   Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:22 pm GMT
So, Earle, in that time, what other languages have you learned? Did you stick with the Germanic family?
Earle   Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:47 pm GMT
I really haven't learned many more, so much as increasing my facility. I have learned Norwegian, although I'm not nearly so capable as in German. I have some reading ability in Italian/French/Spanish, but I haven't spent as much time on them. I did have several years of school boy Latin, which helps with the Romance group. I don't see myself having the time or motivation to move outside the Germanic and Romance groups. I'll leave Mandarin to you youngsters...
Guest   Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:49 pm GMT
Did you use German in your work?
Earle   Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:00 am GMT
Yes, but not frequently...
Guest   Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:53 am GMT
What piqued your interest in Norwegian? I'm pre-learning it (lol, that's what I do, I play around with a language for a year or two, then I settle down with it) just because it seems like the most logical of the Scandinavian ones to learn.
Xie   Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:13 am GMT
>>>I've had almost thirty years experience in languages since the hitchhiker<<<

>>>I really haven't learned many more, so much as increasing my facility.<<<

May I know what that is?

Yes, I do see the point of using cognates and the disadvantage of not being able to use cognates. It's always easier to learn something similar than something that is not.