How hard is it to learn German?

[maltaseagull]

When I went to Germany, I noticed even little kids of 4 or 5 were talking German, so it can't be that hard.

I actually saw a response similar to this from a Maltese woman in the local paper but she was serious about learning Maltese!

(You aren't are you?)

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

When I went to Germany, I noticed even little kids of 4 or 5 were talking German, so it can't be that hard.

This is similar to Eddie Izzard's theory that all Germans can speak German, there is no person in a corner of china crying that manderin is too difficult; languages are easy.

 

[ElectricNaz]

I find German a really easy language to understand and pick it up quite quickly, however being 1/4 German (Grandmother) may mean that it's 'in my blood' so to speak? Not sure how true that lies with understanding languages.

 

[PWA]

I speak German well after doing it for 6 years.

I believe it is easier than French and Spanish and think I would have struggled with those.

 

[spring hall convert]

I really want to visit Germany. I can get by in France with my school French but would like to make a better fist of the native tongue on a longer stay in Bavaria Trouble is, it just looks so difficult. A lot of French is so easy to translate, but German seems to be so complicated. I was just thinking there might be a couple of small keys that unlock the whole language to a beginner

Definately easier than French (if you did French at school.) I spent 11 years learning French, enjoyed it & got an A at GCSE, whereas I spent 3 learning German with a teacher I hated, didn't take it very seriously, never went to the country & mucked around for most of the time and got a B. It's not quite as romantic as French though.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

let's speak Deutsche next time we meet!

That is likely to be a very short conversation

 

[Lethargic]

Lived in Germany for 3 1/2 years pre-unification and learned basic German and I found it much easier to get a basic understanding than French or Spainish. I also did a lot of traveling urban/rural north/south and generally the Germans do have a good understanding of English. They were also very keen to learn English so chatting in pubs was a very good way of learning as we helped each other, can't comment on the Eastern Germans understanding of English but I am guessing it was not as good as the old west.

I absolutely love Germany and the German people, picking up the basic words and a few phrases does not take much effort at all and well worth it. One thing I did find learning German in the Rhineland, speaking German in Austria was like a completely differently language.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

This is similar to Eddie Izzard's theory that all Germans can speak German, there is no person in a corner of china crying that manderin is too difficult; languages are easy.

That's because, unnoticed by their parents, tiny babies quietly learn grammar and syntax. Vocabulary comes along later, to match the skills that they have been picking up from birth.

Talk to your baby!

 

[tinycowboy]

I absolutely love Germany and the German people, picking up the basic words and a few phrases does not take much effort at all and well worth it. One thing I did find learning German in the Rhineland, speaking German in Austria was like a completely differently language.

Pretty difficult in Switzerland as well - listening to two old ladies on a bus and couldn't understand a word they were saying. When you go to a foreign country, you tend to forget that some people will have accents you just don't understand - German people who are used to hearing English as spoken by the cast of Friends are going to have trouble understanding a Geordie accent, for example, or even someone from the south of England saying "Sat'di" instead of the "Saturday" they're used to.

 

[SeagullSongs]

The reading/writing/listening/speaking staircase is typical. My son, after a year at a Swiss uni, scored C2/C1/B2 (just off C1) /B2 (low) on the four skills

Can you explain what you mean by that, please?

 

[edna krabappel]

I soon learned what an eingangstrasse was.

 

[1959]

Go on iTunes and search for the Coffee Break language course podcasts. Really easy to follow and don't cost a penny.

 

[RexCathedra]

Proficiency per CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, increasingly the industry standard scale, even here in the US.

A Basic User

• A1 beginner
• A2 elementary

B Independent User

• B1 intermediate
• B2 upper intermediate

C Proficient User

• C1 advanced
• C2 mastery

 

[TheJasperCo]

I learned German for four years til GCSE, and to be honest I preferred French. Now whether that's because I started speaking French from the age of 6 or because I genuinely found German harder to learn I'm not sure. What I will say is that the word order in German is harder, there are more genders and grammatical nuances than in French, and longer, amalgamated words aren't necessarily easier to learn.

 

[desprateseagull]

mein Luftkissenfahrzeug ist voller Aale - this is all you need.. )

 

[desprateseagull]

G. C. S. E.. erm.. wassat?

 

[RexCathedra]

mein Luftkissenfahrzeug ist voller Aale - this is all you need.. )

I will not buy this forum post -- it is scratched.

 

[Frutos]

mein Luftkissenfahrzeug ist voller Aale - this is all you need.. )

Ausgezeichnet

 

[tinycowboy]

At uni, my German linguistics tutor (don't ask) was obsessed with the word Luftkissenfahrzeug. It's a word that's stayed with me....

 

[Algernon]

I soon learned what an eingangstrasse was.

Einbahnstrasse?