German Language as Part of American Heritage

Whether your stay in Hamburg is to be temporary or long-term, it would be a good idea to pick up a little German during your stay to distinguish yourself from the thousands of other Ami tourists and to help you make sense of your surroundings. If you don't think you will ever need the language, you can at least try to learn a little simply because German plays a big role in our U.S. heritage (see http://www.muc.edu/~himmelm/why/heritage.html) and was almost declared the official language by the Continental Congress years ago. If you don't have time or the energy to enroll in one of the many language courses well-described below or even if you would just like a jump-start before you dive into a new course, there are lots of resources on the Web which can help you along the way.

  Dictionaries and Glossaries

One of the first things you probably need to help you get started is a good dictionary. If you are not ready to shell out the money for a good one to replace your miniature Langenscheidt in your coat pocket or you are looking for some of those words that just might not be in your dictionary, try one of the many online dictionaries.

• For more practical glossaries, I highly recommend http://german.about.com/library/blgloss.htm. Not only does this site include links to glossaries about colors, body parts and Christmas in Germany, but it also has practical links to cooking, genealogy and typical German celebrations.



• A high school teacher in Indiana has compiled a list of odds and ends which help explain interesting differences between German and English and some idioms (http://www.kokomo.k12.in.us/khssc/depts/forlang/german/vocab/vocab.htm).



• Translator Frank Dietz has compiled a list of many German and English dictionaries and glossaries at http://www.frankdietz.com/glossary.htm.



• http://www.leo.org provides a good German-English dictionary online.



• We list some of our own recommended links on our page of Glossaries and Dictionaries.

  Language Courses

Once you have found some dictionaries to lean on, you might be ready to try out an online language course.

• About.com offers a free German course for beginners at: http://german.about.com/homework/german/library/anfang/blanfang_inhalt.htm.



• You can use this Internet Handbook of German Grammar as a resource for sure: http://www.travlang.com/languages/german/ihgg/.



• If you are ready to test yourself after you have taken a few courses, try http://www.edition-deutsch.de/lernwerkstatt/ctest/ctested.txt.php3.

  Chat Rooms

Although I studied German in college, I found that using the Internet along the way helped me develop new skills. You can anonymously talk with or write to other Germans, browse through dictionaries and useful home pages, or even read newspapers or listen to television broadcasts. One way to "talk" to other Germans without having to worry about what they think about your accent or what you look like is to enter a chat room. Most of the chat sites will allow you to choose a pseudonym and no one will ever have to know who you are. Try writing in English or mixing it with the German you already know and you might find someone else looking to learn English in exchange for sharing German knowledge. With a few attempts, you are sure to at least find one or two e-mail pals.

• If you are a die-hard computer user, you might be familiar with Internet Relay Chat (IRC). There are many user channels where German is spoken, including one called #Hamburg. Before I came to Germany, I frequented this room and ended up meeting some of the people I chatted with in person when I arrived. For information on IRC and what program you might need, see http://www.mirc.com/ircintro.html.



• If you just want to use a web-based browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer to chat with others, try http://www.spunkyworld.com/cobra/chat.html.

  Building Vocabulary

If none of the above tips spark your interest and you do not want to actively learn German, the least you can do if you have an e-mail address is have About.com send you a new German word a day or even a week at http://german.about.com/homework/german/library/blworttag.htm. Then you will at least gain something linguistically during your stay in Germany. Happy surfing!

If you know of a useful site for improving your language skills, let us know. Contact us by filling out our feedback form.