Sprachenatelier Berlin

  Before moving to Berlin or anywhere else in Germany, you're bound to have at least a couple of preconceived ideas about Germany and the Germans. We decided to write a blog post to debunk a few of these stereotypes. „The Germans are efficient „ In popular culture, we never seem to stop hearing about ‘German efficiency.’ Everything they do is efficient- from eating breakfast, to going shopping, to small talk with neighbours and work colleagues. While there is some truth in this statement and the success of the German economy is testament to the country's productivity - it is not a general golden rule that ALL Germans are efficient ALL the time. One of the most anticipated projects in Berlin's recent history is the new international airport which is currently almost 5 years late and there is no final end date as yet in sight! The airport was initially supposed to be launched in June 2012 but because of fire safety issues, it has since been postponed a total of...

Our language conveys meaning, our opinions, our feelings. It allows us to connect with other people. Usually a language develops and evolves with time according to cultural traditions and usage norms. Therefore it goes hand in hand with the culture and with the people who speak that particular language. It grows and transform itself to respond to its speakers' needs of expression. There are certain situations, feelings or even just words in a particular language that express just that thing you've always been wanting to say but never found the right expression for. So I am hereby utterly delighted to give you a list of my favourite untranslatable words in different languages (with commens, not witty, not ironic.. AT ALL.) Graphic by Stephan Hogel, Sprachenatelier Berlin Gezelligheid, Dutch. The comfort and coziness of being at home, with family, friends and loved ones. Graphic by Stephan Hogel, remixed from original Minimalism outside by 55Laney69 under the lic...

  Photo by Renato Silva , Sprachenatelier A few weeks ago, we posted about the common mi stakes that English speakers make when learning German. Well, this week, it's time to look at things the other way around. Having spent five months in Austria teaching school children and working with Austrian people, and now living in Berlin, I think I am fairly qualified and experienced to talk about the mistakes that German speakers make when learning English. Often the mistakes they make can be understood when you look at the German equivalent, because a lot of people are still in the DANGER ZONE (see last post) and are translating literally. So, scroll down and have a read. If you are a German speaker, maybe you can learn something, and if you're an English speaker, maybe you recognise some of these mistakes from your own experiences in Germany. Let's get going! But first... 1) “ L et me make a selfie!“ Remember the world...

How many times have you been asked the question “Why are you learning x language“? Personally, I lost count. I can usually come up with a pretty reasonable answer, for example “because I have German friends“ or “because I want to work in the translation field“. However, sometimes I can't think of anything else other than “just because I like it!“. And truth be told, that is why I started and why I continue to study most of the languages that I know. In my opinion, you can compare language learning to a relationship: at first everything is amazing, you're in love with the language and just want to keep discovering more. And then the problems start to come up. At the beginning it's just little things here and there, once or twice, no big deal. Bu t after a while you get bored, you lose interest. Sometimes you can work it out and fall in love again, but sometimes the interest just isn't there anymore and you need to let it go. When I first s...

As if learning a foreign language isn't hard enough already, there are unfortunately ambiguous sentences which have more than one meaning, which can be easily misinterpreted without context or understanding. We call these “garden path sentences“ because they are easily misunderstood (they lead you down the garden path ) even though they are all grammatically correct. There are two different types of ambiguity when it comes to sentences. L exical ambiguity, where one of the words have more than one meaning, and syntactical ambiguity, in which the syntax , or grammar , can be understood in more than one way. For example: Put the box on the table in the kitchen. Is the box already on the table, and to be put in the kitchen? Or is the box to be put on the table which is in the kitchen? What do you want me to do, mum?! It is not clear from the sentence where exactly the box should go. Confused by CollegeDegrees360 is licensed under CC BY 2.0   FUN ...

Back when I first started to learn German, there were a few things which I just couldn't get my head around, and that my teachers and a dictionary just couldn't explain. Little words like “schon“ , “doch“ , “eher“ , “erst“ ... Sure I understood the meaning, but I just never felt comfortable knowing when and how to use them. Luckily, one day I stumbled upon “German is Easy“ : a blog post for everyone who wants to learn German. It explains loads of useful words and grammar concepts, and how to use them, and provides some listening and writing/grammar exercises. There's always something interesting to read and plenty to learn and practise. It is without a doubt one of the best language blogs I have come across, and I really enjoy checking in every week to see what is new. Emanuel is the writer, and has this way of explaining things which is totally different to textbooks and teachers, and that is exactly why his blog is so good. His posts are brilliantly and humo...

  Zum englisch e Version , klicken Sie hier ! Letzte Woche entschied ich mich gemütlich einen Kaffee trinken zu gehen. Mein Buch zu nehmen und einfach ein paar Stunden in einem der kleinen süßen Cafés von Berlin zu entspannen. Ich bestellte mir etwas zu trinken, machte es mir in einem großen Sessel direkt am Fenster gemütlich und war gerade dabei, in Begleitung der angenehmen Hintergrundmusik anzufangen zu lesen, als mir nach einen paar Zeilen etwas auffiel. Ich konnte mich einfach nicht auf das Buch konzentrieren. Stattdessen konnte ich nicht anders, als den Unterhaltungen um mich herum zu lauschen (etwas, das mir mit meinem holprigen Deutsch nicht sehr häufig passiert). Ein Pärchen lernte sich gerade bei ihrem ersten Date kennen, ein paar Mädchen hingen quatschend und tratschend vor einem Laptop, und die ziemlich angespannten Versuche einer Frau mit ihrem Verlobten und ihrem Vater am Tisch eine Unterhaltung zu führen. Hier saß ich nun, in einer netten, ruhigen Nachbarsc...

 For the German version, click here ! Last weekend, I decided to go for a coffee. Take my book. Spend a couple of hours in a cute little café chilling out. I ordered my drink, got myself cosied into the big armchair that sat in the window, and was just about to start reading my book against the gentle background hum of music and conversation when after five minutes I realised something. I couldn't concentrate on my book at all. Instead I found myself totally engrossed in the conversations around me (something that doesn't happen too often here with my level of German). A couple revealing their life stories as they introduced themselves on a first date, some girls gossiping around a laptop, and the painfully awkward exchanges between husband and father-in-law, as the wife sat politely trying to make conversation. There I was, sitting in a quiet little neighbourhood of Berlin, and the only conversation I could hear was in English. Of course, we all k...