Here I am, another newbie for all and sundry to abuse. I hope I can get through my first post without embarrassing myself.
My nephew is learning German this year in high school. I made a deal with that him that if he got straight A’s all year, I’d take him to Germany for a week next summer. He’s doing very well right now and to help him further I have bought him some books and language CDs that I thought were more interesting than what the school provides.
I seem to recall reading that most languages don’t require a huge vocabulary for basic communication. Somewhere between 800 to 1,000 words are all that are really needed (or actually used). Now, personally I think that reading a book that was limited to mere 1,000 word vocabulary would only be a rung or two above “see Spot run”, but hey, I’m just trying to help my nephew (and myself, I admit it), learn enough German so we don’t get lost in the Black Forest. So, is there such a word list extant? And if so, can anyone provide a link, or point me in the right direction? Thanks for any help you all can provide.
Hi benlormat, welcome to the Boards! I speak what I like to refer to as “taxicab” German, meaning I can have a conversation in a taxi, but couldn’t do anything terribly important in the language. I have never seen such a list, but if one does exist I predict you will find it here in 60 minutes or less or you’ll get double your money back.
Actually, I would suggest that you attack the problem backwards. Think of the things you would need to know how to say in English if you were a total stranger visiting here, and then translate that list. A basic understanding of syntax, grammar and conjugation will be quite helpful in German. Most Germans will understand and not be terribly offended if you don’t get the articles into the proper genders, you can kind of slur your way around those. I would also suggest that if your primary objective is to get around the Schwarzwald, then focus mainly on spoken German. Of course learn the pronounciation rules so that when you see something written in German you can say it, and vice versa in case there was the need to write a note. From there go on to the tourist words or phrases like “where is the toilet?”, “how much does this cost?”, “two beers, please”. Food words can get important in a hurry. Whatever you might find useful.
Lastly, bear in mind that your nephew will take a lot away from this trip to Germany if it is fun for him. Let him focus on language that will allow him to communicate with peers and make friends. Of course they will likely speak English, but if he can follow a bit in German when the conversation flips that way he can really build on that.
You might also check in the MPSIMS forum for German Dopers, I know there are a few and they might even volunteer to show you around a bit when you get there, if you are friendly and it fits everyone’s schedules.
Good luck. And if no one can point you to a list here you might try your library or a bookstore with pocket guides to the language.
The best way to learn vocabulary is by using it in context, inductively, rather than by rote.
Find some German web sites or popular magazines dealing with subjects he is interested in. Even as a beginner, he should try and work his way through a short text targetted at a fluent German speaker; there will be a lot of consultation of the dictionary in the early going, but it will pay off. Typicall, by the time you have to look the word up the third time, it’s fixed in your head.
Don’t worry about knowing the exact meaning of every word and the connatations and subtleties of every sentence, just start “working out” in the langugage, and the language muscles, including vocabulary, will develop.
I should also add that a little is better than a lot. That is, even short sessions every day are much better than longer, less frequent ones. If he’s an internet junkie, maybe spend a few minutes online looking at a German news site; with what’s going on in the world you can pick up a lot simply by context.
http://www.stern.de : magazine somewhat similar to a newsmagazine, though more illustrated and a bit greedy for sensation (they printed the fake Hitler diaries in 1983)
http://www.n-tv.de : German news TV channel, somewhat affiliated to CNN.
And unfortunatley, there’s http://www.bild.de , a disgustingly biased daily tabloid.
Once you get to a certain point in fluency, music can help in learning a language. I went about it the other way - music made me want to learn the language in question. May I recommend Nina Hagen, Meret Becker or the Einstürzende Neubauten? (sees jarbabyj) Okay, Rammstein, if you must…
Actually, you can even start this EARLY in the process… music and rhymes can help you remember words, phrases, constructions, or grammatical rules. Pretty well the only Serbian I remember is the poem I memorized for lesson 3.
This site is great. Thanks. Actually, I was thinking about trying to learn the most common german words in order to have some basic survival german. For some reason, I didn’t think to ask if such a list existed somewhere. Thanks to the OP for that.