Dave Smith - German Phrases: A Complete Guide With The Most Useful German Language Phrases While Traveling

German Phrases

A Complete Guide With The Most Useful German Language Phrases While Traveling

Copyright 2018 by Dave Smith - All rights reserved.

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Introduction

A sk most people what they would do if money was no object, and almost every time, travel will appear in the list. Most of us seem to have a hard-wired desire to visit the places weve read or dreamed about throughout our lives.

Visiting other countries is great for expanding horizons, meeting new people, trying new foods, and promoting cultural understanding. One way of getting the most out of your travel experience is by developing rapporteven to a small extentwith the locals. You will be amazed at how much friendlier and more helpful people are, when you make an attempt to communicate with them in their own language, rather than expecting them to automatically know yours.

English is one of the most widely-studied languages in the world, but that doesnt mean the shopkeepers will be particularly comfortable speaking it. If youre willing to make incompetent and probably amusing attempts to speak German, it will most likely ease their anxiety about attempting to speak English to you. Even though many of them talk to English speakers every day, its only natural to feel a sense of disadvantage when speaking a language that youre not fluent in. You will find that by making yourself vulnerable first, they will more likely go the extra mile to help you.

While its unlikely youll be able to learn the whole language before you go, you can learn some key phrases that you should be able to utilize to impress your traveling companions as well as the people you meetwho will hopefully become friends. As well as the basic phrases, this book also offers some basic grammar to help you understand how the phrases are put together. It will teach you pronouns, basic verb conjugation, case, gender, tense, and the fundamentals of sentence structure, such as when word order is reversed, when verbs are moved to the end, etc. Once you have a feel for the basics, you can begin adding the vocabulary. Once you have some vocabulary, it will be easier for you to start recognizing words and phrases in the conversations going on around you; at that point, your ability to learn the language will begin to grow exponentially.

Each phrase is accompanied by a pronunciation guide that should help you wrap your tongue around the words. Keep in mind that very few sounds translate exactly from one language to another. You will not, at first, be able to pronounce German words like a native speaker would, and of course, this will be awkward for you and probably amusing for your hosts and new friends. This is only natural and something every language learner goes through. But if you listen carefully to native speakers and ask for their help, you can develop the ability to approximate the sounds of German to a large degree.

Chapter 1: Visiting Germany

(and Other German-Speaking Countries)

G ermany, Austria and Switzerland are beautiful places and lots of fun to visit. No matter what time of year you go, there are many fascinating possibilities for entertainment and sightseeing. Check out the many resources on the web for lists of the many places youll want to visit. And your trip will be greatly enhanced if you can make some friends while youre there.

Whether youre heading to Germany for a gorgeous river cruise on the Rhine, planning on a rousing Oktoberfest party, skiing in the Alps or attending the Frankfurt Book Fair, you can enhance your trip drastically if you find ways to immerse yourself in the culture, including the language.

It isnt necessary to become fluent in German before packing your bags. As a matter of fact, every German student studies English, and even if they arent comfortable practicing it in front of a native speaker, many of them will be able to communicate with you on some level, especially if you show them that youre willing to make an effort.

Even if youre not fluent (or particularly conversant), it goes a long way if you make an attempt to talk to people in their own language. At the very least, they will feel less ridiculous speaking in halting English if youre reciprocating, by putting your new ability in German on display. Being able to laugh at your own mistakes will make them feel better about theirs, and they are more likely to go the extra step to try to help you. It also shows respect for their culture and demonstrates your willingness to make an effort to connect with them. If you can use some basic German, there is less of a chance of being cheated by deceitful tourist traps!

While its not possible to learn any language in a few days, it will certainly speed up your efforts if you understand some of the basics of the German language, especially in the ways it differs from English. You can learn phrases and practice them with the people you meet, but without understanding the mechanics of the language, you wont retain them well or be able to use them to make other sentences and grow your language skills. This book will teach you the basic things you need to know to begin building sentences. You will learn noun cases, pronouns, articles and adjectives, verb conjugation, and tenses. Once you have a basic knowledge of the language, you can begin to plug in vocabulary and fine tune your sentence-building skills.