Kapitel 6 Kultur-Texte

Make sure to knock loudly ONCE, and then walk right in. 

For Kapitel 6, I learned about the guide for navigating the German door, and how it is different then the American way of approaching the door.  In America, an open door is an invitation to come in while a closed door usually means "keep out." Yet in Germany it is typical that doors stay closed no matter what, even if the person inside is not busy.  So what you do is you go up to the door and knock once loudly, open the door and walk in with pride and a smile.  What you should not do in this situation is knock quietly, because in a potentially loud area you won't hear a response coming from the other side, and by not hearing that response, you will most likely think that the person inside didn't hear you, so you'll continue to knock several more times until you here a loud "Herein!", from the other side.  It is important to avoid this incident or else your meeting will be how you say beschißen.

AMD 6

For my sixth AMD, I decided to set my phone to German, making sure that I remembered the steps I took to change the language, just in case I don't recognize particular words when I went to change it back.  At first it was pretty easy to navigate through, since the icons that represented functions in English remained intact.  Several words were easy to identify without the icons, such as "Fotos," "Temperatur," and "Was heute geschehend" (What's happening today).  Things went south however, when I got a phone call from my parents.  Although I was able to pick up the call with no trouble, spending time on the phone for a good 12 minutes made me forget about the steps on how to change the German settings back to English.  After failing several times trying to find the the location on the phone where the language settings could be altered, I stopped for a minute, relaxed, and decided to use my head for once.  Beginning by pressing the "Menu" icon, I went into  ""Einstellungen," which I realized meant "Settings;" from there I easily found "Account Einstellungen" (Account Settings), Sprache (Language), and from there I made it to "Englisch."

Hallo? Hallo?

Although this was a somewhat "unpleasant" experiance, I am still currently messing with other forms of media, such as Facebook, and putting them in "Deutsch," and navigating with the "new" language.

Kapital 5- Kultur-Texte

For my Kapital 5 assignment I read about flirting in Germany, and how hard it can actually be to "hook-up" with a German if you are a foreigner.  Due to the differences in culture, it is especially hard for an American man or woman to properly attract the attention of a German woman or man.  There is however, a proper way to flirt in Germany and it is up to the foreigner to learn this way if he or she wants to succeed in having an international relationship.  For the most part, us guys show interest by way of a studied, concentrated look.  The look should be brief and fleeting -- and then the man's job is done.   It is important not to come up to the girl asking, "Hey baby, want to dance?" as this is seen as being overly forward/aggressive and will put the German female out of her comfort zone.  It is then up to the female to decide if she wants to come up to him or ignore him, because with German-on-German flirting, the power rests solidly with the Fräulein. 

It is important to recognize the differences between your own country's take of flirting when compared to Germany's.  If you are able to find the differences and adjust to them while visiting there, you may just have a shot of picking up a German man or woman, depending on whatever floats your boat.

AMD 5

For AMD 5, I chose to write about the Wikipedia article on Denglisch, and how the influx of English words has made an impact on the German language.  Much like the importation of Latin and French words in the past, the importation of English words has made the German language much more expressive, much like how Spanish and French words have impacted the English language here in America.  Germans mainly except an English word if it represents something that a proper German expression can’t because it doesn’t exist; mainly due to the fact that most newly introduced English words are expressions from the modern world and are as new to English speakers as they are to German speakers.  Words such as “computer,” “I-pod,” and “software” are all English in nature and unlike the other languages, the German language takes these words as they are, without finding a translation for them.

As I had said earlier, this is much like how the English language in America easily adapts words that come from other languages; words such as "taco" and "guitar" from the Spanish language, and words like "brunette" and "cafe" from the French language.  Perhaps it has something to do with the Germanic tribes that German and English came from that explains this eagerness to adapt other nations' words.

AMD 4

For my 4th AMD, I chose to play the game "Call of Duty: World at War," more specifically a level within the game that had sequences with German speakers.  At the beginning of the level, your Russian character is a prisoner being held by German soldiers in a house during the Battle of Seelow in Eastern Germany in 1945.  After waking up, your character tries to go for a nearby gun before a German sargent kicks him in the face threatens to kill him.  Within 15 seconds later, your Russian comrades punch a hole through the house, kill the German captors and rescue you.

Why I chose this video game is because now knowing a bit of German, I wanted to go back and play a game in which I could now understand the enemy, and as in most video games set during WW2, the Germans tend to be the enemy.  Something that I recognized was when I reached for the gun, I heard "Nein! Du Russisches Schwein!  Du hättest lieber tot bleiben sollen," which translates to "No!  Russian Pig!  You should have rather remained dead.  I enjoyed actually being able to understand my enemies for once.

Kapital 4 Kultur-Texte

When I read the articles of Kapital 4, I found a Germany that not only traveled in various ways, but also had various rules, whether written or not, and how they followed them.  Knowing already that Germany was a biker-friendly country, I was surprised to see not only how friendly but also what seems to be a bias against all non-riders.  For instance, the sidewalks in Germany are made wider than in other places around the world and they also have the right of way, meaning that if you are walking down a path and you aren't paying attention, you will either get yelled at or possibly ran over.

I also found it entertaining, the differences between American and German citizens in regards to the obedience of traffic signals.  In Germany, the little red "dictator" who tells people to stop, even when it is the dead of night and no traffic, is strictly obeyed.  However, while they are waiting to cross the street, they can help themselves with a game of "Street Pong" that shows up at the intersections.  As opposed to Germany, in America if one has the chance to make it across the street without getting hit, they will take that risk.

AMD 3

For my third AMD post, I watched the German movie "Goodbye Lenin!," which was played on a Sunday night at my residence hall.  The movie tells a story about how a young man named Alex who

in 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after an eight month-long coma, must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.  Taking place during the reunification of East and West Germany, the young man, Alex, tries to portray the world around his mother as one that is still in the control of the Socialist (although there are giant Coca-Cola build boards outside her house).  In the end, she tells her son that she always wanted to go to West Germany with her husband, who left due to harassment by the Socialists, but stayed to keep the remainder of her family safe from "The Party."  As a history buff, I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this movie and its portrayal of a communist world vs. a capitalist one.

Kapital 3-Kultur-Texte

I left reading the article “Germany Looks to Tighten Up Public Drinking Rules,” with a thought of irony and amusement.  As most of the other articles that I have read concerning Germany show, Germany is known for its beer and its people are perhaps second only to the Irish when it comes to the stereotypical drunk foreigner portrayal.  This is the country that is responsible for Oktoberfest, the holiday that in most eyes is seen as an annual party with lots of beer.  I am interested in seeing how this proposed prohibition (no pun intended) on excess amounts of alcohol will play out in the coming months.

AMD2

For my blog I read up on a famous German that has made plenty of waves in American sports; Dirk Nowitzki.  For those of you who don't know, Nowitzki is a basketball player that came overseas from Germany to play in the NBA in 1998, and is arguably the best European basketball player (if not the best non-American basketball player), since the inception of the game.  A 7-footer, Nowitzki is notorious for being a center that can also hit the 3-pointer when open.  He has a gentle giant attitude, yet at is determined to win every game.  This attitude and will-power helped him and his team, the Dallas Mavericks, win the NBA championship in the 2011 Finals, as well as the Finals M.V.P. award.  He is with the team to this day, heading into his 15th season later this year, serving as an inspiration to the kids of his homeland in
Germany.

For more information on Dirk Nowitzki: http://espn.go.com/nba/player/bio/_/id/609/dirk-nowitzki

Kapital 2 Kultur

I found it interesting to learn about the difference in attitudes between us and the Germans.  What is acceptable in one culture may not be in another.  I would say that the German culture is not as “politically  correct” as our culture is, (for example Germans will call you mollig right to your face, while in America, we say that the person is under stress or overweight).  The Germans get straight to the point, always telling the truth, which is something I kind of admire.

One thing that I don’t understand about the Germans, yet I already knew about, was the whining in their country.  They say that “It ain’t what it use to be,” or “the country’s going to hell,” yet in reality Germany is doing really well.  After 12 years of Nazi control involving death and destruction throughout the land, as well as the occupation of East Germany by the Soviets throughout much of the latter 20^th century, Germany has come back strong as ever.  Currently they are the 4^th largest country when it comes to economy based on G.D.P., and with a pro-growth agenda they are only getting stronger.  If the Germans want to complain, they should complain about the other countries in the European Union and those countries’ unwillingness to take care of themselves.

AMD1

I found it very interesting, and when I say interesting I really mean funny, to hear "South Park" in German.  For the assignment, I watched the episode, "The Jeffersons" or "Die Jeffersons" in which Michael Jackson comes to South Park.  It was fun to hear the difference in the voices of the boys compared to the original English version.  It was also funny to get the German perspective of Michael Jackson.  The best part of course was hearing that classic line, "Oh mein Gott sie Kenny getötet!  Sie swine!" (instead of Oh my God, they killed Kenny!  You bastards!"

All in all it just goes to show you how one great show, no matter what country it is set in, can make the whole world laugh.

Kapital 1

                I found the article as a whole quite interesting.  It seems that German-Americans have assimilated into the American way of life, better than any other major ethnic-group.  Many of them learned English fairly quick and yet after time, their knowledge of the German language began to fade.  The assimilation into American culture progressed rapidly due to the negative consequences of the First World War.  I am not for sure, but I have been told that before the war, Harner use to be Heiner.

                Yet many German’s continued to hold on to their roots and introduce them into American culture.  Foods such as pretzels, hamburgers, and sausage made their way to American cuisines.  Known for a good work ethic, many German intellects brought their knowledge to America and helped create some of the country’s most crowning achievements, such as the atomic bomb and NASA. 

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