Wie geht's, geht's

I should be studying for my exam tomorrow, but I'm tired of studying. I was talking about it with a Swiss friend of mine over lunch and he told me that there is an Italian phrase for that. I forget the Itallian, but roughly translated, it meant: How it goes, it goes. Whatever happens, happens. I have a feeling most cultures have such a phrase. I think that's been my strategy for standardized tests, and most other tests, for a long time; why change now?

I am always faced with a dilemma here: there seem to be an almost infinite number of things to write about from the last few weeks. It is also ever more and more difficult to write a post. It is not for lack of time. My English feels forced. I am beginning to feel unable to fully and precisely express myself in English (in fact I just realized that I forgot to type a few words there and had to fix it), and certainly am nowhere near that point in German.

Clear expression is something of great import to me. That is perhaps the most frustrating part, for me, of learning a new language. A friend here says, "Du denkst zu viel." Perhaps it is true, I may think too much. I always seek a certain shade of meaning which leads me attempt the creation of sentences which go beyond the current scope of my German abilities (case in point, although that wasn't even necessary). For example, in one situation (the details of which I can't recollect) I attempted to say something along the lines of "I hope that my words did not cause you to be insulted/unhappy." Someone said that I could have just said "I hope you are happy" but to me, that has a totally different meaning. It doesn't reflect the fact that I didn't want to be the the one who caused any unhappiness.

I am growing frustrated that the nonsentient relative article in English ("which") doesn't have cases like the sentient relative article ("who, whose, whom"). It seems really awkward to me. I'm sure there are also better words than "sentient" and "nonsentient" which can be used to describe them.

Last Tuesday, my class went to Goslar, about an hour train ride away from Göttingen. It was pretty awesome. I was practically drooling over the historical significance of the place, especially the Kaiserpfalz. You see, this was one of the places that the German Holy Roman Emperors, or Kaisers lived. When I say "one", you must understand, the Kaisers had no permanent residence. Instead, they had many palaces through which they rotated. They needed to be all over their realm in order to keep their power.

It was in Goslar that Henry IV received a letter from Gregory VII saying that he had been excommunicated, eventually bringing the Investiture controversy between the Emperor and the Pope to a head at Canossa. I was pretty excited when I found that out.

(Instead of finishing this, I had an enjoyable dinner with a few friends, and it is now time for bed. I will continue this post after my exam tomorrow.)

Cool linguistishe Sache

Yup, Cool linguistic stuff. Since I last posted, a good deal has happened. I've traveled to Dresden (a city rebuilt after being destroyed in WWII), Goslar (home to the Holy Roman Emperors in Germany), and the European Bread Museum. I think I'll need some more time than I have to describe those adventures. So instead, I would like to share some, well, Cool linguistische Sache.

I have recently discovered that "because" is both a conjugation and a preposition. German uses two different words for these:

Weil es regnet, nehme ich einem Resenschirm.
Because it is raining, I need an umbrella.

Wegen des Regens nehme ich einem Regenschirm.
Because of the rain, I need an umbrella.

Notice that the first required a verb (or an implied one), thus a conjunction, while the second requires only a noun (or pronoun) and thus a preposition. Awesome stuff, for me at least. I believe that English does this sort of thing pretty often. "Before" is another example. I admittedly haven't spent much time thinking about other examples.

I apologize if your eyes have glazed over. Perhaps a word study would be more interesting. I study history. German does have a similar word, Historie, but it is, ironically, archaic. Instead, I would say that I study Geschichte. What is interesting is that this word has two meanings: history and story. Thus, supposedly (I have yet to ask), when a German hears Geschichte that could conjure up both meanings simultaneously.

I think that there is great truth in having a single word to describe both history and stories. On the one hand, what is history apart from stories? Nothing. Yes, many people associate history with dates and figures, but those are on the periphery. The heart of history is people and their stories. In fact, that is why we call the everything before the invention of writing prehistory. These people couldn't tell us their own stories, therefore the study is not history. On the other side of the coin, many people often disregard the historical significance of the stories and mythology of past cultures. This is a pretty foolish position to take; although the pure objective historical data (if such a thing really exists) may be convoluted, these tales give insight into what the creators believed and found important. Also, it seems that many of the characters existed and the events really happened, they've simply been sensationalized a tad.

Apparently, the English word history originally has similar qualities (thank you OED) but is now used only to describe "true" incidents while a story can be either true or untrue. This is sad, since, as I've said, we can find a good deal of "truth" in what we often believe to be "untruth".

(Also, I am resisting the urge to describe the cool etymology of history. It includes Greek and Latin, Check out the OED if you're interested).


In further news, yesterday on my way to the supermarket I (figuratively) ran into friends from my class. We spoke for a few minutes, in German and with little difficulty, and then continued on our way. Later, I looked up at a sign an realized that I understood what it said. I started looking at more signs that I had previously ignored, and realized that I understood a majority of them with minimal effort. It was then that I realized that I have, to some extent, internalized German. I can't converse about highly complex topics, and my desire for precision in speech often leaves at a loss, attempting to use constructions more complex than some think is completely necessary, but I can communicate and be understood, oftentimes explaining a missing word with German, and not its English equivalent. And less than halfway through.

A week from today I take the B1 exam. It is through these exams that I will get my credits from Gordon. I need to study. My fear of failing has been diminished after taking a practice test, but I would still like to do well. Then comes one more week of classes and a break. I hope to post about Goetttingen, Dresden, Goslar, the Bread Museum, and the learning method at the Goethe Institut soon.

(edit: story, as you might have guessed is related to history. It is an aphetic form of History, meaning that the first unstressed syllable was dropped. This seems to be a rather common occurrence with words that begin with H. Notice: Latin: Hispania; Spanish: España; English: Spain. Oh man, phonological changes are awesome.)

Je länger ich in Deutschland bin, desto besser verstehe ich die Deutschen.

“Abba Father, let me be, Yours and Yours alone.
May my will for ever be, Evermore Your own.”

The sound of these words, and the accompanying accordion, filled the room in the basement of the Bapisten Kirche in Goettingen. Yes, you read correctly: accordion. It was awesome. This was my first time at the weekly English bible study held here. It was refreshing to fellowship with fellow Christians again.

I’ve been in Germany for two weeks, and much has happened. I believe my mind has finally managed to separate German and English, so English composition is once again possible. I’m living and studying at the Goethe Institute, approximately a ten minute walk away from the center of town. It is housed in a beautiful 19th century villa. Some of the buildings in the town were built prior to the Renaissance. Sure, they’re not Greco-Roman ruins, but still old, awesome, and better preserved.

I am studying German exclusively here. I really enjoy being able to focus on and fully pursue a single subject. My level is B1, roughly equivalent to Ger 201. Classes meet from 8:30-100, with three 20 minute breaks. There are 10 in my class: four from Saudi Arabia, one fellow American, and one each from Brazil, Sweden, Portugal and Japan. I need to catch up with my vocabulary, but thanks to my Latin and Greek background, new grammar is easy to understand.

Thus far I have taken leisurely walks in the snow, helped an elderly German couple get their bags on a train, learned that Germans wait to cross the street until the crossing light is green, even if no cars are coming, taken a historical tour of Goettingen, found a grocery store, bought a dictionary and bible at a bookstore, and of course, gotten lost. I suppose that will have to suffice as an introduction. More should soon follow