Dr Klaus Bung
68 Brantfell Road
Blackburn BB1-8DL
England

© 2011 Klaus Bung

003

Lesson 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Lesson 3 of:

Klaus Bung:
Passport to Europe: German
Learn German
with the IDYLL® METHOD™,
which ensures 90% retention

Part 1:
German is easy
Deutsch ist leicht

Naming conventions for sound files

L001-B1 = Lesson 1, Block 1

L001-Ex01 = Lesson 1, Exercise 1

L001-RT01 = Recorded Talk

Note for web users, In order to learn properly with these exercises you have to print them out. You do not have to print the explanations, but Block 1, Block 2, Block 3 and Exercise 1 will work only if you have them in front of you on paper and do the exercises with pen and paper. You learn much more intensively if you write rather than type the exercises. That is the reason why we are not presenting them through a computer program, but as plain text ready for printing.

We have therefore uploaded this entire file and the scoring sheets as pdf files. Click here to get them.

If some of the phonetic symbols do not display properly, e.g. if you find little squares in the text where there should be characters, check in the pdf file, which does not mess up the display.

Lesson 3

Resources for Lesson 3

pdf file for Lesson 3
(Only the pdf file will display all phonetic symbols correctly.)

Sound file for Block 1

Sound file for Block 2

Sound file for Block 3

Sound file for Exercise 3

Recorded Talk: Insekt

Recorded Talk: Restaurant

Recorded Talk: wo

Recorded Talk: Glottal stop

Recorded Talk: Names and insults

Recorded Talk: Collected words from this Exercise

Introduction to Lesson 3

How to do a revision

When you do a revision, you go for the complete exercise (10 items) immediately. You need not revise the Blocks one by one. Apart from that, you use exactly the same procedures which you used during initial learning. You use the folding paper technique, PAPA-Basic, and continue doing the exercise from beginning to end until you have 10 items correct IN SUCCESSION.

Then you do the same exercise with LASPEX-Basic and the scoring sheet. You repeat the exercise from beginning to end until you have 10 items correct TWICE RUNNING.

Most importantly: Revisions are more important than new learning (new exercises). Therefore you must start each learning session by doing your revisions, up to the 100% standard. If AFTER THAT you have some time left, you tackle the next lesson or the next exercise.

If you delay new learning by one or several days, you lose nothing. But if you delay a revision by one or several days, you will forget what you have already learned, i.e. the time you have already invested will be wasted. It is like labouriously catching a flock of birds (or a peep of chickens) and putting them into a cage whose door inevitably flies once every day. You must re-lock the door every day before it flies open, otherwise the bird will escape. Your effort in catching them will be wasted.

This also means that you must plan and spend at least 15 minutes every day for learning (first revisions, then new learning). If you don't, you will inevitably forget what you have learnt and IDYLL's® fantastic guarantee of 90% retention, will not be valid.

Improving your learning techniques:
from PAPA-Basic to PAPA-Preferred

Learning algorithms are effective and very precise procedures for learning languages and other subjects. PAPA (Pen And Paper Algorithm) is one such procedure, and an essential part of the IDYLL® METHOD™. It comes in two versions, a very limited one, PAPA-Basic, which is easy to learn but less efficient, and PAPA-Preferred, which is extremely efficient but slightly more complicated. We are gradually moving you from PAPA-Basic to PAPA-Preferred until you can always use it with ease, with the same confidence and automaticity with which an experienced car driver drives his car.

You notice that the Blocks can be combined into standard IDYLL® exercises. Similarly each standard IDYLL® exercise can be partitioned into Blocks. Learning in Blocks enables you to concentrate on just 3 or 4 items at a time and makes learning much easier than tackling 10 items at a time.

From now on, you will make up your own blocks when practising written exercises with PAPA-Basic. Block 1 = Items 1 to 4, Block 2 = Items 5 to 7, Block 3 = Items 8 to 10.

We will continue to divide our Notes into Blocks. We will also continue to record the Blocks separately to give you easy access to each block with whatever software (Media Player, etc) you use.

Therefore, when we say, later in this Lesson, "Practise Exercise 3 with PAPA-Basic", it now means the following (even though we will not spell it out each time):

• Revise the exercises appearing in your Revision Diary for this day.

Then (and only AFTER having done the due revisions !!!)

• Listen to the complete new exercise to get a rough idea of the pronunciation.
• Do Block 1 in writing and then in speaking.
• Do Block 2 in writing and then in speaking.
• Do Block 3 in writing and then in speaking.
• Do the complete exercise in writing and then in speaking.
• Do the first-day-revisions: R1, R2, R3.
• Enter all revisions (R1, R4 to R11) into your revision diary.

It goes without saying that you will do the revisions in your revision diary on the due date. We will not tell you that every day. You have to get used to doing it without being reminded. It is a basic principle of the IDYLL® METHOD™, and you will forgo most of its fantastic benefits (e.g. 90% retention) if you deviate from it.

Exercise 3

1	the insect das Insekt /das ʔin 'zɛkt/
2	the restaurant das Restaurant /das Rɛ sto 'Rã/
3	is ist /ʔist/
4	where wo /vo:/
5	Where is the restaurant? Wo ist das Restaurant? /vo: ʔist das Rɛ sto 'Rã/
6	The restaurant is in Frankfurt. Das Restaurant ist in Frankfurt. /das Rɛ sto 'Rã ʔist ʔin 'fraŋk fuRt/
7	the swine, the pig das Schwein /das ʃvain/
8	in the river Rhine im Rhein /ʔim Rain/
9	Where is the pig? Wo ist das Schwein? /vo: ʔist das ʃvain/
10	The pig is in the river Rhine. Das Schwein ist im Rhein. /das ʃvain ʔist ʔim Rain/

Block 1

Tasks

• Practise Exercise 3 with PAPA-Basic (see above what that means in detail)
• Read the Notes for each Block.
  

Notes for Block 1

Insekt:

Insects have this name, meaning approximately "cut up", because they have a three-part body (head, thorax, and abdomen):

The word "Insekt" consists of two components (parts): in+sekt. It comes from Latin. "sect" in Latin means "cut, divided, separate", like in "religious sect", "segment", "section", "secateurs" etc. Linguists call such meaningful parts "morphemes"; we will simply call them "components" (as opposed to "parts", which need not be meaningful). Morphemes are MEANINGFUL components.

The "s" in "sekt" is at the beginning of a component. It is therefore pronounced /z/. Linguists say that it is a "voiced" sound, whereas /s/ is a voiceless sound.

The "s" in the English word "insect" is voiceless, i.e. /s/. The "s" in the German word "Insekt" is voiced, i.e. /z/.

The "c" in words of Latin origin remains "c" in English, but is spelt "k" in German; e.g. English "cellar" = German "Keller".

English "insect" is stressed on the first syllable, German "Insekt" is stressed on the last syllable.

When combining "Insekt" with other words, e.g. with "das" in "das Insekt", the two words are separated in German pronunciation by a glottal stop. See what we said about the glottal stop and about the pronunciation of "das Auto" in Lesson 1, Block 3.

Compare the pronunciation of the English and the German word:
English "insect" /'in sɛkt/
German "das Insekt" /das ʔin 'zɛkt/

Recorded Talk 1 - L003_RT01_Insekt.mp3

English "the INsect" and German "das InSEKT" look almost indentical but their pronounciation differers. The English word is stressed on the first syllable: "the INsect". The German word is stressed on the last syllable: "das InSEKT". Compare:

English: "the INsect"
German: "das InSEKT"

The other difference is the pronunciation of the letter "s". In English it is voiceless: /s/, English voiceless: /sɛkt/
German voiced: /zɛkt/

Now the complete words:
English "insect" /ði: 'in sɛkt/
German "das Insekt" /das ʔin 'zɛkt/

eort

Restaurant

"Restaurant" comes from French. It is a place where you "restore" your health and fitness by eating and drinking. Like many foreign words in German, it is stressed on the last syllable. Since it comes from French, the French pronunciation rules apply. The "au" is not pronounced /au/ (like in "Haus") but /o/. The last syllable "rant" ends in a French nasal vowel: /Rã/. Unlike the English "restaurant", the German word is stressed on the LAST syllable. Therefore we have: /Rɛ sto 'Rã/.

Recorded Talk 2 - L003_RT02_Restaurant.mp3

"Restaurant" comes from French. Therefore the French pronunciation rules apply. The last syllable is nasalised. The last syllable is stressed, whereas in English the first syllable is stressed. Compare:
German: Restaurant
English: restaurant
eort

wo /vo:/

wo /vo:/ - As you already know from "Wasser", German "w" is pronounced like English "v", and, as you already know from "Auto" and "Telefon", the "o" in German is a single sound, not a double sound (diphthong) as the English "oh" /əu/. The German /o:/ does NOT glide into a /u/ like the English "oh".

Recorded Talk 3 - L003_RT03_wo.mp3

The vowel in German "wo" is a plain /o:/.
The vowel in English "oh" /əu/ is a double sound. Linguists call it a dipthong.

wo /vo:/ - As you already know from "Wasser", German "w" is pronounced like English "v", and, as you already know from "Auto" and "Telefon", the "o" in German is a single sound, not a double sound (diphthong) as the English "oh"/əu/. The German /o:/ does NOT glide into a /u/ like the English "oh".

Compare English "oh" /əu/ and German /o:/.
eort

Notes for Block 2

"wo ist" /vo: 'ʔist/

As you already know from "das Auto" /das 'ʔauto:/, you must not slide two German words into each other when the second word (e.g. "ist") begins with a vowel. Here we have the first word, "wo", ending in a vowel and the second word, "ist", starting with a vowel. When saying these words, you have to separate them by putting a glottal stop /ʔ/ in front of the vowel of the second word.

So now we have: "wo ist" /vo: 'ʔist/.

Note: The shape of the glottal stop is similar to, but not the same as, that of the question mark.
Glottal stop: ʔ
Question mark: ?
You will easily recognise a glottal stop symbol because it will always appear within slashes / /. The question mark never appears in slashes.

Recorded Talk 4 - L003_RT04_glottal_stop.mp3

Remember the glottal stop between "wo" and "ist".
Correct pronunciation: /vo: 'ʔist/
Wrong pronunciation: /vo:'ist/

Remember the glottal stop which separates the "ist" and "in".
Correct: /'ʔist 'ʔin/
Wrong: /ʔis'tin/

"ist im"
Correct: /'ʔist 'ʔim/
Wrong: /ʔis'tim/

eort

Frankfurt

The "n" in "Frankfurt" is the same sound that you find in English "nk" in
"sink" /siŋk/. It is written /ŋ/, an "n" with a tail. So we have /'fraŋk fuRt/.

Frankfurt (Main) is the financial capital of Germany and has the largest airport in Germany. There are two Frankfurts in Germany. The bigger one is in West Germany, near the confluence of the rivers Main and Rhine (Frankfurt am Main = Frankfurt on Main). The other is in East Germany at the border with Poland, on the banks of the river Oder (Frankfurt an der Oder).

"Furt" = "ford", i.e. these two cities were built in places where, in ancient times, a Germanic tribe called "the Franks" crossed (forded) a river. This tribe migrated into France, hence the name France (German "Frankreich") for that country.

The pronunciation will not be difficult for you, provided you get the "r" /R/ right. Try to make fun of a German person speaking bad English, and pronounce "Frankfurt" with that accent.

"ist in" (is in) /'ist 'ʔin/ - Remember the glottal stop which separates the "ist" and the "in". Do not slide these two words into one, as you would rightly do in English.
Wrong: /'istin/
Correct: /'ist 'ʔin/

"Schwein" /ʃvain/ - "ei" is a double sound, a diphthong. It is very similar to the vowel in "my" or in "swine". In IPA it is written as /ai/.

"ai" in "Main" and other words is pronounced exactly the same as "ei". "ei" is more frequent in German than "ai".

Remember:
"ie" (e.g. in "Knie") is a single sound, a long /i:/.
"ei" (e.g. in "Schwein") is a double sound: /ai/

If you want to criticise somebody because he (this obviously never applies to women) is not clean (dress, hygiene) or very immoral (Colonel Gaddafi), you can address him as: "Du Schwein!" or you can refer to him as "Das Schwein!" (the pig). If he is merely stupid, you can say "Das Kamel!" Colonel Gaddafi will, of course, kill you to prove that you are right in addressing Him thus, but you can pass away peacefully knowing that you have been right all along.

Recorded Talk 5 - L003_RT05_names and insults.mp3

The names of the two Frankfurts:

Frankfurt am Main (West Germany)
Frankfurt an der Oder (at the border with Poland)

The town where pigs forded a river:
Schweinfurt

Remember:
"ie" (e.g. in "Knie") is a single sound, a long /i:/.
"ei" (e.g. in "Schwein") is a double sound: /ai/

"ie" in "Knie" and "ei" in "Schwein"
"ie" in "Knie" and "ei" in "Schwein"

Insults:
Du Schwein!
Du Kamel!

Das Schwein!
Das Kamel!

Rhein Rhein Rhein
Main Main Main

eort

Notes for Block 3

Rhein /Rain/ - The "h" in the name of the river Rhine (Rhein) is peculiar to a few names and does not influence the pronunciation.

The Rhine is a very long river which runs south-north from Switzerland, through Lake Constance and then through Germany and Holland, to the North Sea. It is navigable by barges. There is now a canal which connects the River Rhine and the River Main with the huge river Donau (Danube) which runs west-east from Germany through several Balkan countries into the Black See. So it is now possible to paddle or row from Holland to the Black Sea. Study it on a map. You will be fascinated. Imagine the journey and how much German you could learn if you undertook it by boat.

"ist im" /'ist 'ʔim/ - "im" = "in the". Remember the glottal stop between "ist" and "im". To say "istim" would be wrong. Say /'ist 'ʔim/.

Das Schwein ist im Rhein. - A pig in a German river is not as fanciful as it sounds. Like there is Frankfurt, where the Franks forded a river, there is also the town of Schweinfurt (in Bavaria), where obviously ages ago a herd of swine must have forded a river - like a herd of oxen in Oxford.

Pigs don't like water because that would stop them from being dirty. But in the Bible we learn that Jesus, who liked cleanliness (because it is next to godliness), once forced a whole herd of swine into a lake or the sea by driving a host of evil demons out of a possessed man, and into a herd of swine: "And he (Jesus) said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. (Matthew 8:32)

The good news is that these pigs were now clean and made it into the Guiness Book of Records. Jesus was happy. The bad news is that they were dead. Hence the proverb: "The only clean pig is a dead big". The poor demons had to look for new homes and found them in the bodies of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Colonel Gaddafi and Ravana (who could accommodate ten demons, one for each of his heads).

end of Lesson 3

© 2011 Klaus Bung

spare table for exercises

1
2
3