Discussion
Me: "I want to learn German."
Them: "Why would you do that? Don't bother!"
Me: "Because I spend half my time on the Fediverse clicking on the 'Translate' button."
I can't help it if so many of the awesome accounts I follow are in German. And I want to be able to understand their messages without clicking on 'Translate' 50+ times a day. Plus this way I would understand / could attend ALL the talks at Berlin #FediDay.
I'm putting this here so that people hold me accountable 😅🤗
@_elena I think you will love the super power of creating new words by combining two or more words.
@pixelcode OMGGGG I am not ready for this, LOOOL
@_elena ma che interfaccia usi? Io non ho "Translate", mi devo copiare tutti i post (in finlandese) per tradurli da un altra parte
@umbeebmu sul computer, connessa a Mastodon nel mi browser, c'è un link "translate" sotto i messaggi in lingua straniera. Sennò su Ivory (iOS) c'è un bottone "translate" che ti fa vedere il post d'origine e sotto la traduzione
@_elena Oh, I understand you so much! I used to learn German for nine years and I haven't actively used it for 20 years at least. But now I'm finding it super useful during mornings when the trending page is half in German until folks across the pond wake up :D I'm glad I can understand most of the toots. Just one downside: I am no longer able to feel smug about saying my secondary school German teacher that I won't ever be able to use the knowledge. Dang, I hate that she was right 👿
@_elena Ich wünsche dir viel Erfolg!
@_elena Es gibt nichts Gutes außer man tut es.
@_elena Dann werde ich dich ab sofort nur noch auf Deutsch kommentieren.
@Amboss_der_Agitator awww 😂 please if you do select "German" as your language, or else it's a little diabolical, as I would have to copy and paste your messages into a language translator (instead of simply clicking on "translate"). But thank you for the challenge!
@_elena Wo sollte ich Deutsch als meine Sprache wählen? Auf einem Handy? So etwas besitze ich nicht. Oder gibt es bei Mastodon so eine Auswahlmöglichkeit?
@Amboss_der_Agitator on Mastodon it's typically in the "compose" window. Same with GoToSocial...
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof
@_elena Viel Erfolg! Es gibt mittlerweile auch viele NAchrichtenseiten, die zweisprachig sind, z.B. Spiegel.
@_elena
Lingua franca of fediverse:
German with a lot of english tech terms, meme and 1337 speach.
@_elena
Ich muß vieles ins Deutsche übersetzen. I translate english into german many times a day.
@_elena The fun begins when you start comparing the output of the Translate button with the structure of the original sentence and realising that it's missed important-looking words like "nicht" out . . . I think once you know the tiniest bit of the grammar of the language you're learning, it's time to start applying it, even if most of the vocabulary is unfamiliar.
@_elena Just think of all the Krimi series you could watch!
https://www.zdf.de
@_elena 💪🏾 If „not clicking the Translate button“ is your main goal, you’ll be fine as you’re eliminating the two worst frustrations about our language:
- No issues picking the right grammatical gender; you’ll understand the articles/pronouns regardless.
- No need to remember the bazillion exceptions from the rule that make speaking/writing our language a game of whack-a-mole for learners.
Have fun! 😊
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@_elena somehow, and I really don't know why, books are also cheaper in German, I always take that advantage specially if looking for second hand books 😆 so another reason to!