German culture has spanned throughout the entire German-speaking world. From its roots, culture in Germany has been molded by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically Deutschland has been called Das Land der Dichter und Denker (the country of poets and thinkers) (Wasser, 2006). Germany is in the middle of Europe, not only geographically, but also in terms of politics and economics. The country is Europe's second most populated after Russia, with
and its people even before visiting the country or getting to know a German national. Germans are often perceived to be cold or mean and that they dislike tourists. Many also believe that the language sounds harsh or is unromantic and all Germans consume is sauerkraut, sausage, and beer. These views could be largely due to the way Hollywood paints Germans out to be and American views on holidays such as Oktoberfest. As a German as well as an American citizen, I have heard many of these stereotypes
Mein Kampf MEIN KAMPF is written in the style of a self-educated mod- em South German with a gift for oratory. Of course this picture does not begin to characterize Hitler the man, but it does, I think, account for the elements of his style. Beginning in his Vienna period, Hitler was a voracious news- paper reader. The style of the Austrian press, as Karl Kraus never wearied of pointing out, was slovenly, illogical, pretentious. Even the grammar, doubtless because of the large number
development of the German language German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and (co-) official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the major languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million
to Sider, S. (2006) in Experiences with language retention: Case studies of Mennonites from Mexico, two primary groups were at the core of the Mennonite faith tradition: Swiss Mennonites and Russian Mennonites (who came from northern Germany and the Netherlands). Those Mennonites who eventually moved to Mexico trace their historical ties to the Russian Mennonites. The language that was commonly spoken by adherents of the Russian Mennonite faith was low German. Beginning 1874 and continuing into the
leaving were: economic and social problems, natural disasters (potato famine in Ireland), religious freedom, avoiding the draft, population booms, and industrialization. Once Germans decided to embark on a journey to Wisconsin, they had to worry about the travel, geography of where to live, and the language barrier between German and English and all problems in-between. Travel To get to Wisconsin most immigrants had to travel by boat through the Erie Canal and into the Great Lakes. From there, they
your dumb language!” I said, vowing to never speak it again. While my mother was upset I was insulting her native tongue, German, she understood my mindset. My experience growing up in different places meant my perception of the world wasn’t reflective of my ethnic background; while we travelled to Germany every year for the holidays, we had never lived there. At this point in my life, I treasure the fact that I grew up in a bilingual household with parents who were passionate about language, but my
Growing up in the United States, my vocabulary was dominated by English words, with Spanish numbers and German family terms sprinkled in. A problem I encountered during my pre-school years was the dynamic naming system of elderly ladies in my life. I grew up addressing my paternal grandmother as “Oma,” and my maternal grandmother as “Grandma.” The issue was that the rest of the German language wasn’t bestowed unto me along with the word for grandma. Consequently, I thought my grandma’s actual name
a significant impact on the English language of the Pennsylvania area. Study of Pennsylvania Dutch is difficult for researchers because of the scarcity of books printed in it. The language had been preserved largely by word of mouth and lacks a traceable history through written works, making it difficult to trace its development (Follin, 1929, p. 455). However, what there has been much research on is how it differs from modern German, also called High German, and also how Pennsylvania Dutch and
and religion. Unfortunately, educational privilege cannot be enjoyed by those who speak other languages than English. Bilingual Education is an asset, not a hindrance, that helps non-native students to explore content subjects in their languages while learning English. This reduces the achievement gap between native and non-native students. High schools require their students to study a foreign language before graduating, so why is this form of bilingual education accepted in the schools? However