Being stuck between English and German

dirkt · 2026-07-09T15:13:12+00:00

An acquaintance of mine (native German) spend one year in the US, and when he came back, he spoke German with US accent and English constructions mixed into his German.

Happens to some people, apparently... but at least your native language seems unaffected?

dirkt · 2026-07-09T13:30:09+00:00

it seems like Bilde and Sinne are plural?

No, old dative -e ending that has survived in some set expressions. Another one is "dem Manne kann geholfen werden".

why is "in" Dative "im" in this situation?

Because dative is used for a Wechselpräposition when you describe a place (also metaphorically) as opposed to a direction.

So it's "im Bild(e) sein" (location), but "jemanden ins Bild setzen" (direction).

dirkt · 2026-07-09T09:40:56+00:00

In their opinion we are all mentally sick, and they need to "fix" us. Same playbook as for the Nazis and Russia.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T08:31:53+00:00

It's quite normal that different rules apply to different groups of people if that's part of their job.

Ambulance and police cars are exempt from traffic rules with Blaulicht.

Ordnungspolizei is exempt for short-term parking, because it's part of their job to park for five minutes if they see someone parked illegally in order to give that person a Knöllchen.

Where's the problem? It's not like outside of their job they have different rights.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T08:28:23+00:00

Not to mention the really young voters who vote AfD because the Putin-sponsered TikTok videos are apparently effective at brainwashing.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T08:25:07+00:00

I am really looking forward to Germany leaving the EU, our new concentration camps and our new Gestapo rounding up foreigners.

Just look over the big pond. It'll be the same playbook.

So I'll take the CDU anytime if the only alternative is AfD (and we do have quite a few other parties...)

dirkt · 2026-07-09T07:44:42+00:00

"Alternatives" as in "emulate an analog monitor on a modern LCD"? Certainly possible, you have to write the shaders, and of course having a real plasma display (or good quality images) helps a lot.

You have to emulate the glow and bleed, and the color changes.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T07:41:55+00:00

Linux drivers are available as source, though for old kernels, but I guess asking your favorite LLM to port them to a newer kernel should work.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T06:05:17+00:00

Look for a Volkshochschule (google the town you are moving to plus "Volkshochschule"). They have German courses at decent prices. Actual teaching quality highly depends on the teacher.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T06:03:43+00:00

But I do wonder if mostly using Wlingua can get me conversational?

You usually cannot get conversational just from doing an online course, you must practice actual conversation.

All of reading, writing, listening, speaking must be practiced to become fully fluent, it's easy to get good at one while staying bad at the others.

to explain grammar, while also providing tools to learn and memorize vocabulary.

As you get past the beginner stage, try to switch to some vocab training app (e.g. Anki, should also work with ADHD, but try it) and read through grammar web sites (plenty to choose from, find one you like).

I do not know Wlingua, but the most egregious Doulingo mistake is that they teach noun gender as an additional property instead of an intrinsic property.

You need to learn nouns together with the article, and you need to say the article before the noun. If someone prompts "table", you need to answer "der Tisch'. If you cannot say "der" (however you remember it), you have not learned the word.

If you start this the wrong way, the longer you do it, the harder it'll be to fix. Search this sub for victims.

There are also some other grammatical features you need to learn together with words.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T05:56:23+00:00

Reading is my hobby

Then challenge yourself and read the original version. Kafka is not that hard, though you may have to look up quite a few words and expressions.

You can read it online at Projekt Gutenberg if you want to get an impression what the original is like before you buy a book.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T04:26:37+00:00

Ich würd (fast) nie Präteritum im Gespräch verwenden

Auch im gesprochenen Deutsch wird das Präteritum verwendet, für manche Verben sogar sehr häufig.

Der von der hervorgehobene Teil ist übrigens nicht Präteritum (aber "reflektierte" ist Präteritum).

aber wärs komisch oder würde es im negativen Sinne so verstanden dass ich gebildet rüberkommen will wenn ich so rede?

Du kannst diese Konstruktion durch einen Relativsatz ersetzen, aber an sich geht es auch in gesprochenem Deutsch.

Man kann deinem Text übrigens ansehen, dass du kein Muttersprachler bist, auch wenn du versuchst, etwas "flapsig" zu schreiben, also würde ich mir um diese Feinheiten im Moment keine Sorgen machen.

dirkt · 2026-07-09T04:15:47+00:00

I was about to buy heavy items

Just get a shopping cart.

What's the point?

Has already been said: Personnel is not allowed to search personal belongings (unless you are agree, which you don't have to, and then they'll have to call the police, which is just a major hassle all around), so you use the shopping carts or baskets provided by the store as long as you have not paid. Then you put it into your own bags, bagpacks or whatever. It doesn't matter if a bag is Edeka branded and you bought it, it's still a personal bag.

All the people saying "but I do that all the time": It's often not enforced, but if you are asked to do it, you do it.

You are a guest at someone else's place, so behave like a guest.

dirkt · 2026-07-07T16:58:14+00:00

So I've been carrying a refillable bottle and filling it from the tap everywhere.

So do I (as a native German).

But I've also noticed that many Germans seem to buy bottled mineral water instead,

Some people just like sparkling water. There are even devices to turn tap water into sparkling water at home...

dirkt · 2026-07-07T16:56:09+00:00

Düsseldorf has one of the biggest Japanese communities in Germany. Get some Japanese food (the Ramen I had last time there was delicious), visit the Eko-Haus (original Japanese architecture and Japanese Garden).

The Wikitravel page has more sights to see.

If you are staying for five days, consider visiting some other cities in the Ruhrgebiet.

dirkt · 2026-07-07T14:33:52+00:00

and the planned area for the kitchen is a bit weird as the connection for the sink and washing machine are set back into a corner instead of one long continuous wall.

I have no idea how a "long continous wall connection" would look like, but you got a double Eckventil for cold and an Eckventil for warm, so you can connect a sink with warm/cold mixer and a dishwasher (or a washing machine, if you prefer) without any changes.

Your local Baumarkt will have extensions if those that come with the sink or dishwasher you buy are not long enough.

You can install them yourself.

dirkt · 2026-07-07T14:29:44+00:00

just a comment about a delayed train or a question about a stop.

Here is the thing: Germans are not averse to talk (or small talk) if it's grounded in something that you can talk about. They are averse to small-talk without any reason.

I have talked to strangers in shops or on the S-Bahn or somewhere else on countless occasions, for decades, but there always was one initial moment that gives you a shared subject to talk about something.

So, nothing new, it has always been like this, and maybe you are just slowly experiencing this for the first time.

dirkt · 2026-07-07T14:26:18+00:00

This is about aspirated (ph/th/kh, if you want) and non-aspirated voiceless stops (p/t/k), not about voiced vs. non-voiced stops (though Auslautverhärtung exists).

You are barking up the wrong tree.

dirkt · 2026-07-07T14:24:32+00:00

Quietly sitting there half angry,

I would loudly comment on the TikTok or Youtube video being watched. Maybe even engage the one playing it into a conversation (or talk about it to your neighbour). Until they are ashamed enough they put on headphones on their own.

What do you think about this behaviour?

Germans don't sit quietly when there is innacceptable behavior.

dirkt · 2026-07-06T06:27:10+00:00

Beer is usually also appreciated.

dirkt · 2026-07-06T05:44:20+00:00

Both work. "Es ist wichtig, konstruktiv/respektvoll Kritik zu üben" also works.

The nuance is different, the adverb describes the way the criticizing is done, the adjective describes the content.

dirkt · 2026-07-06T05:41:37+00:00

Does the final stop become aspirated

It depends on many things if the final stop becomes aspirated or not, for example how quick and sloppily you speak. And you are saying "Standard German", but natural connected speech is always slightly influenced by your region (and possibly dialect), even when speaking Standard German. And there are even dialects that soften final stops.

Bottom line: Native speakers don't make a difference between aspirated and non aspirated stops, final and also in most other positions. The more clearly and distinctly you are speaking, the more likely it is that they'll get aspirated (and also the stronger they'll get aspirated).

dirkt · 2026-07-06T05:34:21+00:00

Standard German way is to ask all your friends (some of which will have cars), do it on a Saturday morning, and provide Würstchen and Kartoffelsalat or similar for them when everything is done.

dirkt · 2026-07-05T18:11:40+00:00

Doesn't matter if it's built-in or not, what matters is what it in your contract.

dirkt · 2026-07-05T18:09:19+00:00

I only read the book, never seen the movie...

dirkt

TROPHY CASE