Das Alphabet

If you want to spell out your name or address in German you need to know the names of the letters in the German alphabet. Many of them are the same as they are in English, and this makes life easier for you. But there are also a few which are called "false friends" because they look as if they are the same as English letters but are actually not. Until I can record the sounds of the letters I will write out a phonetic pronounciation of each letter for speakers of English.

A  (ah)    B (bay)    C (tsay)    D (day)    E (eh)    F (eff)    G (gay)    H (ha)    I (eee)    J (yot)    K (car)   L (ell)    M (em)    N (enn)    O (oh)     P (pay)    Q (koo)    R (air)    S (ess)    T (tay)    U (ooh)    V (fow)    W (vay)    X (eeks)    Y (oopsilon)    Z (tzed)

To listen to a native German speaker pronouncing the letters of the German alphabet click here.

Try saying the letters aloud. Can you spell out your own name or the name of the place where you live?

German also has an extra letter ß ,called sharp s, scharfes ess or esszet.

Wie ist das Wetter?

You can watch this video clip to see more about how to say what the weather is like.

Die Lorelei

Dominating the north and west of Germany, the river Rhein is a major transportation route and one of Europe's busiest waterways. Near St Goarshausen, a large rock 120m above the water level marks a very narrow part of the river where the currents are strong. Rocks below the water have caused many shipping accidents here. The rock itself is said to murmur because the sounds of the currents and a small waterfall are echoed against its craggy surfaces.

Some stories have sprung up around the rock, and the most famous is the tale of the Lorelei, the story of an enchanting female associated with the rock. In the poem, the beautiful Lorelei, betrayed by her sweetheart, is accused of bewitching men and causing their death. Rather than sentence her to death, the bishop orders her to go to a nunnery. On the way there, accompanied by three knights, she comes to the Lorelei rock. She asks permission to climb it and view the Rhine once again. She does so and falls to her death; the rock still retained an echo of her name afterwards.

The Lorelei rock on a bend in the Rhein

Although shipping accidents are rare nowadays they do still happen and a barge carrying 2,400 tonnes of sulphuric acid capsized on January 13, 2011 near the town of St Goarshausen.

Word of the week: Schultüte

Welcome back after the summer break! I hope you have all had a good holiday and are ready for another year learning lots of German.

Starting the new school year with a Schultüte is a much-loved custom in parts of Germany and Austria. Six-year olds who are just beginning their first year at school carry large cones with them on their first day. The cones are made of paper or card and are brightly decorated. Inside there are sweets and stationery items that will be useful to them as they start school.

Austrian schoolgirls prepared for their first day of school.

To make your own Schultüte click here and follow the instructions.

Top five tips for creating resources for the interactive whiteboard

Box of Tricks is a fabulous website with plenty of ideas on making the most of Smartboards in the classroom. Plus tips on whiteboard magic and other bewitching tricks to get your class really interacting with MFL.

Word of the Week: Spaghettieis

Spaghettieis is a German-invented ice cream, a cool concoction that looks like a plate of spaghetti bolognese. Created in the 1960s in Mannheim, it is not very well known outside Germany. The white ice cream is squeezed through a press so that it resembles spaghetti, before being topped with strawberry sauce and grated almonds or white chocolate shavings to represent parmesan cheese.

What do you think? Would you try some?

Word of the Week: lustig

Lustig is a great German word. It means funny, merry, jolly. It can also be added to another word to give another layer of meaning. For example, lebenslustig means in love with life, or full of zest.

Does anyone know any other adjectives ending with -lustig? I'd be really interested to know.

Word of the Week: der Dudelsack

This is not a particularly German instrument, but the word appeals to my sense of humour. Literally, ein Dudelsack is a tootle-bag, an instrument very popular in Scotland but common throughout Europe.

Word of the Week: die Klassenfahrt

This does not mean what you think! It is quite innocently a school trip. When I worked in Austria I went on some great school trips. One of them lasted a week and was really a Skifahrt to the Alps. Another very memorable Klassenfahrt was to Windischgarsten, high up in the central Austrian mountains, where we visited a sword factory in the morning and spent the afternoon on a Sommerrodelbahn, a summer toboggan run.

 

Word of the Week: Gummistiefel

Gummistiefel is a compound noun; that means it is one long word made of two shorter words put together. Gummi meaning rubber or gum; you may have heard of Gummibär already. German children buy sticks of Kaugummi; can you guess what it might be?

Stiefel is a cool word meaning boots. I like it because it makes me think of a pair of high heeled stiletto boots; it sounds like steeple! So Gummistiefel, have you worked out what they are yet?