Tib the Student You may find it helpful at the outset to know the biases of the authors. We gladly gladly adm it th e m : language is the mo st significa significant nt and fascinating of human ph p h e n o m e n a ; fo r the th e seri se riou ouss sc h o lar la r it is us usef eful ul a n d nece ne cess ssar ary y to read re ad o the th e r languages tha n his ow n ; for everyone it is interestin g and enlightening to see see how ano the r culture expres expresses ses its its percep tion o f reality reality throu gh its its language; everyone can learn language; everyone who can learn, his own language can learn a new new lang ua ge ; the principles principles and techniques o f prog ram m ed learning can significantly increase the efficiency and decrease the frustrations of language study. We have also assumed tha t your study time is is valuable an d th at if you have have been be en intr in tro o d u c e d to this th is text te xt it is beca be caus usee so som m etim et im e yo you u seri se riou ousl sly y w an ted te d to learn to read German. We have therefore made use of new approaches and developments developments in in program me d learning learning in order to provide provide you with the most systematic and direct means possible of doing so. We have likewise assumed th at the students using this type of text are of m atu re interests, interests, an d we have have consequently included passages that will introduce you directly though briefly brie fly to so som m e o f th e thin th ink k e rs, rs , scho sc hola lars rs,, a u th o r s an d p o liti li tica call lead le adee rs who wh o have given given Germ an c ulture its its diversi diversity ty and impact. Germa German n fo r Reading presupposes presupposes no previous previous ac quaintance with G erman a n d e a n be used with equal effec effecti tive vene ness ss by by grad uate students in the arts and sciences who are preparing to pass a reading knowledge examination, or by undergraduates who are beginning to deal seriously with the problems of reading. It may be used before, simultaneously with, or after an aural-oral introduction to G erm an. Its program me d for m at permits it it to be used used eithe eitherr as a classroom text or by individuals working on their own. In an audiolingual lingual course it can be used as as a complem ent to the audio-lingual text; in a course oriented principally toward reading, it can be used as the primary text, text, with with the course moving at a p ropor tionately m ore rapid rate. rate.
What you may expect to get out of the course When you finish German German fo r Reading Reading you should be able to recognize the meanings signaled signaled by all all the basic gram ma tical pattern s o f Ge rm an, plus the meanings of about twelve hundred content words. You will also have developed developed n um erou s techniques o f reading reading in a foreign language which will will enable you to learn new vocabulary and derive meanings from context without depending totally on a dictionary. With some additional work to buil bu ild d vo v o c a b u lary la ry in sp spec ecial ial field fi elds, s, you y ou will be b e abl a blee to t o s ta rt us usin ing g G e rm a n as an academ ic tool in research or in course work in some some fiel field. d. Y ou sh ould be able, able, for example, to read a German newspaper or journal with fair to good comprehension or to begin begin the serious serious study study o f G erm an literary literary texts texts.. xi
TO THE STUDENT
What you should expect to put into the course The abo ve results are predictab le on the basis o f classroom testing and depe nd on your fulfilling the following conditions: 1. That you spend the 80-120 hours of study time that it has taken other students to complete the course 2. That you study and review consistently . 3. That you familiarize yourself with the theoretical base of the book and follow the instructions.
Format o f the text One of the basic assumptions of German for Reading is that among the 10,000-20,000 words that one must be able to recognize in order to read German easily (estimates differ), the first priority in order of presentation should go to the function words (those that do no t have a meaning in and of themselves, e.g. wo, where or denn ,fo r) and grammatical signals (e.g. verb endings) as opposed to the content words (the words that do express a meaning by themselves, e.g. vergessen, to fo rget or Pferd, horse), It is the function words and grammar structures of the language which provide the framework of context. Accordingly, this text is so organized as to make a systematic presentation o f the patterns and function w ords of Germ an while helping you to develop reading skills and to build a basic recognition vo cab u lary of content w ords. Each chapter is thus composed of several sets of grammar explanations with accompanying exercises and a short reading passage. As you do these exercises, you will find that they introduce the vocabulary and structures of the reading passage while also reviewing pertinent material from previous chapters. Each exercise calls for some kind of response from you and is pro grammed thro ugh the left-hand column to pro vid e you with an im med iate verification of the accuracy of your response. A t the end o f each cha pter is a progress test which en ables you to determine fo r yourself how well you have learned the material. The advantages o f this form at are nu m erous —you spend all of your time in active reading instead of in the mechanical process of thumbing to the end vo cab ulary ; you are not dep endent on the classroom or professor in orde r to establish meaning; you can thus proceed as rapidly as you want to or as slowly as you need t o ; and at the same time you are learning to read em inent G erm an writers in their own w ords almost at the outset.
How to use the text 1. Begin each section by reading the explanations of the grammar. If the terminology used is unfamiliar to you, consult the definitions of grammatical terms in the appendices. 2. Proceed then to do the exercises following each section. They ask for
TO THE STUDENT
x iii
some kind of response from you, such as supplying the missing words, choosing the correct alternative, or simply stating the meaning of the German sentence. Cover the left hand verification column with a card until you have made the response asked for. 3. After you have made an active response to the German sentence, slide your card down on the left-hand colum n an d verify you r answer. When the instructions ask you to translate the German to English, remember that there are often several ways of translating to achieve the same meaning. Y ou r version does not need to coincide exactly with the version in the text so long as the general mea ning is the same. Th e success or failure of your efforts depends to a large extent on how well you follow this procedure. If you do n ot m ake a real effort to read the G erm an before looking a t the English, you will prob ably n ot be able to read the G erm an passage at the end of the section. 4. Each time you meet a word that you do not recognize immediately, underline it. After you learn its meaning put a circle around it (but do not write the English equivalent between the lines). After you have finished the set of exercises, review the circled words, and associate them with their context. 5. Then, take the progress test and see which points you need to review. Learn each block o f material th oroughly before going on. 6. Study in short blocks o f time. If you were to allot two h ours a day to the study o f Ge rma n, it would be better to divide them into four periods of thirty m inutes each than to spend the two ho urs consecutively. 7. Review frequently! Before each new chapter, spend five minutes or so reviewing the words you have circled in the previous cha pter.
Chapter One 1. Cognates—definition 2. Nouns—recognition, ge nde r, an d cpgnate pa tter ns
3. N ouns—fo rm atio n o f the plu ra l fo rm s 4. Compoun d nouns 5. Cognates—partially similar meanings 6. False Cognate s
1
.
Cognates—definition 1. The task of learnin g G erm an vocabulary is simplified by true cognates, 1.e., words which have similar spellings and identical or similar meanings. From common Germ anic roots come cognates such as Sommer and summer, Wolf and wolf. From other common roots come cognates such as Echo and echo , Sphäre and sphere. 2. The task is sometimes hind ered by pa rtial cognates (words which look alike but have both similar and divergent meanings) and fa ls e cognates (words with similar spellings but no related meanings). Partial cogn ates:
Existenz == existence but also subsistence Fleisch = flesh but also meat or pulp False cognates:
Rock = coat, sfcir! Kind = child 3. A logical first step in learnin g to read Ge rm an is to learn how to recog nize the true cognates and to become aware of the partial or false cognates. 1
NOU NS— RECOGNITION, GENDER, AND COGNATE PATTERNS
§2
Nouns—recognition, gender, and cognate patterns 1.
All nou ns in G erm an are capitalize d:
Der Mann trinkt ein Glas Bier.
The man drinks a glas s o f beer.
2. Ge rma n nouns, unlike English noun s, are one of three ge nd ers : mascu line, feminine, or neuter. Masculine nouns are often preceded by a form of der (the) or ein (a or an), feminine nouns by a form of die or eine, and neuter nouns by a form of das or ein. (The case o f these articles will be explained in chap ter 4.) 3. A knowledge o f the following conson an t rela tionsh ips which exist between G erm an and English will help you to recognize or remem ber German-English cognates more readily:
GERMAN f,ff (m edial or final) usually corresponds to ein Schiff die Hilfe pf (initial, medial, or final) usually corresponds to der Pfeffer ein ApfeJ der Trumpf b (medial or final) usually corresponds to das Silber usually corresponds to d die Erde ein Bruder ch usually corresponds to die Milch der Mönch usually corresponds to cht die Macht ein Licht usually corresponds to g der Weg eine Magd usually corresponds to k der Käse
ENGLISH P a ship the help P>PP the pe pp er an apple the trump
v or / the silver th the earth a bro ther k the milk the monk gh t the might a light y
or i
the way a maid ch
or c
the cheese
NO UNS — RECOGNITION, GENDER, AND COGNATE PATTERNS
§2
GERMAN die Klasse s, ss, ß (medial or final) eine Straße das Wasser das Los tz, z eine Katze das Salz t das Wort der Traum
ENGLISH the class
usually corresponds to
t a stre et the water the lot (fate)
usually corresponds to
t a cat the salt
usually corresponds to
d the word the dream
What are the English cogn ates o f the follow ing German w ords?
1. ein Affe 1. an ape
2.
der Pfeifer
2.
the pepper
3.
ein Pfund
3.
a pound
4.
die Pflaume
4.
the plum
5.
ein Tropfen
5.
a drop
6.
der Dieb
6.
the thief
7.
die Leber
7.
the liver
8.
eine Öffnung
8.
an opening
9.
die Pfeife
9.
the pipe
10.
ein Ding
10.
a thing
11. eine Feder
11.
a feather
12.
der Schmied
12.
the smith
13.
die Milch
13.
the milk
14.
der Storch
14.
the stork
15.
ein Kuchen
3
4
NO UNS— RECOGNITION, GENDER, AND COGNATE PATTERNS
15.
a cake
16.
die Leuchte
16.
the light
17.
die Nacht
17.
the night
18.
das Recht
18.
the right
19.
das Leder
19.
leather
20.
eine Tochter
20.
a daughter
21.
der Pfennig
21.
the penny
32.
ein Auge
22.
an eye
23.
der Nagel
23.
the nail
24.
eine Kirche
24.
a church
25.
das Kinn
25.
the chin
26.
ein Kamerad
26.
a comrade
27.
der Schweiß
27.
the sweat
28.
der Regen
28.
the rain
29.
eine Kammer
29.
a chamber
30.
die Hitze
30.
the heat
31.
das Zinn
31.
tin
32.
das Herz
32.
the heart
33.
der Tag
33.
the day
34.
das Blut
34.
the blood
35.
ein Netz
35.
a net
36.
die Zunge
36.
the tongue
37.
eine Tür
37.
a door
§2
NO UN S— FORMATION OF THE PLURAL FORMS
§3
5
PROGRESS TEST Give the English cognate o f the follo win g German words.
1.
eine Pfeife
1. a pipe
2.
die Leber
2.
the liver
3.
das Ding
3.
the thing
4.
ein Kuchen
4.
a cake
5.
die Nacht
5.
the night
6.
ein Auge
6.
an eye
7.
ein Kamerad
7.
a comrade
8.
das Kinn
8.
the chin
9.
die Hitze
9.
the heat
10.
das Herz
10.
the heart
11.
der Tag
11.
the day
'
When you can recognize all the above consonant shifts, go on to the next section.
3
.
Nouns—formation o f the plural forms 1. English usually signals the plu ral by means of a final -s (table, tables), a vowel change (man, men), or by a quan tity word + o r a vowel change (some chairs, some men). German usually signals the plural of nouns by the use of the definite article die (or a quantity word) plus
NO UNS — FORMATION OF THE PLURAL FORMS
(a)
§3
the nou n endings -e, -er, -n, -en :
(Jpr Arm das Kjpd der Stgaf die frau der flauer
die Arm^ die Kindir die Staati /2 die Frau en die Bauern
the arm the child the st at e the woman the fa rm er
the arm s the children the state s the women the fa rm ers
an umlaut added to a medial vowel:
der Vater die Tochter
die Väter die TÄchter
the fa th er the dau ghter
the fa th ers the daughter
the noun endings and an umlaut:
die Hand der Fuß der Mann das Buch
the hand the fo o t the man the book
die Händi die Füße die Männer die Bi/chir
the hands the fe e t the men the bo ok s
Notice th at you rrçyst look for a combination o f die (or various plural ma rkers to be discussed later, e.g. diese, these) and one of the above:
das Mädchen die. Mutter
the gir l
die Mädchen
the mother
die Mi/tter
the girls the mothers
Since Mädchen carries an umlaut in the singular, the only way to tell the plu ral is by the additio n of die. M utter, being feminine, takes die as the definite article in both the singular and the plural, an d th e plural is therefore recognized only by the addition of the umlaut. 2. There are a few words ending in -el or -en th at add ne ither an ending no r an umlaut. The plural of these words is signaled only by the definite article die:
der Onkel der Wagen 3.
the uncle
die Onkel
the car
die Wagen
the uncles the cars
A few nou ns taken from foreign languages form their plu ral by add ing -s :
das Auto das Restaurant
die Autos die Restaurants
4. The ending -(e)$ is usually the sign of the gentive (possessive) case of masculine and neuter nouns in the singular, which will be explained later.
NO UN S— FORMATION OF THE PLURAL FORMS
§3
Which o f the follow ing is the plu ral fo rm ? What distinguishes it fr om the singular? 1
der Garten die Gärten
2.
die Töchter die Tochter
2. die Töch ter: the umlaut (daughters)
3.
der Finger die Finger
3. die Fin ger: die (lingers)
4.
die Maus die Mäuse
4. die M äu se : -e and umlaut (mice)
5.
der Arm die Arme
5. die Arm e: -e and die (arms)
6.
der Fuß die Füße
6. die Füße : -e, umlaut and die (feet)
7.
die Haare das riaar
7. die H aar e: -e and die (hair)
8.
das Buch die Büchel*
8. die Bü cher: -er , umlaut and die (books)
9.
die Männer der Mann
9. die Man ne r: -er , umlaut and die (men)
10.
die Felder das Feld
10. die Feld er: -er and die (fields)
11.
der Onkel die Onkel
11. die O n kel: die (uncles)
12.
das Haus die Häuser
12. die Hau se r: -er, umlaut and die (houses)
13.
die Lippe die Lippen
13. die L ip pen : -n (lips)
14.
die Klassen die Klasse
14. die K la ss en: -n (classes)
15.
die Familien die Familie
.
1
.
die Garten: the
umlaut and die.
(gardens)
7
8
NO UN S— FORMATION OF THE PLURAL FORMS
15. die Familien : -n (families)
16.
die Türen die Tür
16. die Türen: -en (doors)
17.
die Radios das Radio
17. die Rad ios: -s and die (radios)
18.
das Café die Cafés
18. die Cafés: -s and die (cafés)
19.
die Minute die Minuten
19. die Minuten : -n (minutes)
20.
der Satellit die Satelliten
20. die Satelliten : -en and die (satellites)
21.
die Nacht die Nächte
21. die Näc hte: -e and umlaut' (nights)
22.
die Schulen die Schule
22. die Schulen : -n (schools)
23.
die Sofas das Sofa
23. die Sofas: -s and die (sofas)
24.
das Licht die Lichter
24. die Lich te r: -er and die (lights)
25.
die Sonne die Sonnen
25. die Sonnen : -n (suns)
PROGRESS TEST Which o f the follow ing for m s is the plural?
1. die Töchter
1.
die Töchter die Tochter
2.
die Onkel der Onkel
§3
COMPOUND NOUN S
§4
2.
die Onkel
3.
die Füße der Fuß
3.
die Füße
4.
das Buch die Bücher
4.
die Bücher
5.
die Lippen die Lippe
5.
die Lippen
6.
die Studenten der Student
6.
die Studenten
7.
das Hotel die Hotels
7.
die Hotels
9
When you can recognize the plu ral fo rm s o f the above nouns, go on to the next s ectio n.
4
.
Compound nouns 1. Ch aracteristic of Ge rman is the coining of new words from simpler German w ords:
krank (sick) + das Haus (house) = das Krankenhaus (hospital) die Hand (hand) + der Schuh (shoe) = der Handschuh (glove) das Wasser (water) + der Stoff (stuff) = der Wasserstoff (hydrogen) das Volk (people) + der Wagen (car) = der Volkswagen There is often a connective (-(e)s- or -(e)n-) between the two elements. 2.
The gender o f the noun is determine d by the last com ponent.
3.
Plurals of com pou nd nouns are formed from the last comp onent:
das Krankenhaus die Krankenhäuser die Wasserstoffbombe die Wasserstoffbomben
the hospita l the hospitals the hydrogen
bomb
the hvdroken
bomb s
10
COMPOUND NOUNS
§4
Guess the m eanings o f the follo win g compound nouns.
1.
der Zahn = tooth der Arzt = do ctor der Zahnarzt =
1.
dentist
2.
das Jahr = year die Zeit = tim e die Jahreszeit =
2.
season
3.
der Flug = flig ht der Hafen = harbor, port der Flughafen =
3.
airport
4.
das Schwein = pig , swine das Fleisch = m ea t das Schweinefleisch =
4.
pork
5.
die Bürger = tow nspeople, citiz en s der Meister = m as ter der Bürgermeister =
5.
mayor
6.
sich rasieren = to shave der Apparat = apparatus Her Rasierapparat =
6.
razor
7.
das Leben = life das Mittel = means das Geschäft = business, shop das Lebensmittelgeschäft =
7.
grocery store i.v
8.
unter = under der Grund = ground die Bahn = railro ad, railway die Untergrundbahn =
8.
subway
9.
das Leder = leather die Ware = go od s die Produktion = production die Lederwarenproduktion =
9.
production o f leather good s
10.
die Sonne = sun das System = sy stem das Sonnensystem =
COGNATES— PARTIALLY SIMILAR MÈANINGS
§5
10. solar system
11.
das der das das
11.
silver mine
12.
der Friede = pea ce der Hof = ya rd , court der Friedhof =
12.
cemetery
5
.
11
Silber = silver Berg = mountain Werk = work(s) Silberhergwerk =
Cognates—partially similar meanings 1. A Ge rman cogn ate may have meanings additio nal to its English cou nter part:
die Seite die Macht der Hund
side
but also page (of a book)
might
author ity
hound
dog
2. Th e meanings of partial cognates m ust be determined from the context or from a dictionary :
1.
Der Vater sitzt mit der kleinen Tochtei auf der Bank. — The father is sitting on the
with his sm all daugh ter.
The German Bank suggests the English bank which normally would not make sense in this context. In German the letter k may often bq equivalent to the English ch. The word is 1. bench
2.
Es gibt Eis zum Nachtisch. = There is fo r desse rt.
The reference to dessert suggests that Eis would not be translated by ice but by
12
2.
FALSE COGNATES
§6
ice cream
3.
Darf man den Brief mit einer Feder schrei ben? = M ay one write the le tter with a ?
Here the context suggests that the trans lation of Feder is notfeath er but 3.
6
.
pen
False Cognates 1. M any false cognates exist between G erm an and English. Since the me an ing will no t always be discernible fro m the context, you will have to establish the meaning by means of a dictionary:
das Tier der Tisch das Gift
the animal (not deer ) the table (not dish) the poison (not gift)
What is the English meaning of the italicized words?
1.
animal
1.
Der Mensch ist ein Tier. Man is an
2.
Nimm die Ellbogen vom Tisch ! Take your elbows off the
!
2.
table
3.
Der Löwe ist der König der Tiere. The lion is the king of
3.
beasts
4.
Arsen ist ein gefährliches Gift. Arsenic is a dangerous
4.
poison
5.
Er sitzt am Tisch und liest die Zeitung. He is sitting at the and read ing the paper.
5.
table
6.
Gift ist
6.
Poison
kein schönes Geschenk. is not a nice gift.
