Grundkenntnisse in Deutsch

[dianora]

Now I don't speak German so I have no idea how well the online translator got it but I had bought my life partner a subscription to Der Spiegel and, they complained they couldn't keep up. I made the suggestion that perhaps what was needed was the equivalent of those "Basic English" broadcasts/news etc. but in German. e.g. 'Basic German'. Of course not only would 'Basic German' have to use a smaller vocabulary, in all aspects as in shorter words, but the sentences would also have to be shorter.

Amusingly one of Immanuel Kant's philosophy books, "Kritik der reinen Vernunft" (Critique of pure reason), in particular, is easier read in English and some German philosophy speakers do that. Kant's German is particularly bad in this book since he rushed to get it into print due to contractual deadlines. There is a wonderful quote in my copy. "Most first-time readers will share the experience described by the Austrian writer Robert Musil of his adolescent hero, Türleif, "When he stopped reading in exhaustion after half an hour he had only reached page two." Maybe a "Grundkenntniss in Deutsch" would have helped this book? Of course maybe 'Basic German' is actually English without the Norman french words! This would of course be Anglish see https://wiki.anglish.info/wiki/What_Is_Anglish

Comments

[blogcutter]

I don't know about that... in many ways it seems "High German" functions as the Basic German metalanguage whereas the local dialects ("Low German") are the ones that use the perfectly good local, non-borrowed words. And those locally spoken languages are the ones in most danger of dying out and in most need of preserving!

[dianora]

Good point!