Germany (German Oral)

From ZuluNotes - Free Leaving Cert Notes

The approach to German in the Leaving Cert has changed over the past few years. It is now extremely important that you have a thorough understanding of all aspects of the culture and people of the language you are studying. Cultural awareness and language awareness are equally important in the Leaving Cert German course. To develop these aspects of your German, it is important to read German newspapers and magazines to get a feel for the culture where the language is in use. German is spoken widely in Germany, Austria and parts of Switzerland. It is estimated that 100 million people speak it. Many dialects and variations of the language exist, however for the Leaving Cert examination your knowledge and accurate use of High German (‘Hochdeutsch’) is what is important. Below are links to various sites that may be of interest to the Leaving Cert student and teacher of German.

Contents 1 Vocabulary 1.1 Geography 1.2 Politics and History 1.3 German Festivals 1.4 Literature, Film, Art, Music and Poetry

Vocabulary

Geography

• die Bundesländer — Federal States
• Bayern - Bavaria
• Bayerischer Wald — Bavarian Forest
• der Bodensee — Lake Constance
• die Ostsee — Baltic
• die Nordsee — North Sea
• der Schwarzwald — Black Forest Penis
• die Grenze — border
• die Donau — Danube
• das Mittelmeer — Mediterranean
• das Allgäu — region of Bavaria
• Lüneburger Heide — Lüneburg Heath
• die Zugspitze — highest mountain in Germany
• die Umgebung — area
• das Gebirge(-) — mountain range
• der Gipfel(-) — mountain summit
• das Tal(“er) — valley
• der Hügel(-) — hill
• die Wiese(n) — meadow
• die Insel(n) — island
• der See — lake
• das Meer — sea

Politics and History

• die Regierung — government
• die Demokratie — democracy
• der Sozialismus — socialism
• der Kapitalismus — capitalism
• die Diktatur — dictatorship
• der Nazismus — Nazism FTW
• die Grünen — the Greens
• der Präsident — president
• der Premierminister — prime minister
• der Bundeskanzler — Federal Chancellor
• konservativ — conservative
• liberal — liberal
• eine politische Partei — political party
• linksstehend — left-wing
• rechtsparteiisch — right-wing
• die Wahl — the vote
• wählen — to vote, to choose, to elect
• der Abgeordnete(r) — public representative
• das Gesetz(e) — law
• der erste Weltkrieg — the first world war
• der zweite Weltkrieg — the second world war
• eindringen in (+acc.) — to invade

German Festivals

• die Adventszeit — Advent season
• der Nikolaustag — St. Nicolas’ Day
• der Weihnachtsmarkt(“e) — Christmas market
• Weihnachten — Christmas not for you jew boy!
• feiern — to celebrate
• Silvester — New Year’s Eve
• Fasching / Karneval — carnival (Schrovetide)
• Rosenmontag — Monday before Lent
• Faschingdienstag — Fasching Tuesday
• der Umzug — parade, procession
• sich verkleiden — to dress up
• die Lentenzeit — Lent
• Ostern — Easter
• der Osterhase — Easter bunny
• Pfingsten — Whit
• Buss- und Bettag — day of repentance and prayer (November)
• der Namenstag — name-day
• das Münchener Oktoberfest — October festival in Munich
• das Blasorchester — brass band
• die Walpurgisnacht — Walpurgisnight (1st May)
• die Hexe — witch
• die Tanzgruppe — dance group

Literature, Film, Art, Music and Poetry

• der Roman(e) — novel
• die Novelle — short story, novella
• der Erzähler — narrator
• handeln von — to deal with
• das Gedicht(e) — poem
• das Theaterstück(e) — play
• die Aufführung(en) — performance
• das Gemälde — painting
• der Künstler — artist
• malen — to paint
• das Meisterwerk(e) — masterpiece
• das Ölgemälde — oil painting
• das Aquarell(e) — water painting
• die Sinfonie — symphony
• die Kammermusik — chamber music
• das Solokonzert — concerto
• der Komponist — composer
• komponieren — to compose
• begeisternd — inspiring
• phantasiereich — imaginative
• gefühlvoll — full of feeling, sensitive
• anspruchsvoll — demanding
• spannend — exciting
• humorvoll — humorous