The Lernen to Talk Show: Episode 35 – The Dream Team!

Hello from rainy Köln! The weather’s been decidedly odd here. With summer a mere two days away Germany’s skies seem to be having some kind of identity crisis. It’s been that way for months. Hopefully the weather this weekend changes back to the way it was on March 26th, when this episode was filmed. Tomorrow I’m off to Niedersachsen for three days of music and camping at the Hurricane Festival! It should be a most excellent way to enjoy my final weekend in Germany. Hopefully the name doesn’t come true.

Today’s episode features a most unexpected and delightful meeting of two Lernen to Talk Show mainstays, Annalaura and Kansas Kate! Kansas Kate was in town for a seminar, and I just had to have them both back on the show together! Things get pretty darn weird on that balcony, as I demonstrate advanced German grammar and we share some relaxation exercises with Kansas Kate. Feel free to try it at home!

DISCLAIMER – There’s a lot of weird slang going on in this episode. Mostly because it was developed by me. As you know, I’m a big fan of playing around with the German language, inventing new words and fooling with the grammar. Annalaura is to this day the only person I’ve convinced to take on some of these mannerisms. So if you notice something weird about the way she talks, it’s my fault. Sorry!

Danke Hanna, dass du gefilmt hast!

1:29 – “Gar cool”, says Annalaura. This is what I was talking about. Gar is one of those words, like doch, that doesn’t have a good translation to English. Essentially, it’s a weird used to emphasize the negation of something. It’s used in expressions like “gar nicht”, “gar nichts”, or “gar keine”. It’s never used positively… UNTIL NOW!

2:53 – Konjunktiv 2 is the grammar used to talk about the hypothetical past. “Had I known!”

3:20 – Be careful how you use Konjunktiv 2.

5:40 – This was a terrible attempt at playfulness on my part. Grüsse means “greeting”, and I was trying to make a word for the opposite of a greeting. Ungrüsse was the best I could do.