Ich lerne Deutsch!

One way ticket to German and (not) back.

So, we're going to have a little test today at school. The main theme will probably be the dreaded cauldron of prepositions. The last week has been intense and confusing at the same time.

Some prepositions always require the use of the Dativ case, others always require the Akkusativ, and of course there's nine more prepositions that switch between the two based on the kind of action that's going on in the sentence. Somebody is actively doing something? Go with the Akkusativ case. Are you describing a static situation? Then go with the Dativ.

Now, this is a lot to memorize. First we have to learn by heart which prepositions require which case. Then we need to know the cases without getting confused (they have some similarities for added difficulty). And finally, and this is the key to successfully using the German language, we need to know the gender, and therefore the article, of every noun. And there are three genders: feminine, masculine and neutral. And a lot of nouns are the opposite gender in German than they are in Italian.

Now, while ich stelle die Tasse auf dem Tisch, I can say I'm having fun anyway. I am aware of the language making roots and becoming gradually less obscure, and I have a feeling I am progressing fast. Maybe I do have a little talent for languages. :)

The language barrier adds to
the suspance of this criminal case.

There's this little book I found here at home that I'm trying to read, and I have to say I am at the point where I can clearly make out some scenes. A big step forward compared to the "I don't know what I'm reading" feeling of the first pages.

I am growing more confident and I think I will soon start doing my favorite language-learning exercise: translation!

I remember back when I was first learning English I used to try to translate short texts (Micheal Jackson's songs. I was young), and I remember learning new vocabulary by making out their meaning based on the context rather than by looking them up on a dictionary.

Repeating the experiment 23 (!) years later will be interesting. I will keep you posted, but now I really have to warm up for the test.

Bis bald!