The Modularity of Language

[PINGASFIST]

You don't really need to have "If I have a hammer, I will hammer in the morning" in the past tense. At all.

[rewboss]

@PINGASFIST You do if you want to make it hypothetical: "If I had a hammer, I would hammer in the morning" is the past tense. You need it in the past tense if you want to express the fact that you don't actually have a hammer and probably never will. The past tense doesn't always express things in the past: here, it expresses things that are hypothetical.

[xniquilador]

Interesting method...Subscribed!!!

[Shadriel666]

the funny thing is even if you know how to talk standard german, there are still about 50 different dialects in germany. Thats why germans even arent able to manage talking with each other. *g*

[Haumiblau01]

I agree with you, the German language is much more difficult than Englisch is, but it is also much more precise.

[satanic666sonic]

conditional sentences...

und einen sehr guten Aktzent hast du!

but what has it all to do with the logics of the german language? you just show how KOMPLEX the german grammar/ language is.

[rewboss]

@satanic666sonic Yes... that was the point. :)

[pozorlano]

@rewboss Nice und sauber.. Respekt ! -Hope you got rid of the tick's.. ; )

[satanic666sonic]

conditional sentences...

und einen sehr guten Aktzent hast du!

[satanic666sonic]

conditional sentences...



[satanic666sonic]

conditional sentences...

[Strahlemann333]

Learn your own language, dude. Modularity means something completely different than logicality.

German surely is a modular language, and no, it is not logical.

,

German is not a logical language, but it surely is a modular language.

[rewboss]

@Strahlemann333 I was, in fact, responding to a German video which claimed that German is "modular", on the grounds that you can simply mix and match verbs and prefixes in the same way you can mix and match Ikea shelving units to suit your needs. This tongue-in-cheek response demonstrates that if you take clauses as your modules, English better fits the description of "modular".

Btw, German is very logical. It's just a different type of logic, but it is still logic.

[TheLlawlliet]

Hätte ich einen Hammer, hämmerte ich morgends.

[Kazu89]

In den romanischen Sprachen, hab ich gesagt :-) In spanischen Grammatiken hast Du oft zwei Spalten: ganz oben steht der Name der Zeitform, darunter links der Indikativ, rechts die entsprechenden Verbformen im Subjunktiv. Tempus für Tempus. Genauso kann ich doch ans Englische rangehen, auch wenn in der present-subjunctive-Spalte alle Verbformen inkl. 3. Sg. gleich aussehen und obendrein auch noch dem Infinitiv gleichen.Es wäre natürlich "sinnlos", Englisch so zu unterrichten, aber falsch?

[Kazu89]

[Platz war aus] Was ich damit andeuten will: Auch wenn sich viele "Formen" gleichen, ist doch jede für sich eine eigene Kojugation - mit allen Rechten und Pflichten :-)

[Kazu89]

Du hast uns aber unterschlagen, dass Du (auch) im Englischen den Subjunktiv verwendet hast. Auch wenn diese Form der simple past aufs Haar gleicht (so, wie die andere dem Infinitiv), ist es streng genommen keine Vergangenheit. Sag mir doch bitte, wenn ich hier falsch liege und eventuell wo. [Wieso das "auch" eingeklammer ist, muss ich Dir ja nicht sagen :-)]

[rewboss]

@Kazu89 "Subjunktiv", "Vergangenheit", "Gegenwart"... das sind alles nur Bezeichnungen. Wir unterscheiden aber zwischen Form und Funktion, und eine Form kann mehrere Funktionen haben. Es gibt im heutigen Englisch so gut wie keine Subjinktivform mehr (auch die Form "if I were" stirbt aus). Statt dessen wird die Vergangenheitsform verwendet, um Abstand auszudrücken: zeitlichen Abstand ("I hammered yesterday"), sozialen Abstand ("Would you...?"), Abstand von der Realität ("If I hammered")...

[Kazu89]

@rewboss Danke für Deine Antwort. Natürlich ist diese Herangehensweise völlig legitim. Aber da ich mich hauptsächlich mit romanischen Sprachen befasse, wo jede Funktion ihre eigene Form hat, würde ich im entsprechenden Fall die selbe "Tabelle" aufs Englische anwenden. Ich denke, dass das mit dem Verb "to be" gerechtfertigt werden kann, dass schon die von Dir genannte, veraltende Ausnahme kennt. Und natürlich auch die present sujunctive "form" (immer Infinitiv), was ja in der 3. Person auffält

[rewboss]

@Kazu89 Also, du sagst, jede Funktion eine Form habe; sagst aber auch, die "present subjunctive" immer der Infinitv sei. Ist das nicht eine Form mit zwei Funktionen?

Man kann es auch anders ausdrücken: Im amerikanischen Englisch ist es (noch) gebräuchlich, im Nebensatz nach bestimmten Verben die Grundform des Verbes zu verwenden.

[Musiksender]

"A person who has not studied German can form no idea of what a perplexing language it is. Surely there is not another language that is so slipshod and systemless, and so slippery and elusive to the grasp." - Mark Twain

[tobifried]

amazing post, thanx

[TheHeir235]

Der Hammer des Ganzen (um mal bei diesem Substantiv zu bleiben) ist ja, dass auch der letzte Satz nicht ganz richtig, bzw. Umgangssprache ist.

Korrektes Deutsch wäre:

"Wenn ich einen Hammer hätte, hämmerte ich vormittags."

Nur so als kleine Anmerkung.

Dennoch muss ich sagen, dass ich erst jetzt wirklich gemerkt habe, wie schwierig die deutsche Sprache für Auslänger sein muss.

[UlanSaban]

I would=würde ich

Wenn ich einen Hammer hätte, würde ich vormittags hämmern.

stimmt so

[TheHeir235]

Das liegt daran, dass das Englische keinen eigenen Konjunktiv 2 hat. Der kann nämlich, meines Wissens, nur durch dieses "would" ausgedrückt werden. Im Deutschen verlangt der Satz jedoch einen Konjunktiv 2, ergo "hämmerte". "Würde" wird in den meisten Fälles als Umschreibung des Konj. 2 verwendet, da viele die richtigen Formen nicht kennen. Bsp.: Wenn ich ihn kennen würde = Wenn ich ihn kennte.

Klar ist "würde" nicht ganz falsch, aber korrekte wäre die originale Konj. 2 Form.

[rewboss]

Sprachen entwickeln sich mit der Zeit. Der deutsche Konjunktiv 2 stirbt halt aus -- das kann locker innerhalb einer Generation passieren -- und der Beweis dafür ist, dass viele Leute die "richtigen" -- eigentlich die "alten" -- Formen nicht mehr kennen. Was gestern "umgangsprachlich" war, ist möglicherweise morgen schon "korrekt".

Außerdem sind bei "hämmern" im Präteritum Indikativ und Konj. 2 identisch: in solchen Fällen ist die Umschreibung mit "würde" schon lange "zulässig".

[RealManiahSince2003]

you sound exactly like my english teacher! :O

[HesseJamez]

one more: "morgen" means "tomorrow", too!

[HesseJamez]

am Vormittag/vormittags = before midday

am Morgen/morgens = in the morning

there's not a big difference, but

"morgen(s)" is earlier!

[HesseJamez]

German word order is never logical! - but full of surprises

[AmelieBrooks]

*rofl* ... deutsche Sprache schwere Sprache ... Englisch lernen is da sicher leichter ;*) ... but be sure we do understand what you want to say even if it is not perfekt ;) ...

[GirlintheSea]

Wow, Ive never realized my mother tongue is that difficult! My respect for everybody who is learning German!!

[0AtheneNoctua0]

i like that one a lot, i'm gonna show it to everyone who asks me if german is a hard language to learn^^

[tortileinffm]

Sehr lustiges Video, danke dafür.

[wilma2205]

Hi, I certainly don´t want to make things anymore difficult than they already are, but istn´t the correct translation of "in the morning" actually "am vormittag"? I mean "vormittags" means more like "mornings" ? As in "every morning". If I´m not completely wrong there is a difference between "am vormittag" und "vormittags".

[rewboss]

Well, the way the song is written, it does imply that the hammering would occur every morning, so "vormittags" would be the more logical choice.

So... you're not wrong exactly, but context and connotation must also be taken into account, not just the dictionary definitions of the words. That's why Babelfish doesn't work and translators are so expensive. :)

[HesseJamez]

your last example "Wenn ich einen Hammer hätte..." is not the past tense but the present conditional! The past(perfect) tense was "wenn ich einen Hammer gehabt hätte, hätte ich vormittags gehämmert"

[rewboss]

You missed the point. The past tense *would* be "Wenn ich einen Hammer hatte", and in English that's how we represent hypothetical conditions. However, that doesn't work in German, which instead uses not a tense, but a mood -- namely the subjunctive, which itself has a present and a past -- hence the added umlauts.

Also, to further muddy the waters, the difference between "ich habe" and "ich habe gehabt" is not one of tense, but of aspect: the latter is the perfect aspect of the present tense.

[HesseJamez]

Yep..call me mister missthepoint, but our past was "als ich einen Hammer hatte" "Wenn" (not be translated with "when") doesn't work in our past.

"Wenn ich einen Hammer hätte" is conditional in our present tense. Umlaut-alert!

Ich habe = I have

Ich habe gehabt = I have had

...you can translate it by word!

Not easy, not logical - I know...

but I still wonder how a britsh guy is able to explain German gramar better than I (German) could ever do...

*compliments"

[Lamnont]

The dudes german, plenty of german people speak like brits cuz they learn it in school that way, I speak German with a fucked up southern german accent.

[rewboss]

Actually, I'm British. :)

[HesseJamez]

There's no synonym for "vormittags" in english.

It means "early midday" or "short before midday"

"morgens" might be translated with "morningly"

though it sounds stupid in english.

"am Morgen" = at morning (by word)

[ShoppingBitchx3]

cool vid! I feel so sorry for the people who are learning german and the way you explain it sounds very difficult so I'm happy to be german ... :D

[macromeat]

Very good vid. After watching it I know that I will never learn to speak German properly no matter how hard I try. I just hope Germans don't mind me speaking like a child or an idiot.

[StephShadz]

Yes... German is difficult, and now you see how...

to luck it is my first language so I don't have to learn all these difficult things as hard as you maybe have to...

Really a nice video.

[Anteeeru]

Hehe. Actually the prefixed verbs, conjugation and the sentence structures DO make German very difficult, I suppose. Not to mention the Ablaut (well English has it aswell), Umlaut or adjective-/subject-declension, but hey, there are also very modular aspects to German. Neologisms, for example. Only ancient Greek was capable of creating new words that easily, I suppose. Aufsichtssratsmitgliederversam­mlungsvorsitzender. Hehe, I love it. Nice Video.

Greetings,

Anteeru

[Cromeman82]

"Now that's something everyone should enjoy!" :) - German is definitly 'perfectly modular'^^ - your explanations are great! Thanx for this great 9 and a half minutes!

[FrauPflueckebeutel]

Fortiter in re, suariter in modo, finis coronat opus.

[martymccloud]

if have a cool word in austrian-german for you, describing sentences like "I will hammer", who sound...let's say...a little bit strange:

windisch. Des klingt a bissi windisch. Wie der Österreicher sagt.

[martymccloud]

if have a cool word in austrian-german for you, describing sentences like "I will hammer", who sound...let's say...a little bit strange:

windisch. Des klingt a bissi windisch. Wie der Österreicher sagt.

[manuntkicksass]

Great video. I love your delivery and style. And i totaly agree with ReadingGoal, at least as far as german class goes. Finally someone is making a more advanced German video. Not just counting to ten.

I always forget the akkusitiv case, and I'm going to germany in the fall, so i have to get my german straightened out.

[ReadingGoal]

Cool vid and so on, but are you English? 'Cause your pronunciation of "Hammer" isn't quite correct, I'm afraid. I think it's a great video, because it just expresses my feelings when I'm in German classes :). Greetings from Belgium.

[rewboss]

I am English, born and bred. Is it my pronunciation of the German or the English "Hammer" which is incorrect?

[ReadingGoal]

The German of course. I would never doubt your English pronunciation. The pronunciation in fact was too English. The "a" in "Hammer" is pronounced as the "a" in "du kannst". I love your Deutscher Vlog!

[MartyMcFly2107]

alles ganz schön mit dem modular hin und her, aber du solltest uns mal lieber demonstrieren, was du so genau meinst mit dem hämmern am morgen?!? vielleicht könntest du für einen klosterschüler wie mich ein tutorial drehen?? hehe

[rewboss]

Hmm. Gute Idee, aber meine Frau ist etwas... scheu...

[MartyMcFly2107]

hehe, verstehe... :-p

[Sadistica]

genial! :D

[jc1798]

"I'm fellin ya" hahahehe. I'm still struggling to learn the German Language. I'm first generation American born on my German born Mother's side of the family. My Mother spoke English as her second langauge and she taught me English as my first langauge. "Meine Muether Sprecht nuer English mit Mir immer" Good video! I really liked it! I'm going to seed it to my cousins in Germany. lol

[ReadingGoal]

Spricht deine Mutter nur Englisch mit dir?

[BattlefieldDoktor]

Hehe, first I thought you're saying "I have a hammer in the morning" ... but then I noticed I was wrong ;o)

[A1Reload]

yes english is much easier than german.

Im german by the way and my english sucks ass.

Glaube ich jedenfalls xD

[j4k0b86]

wtf ?

[moep]

that's a great video^^

[AericWinter]

There you go. Told you, it's modular! German's very straightforward, isn't it? *g*

[rewboss]

Oh yes. And so much fun, too! I get a real kick out of adjectival endings -- they send shivers down my spine as I eagarly anticipate the elegant little syllables.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my therapist is due...

[AericWinter]

Oh no you're not!

You know very well that today is my appointment, Mister!

[rewboss]

OK, I can see the problem here. We're using different weeks.

Normal week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

German week: Tuesday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Thursday.

[alltoafrica]

echt gut-und nun noch den song IF I HAD A HAMMER...

[SanaOsniva]

haha great XD

[Problembaer2]

I'm so happy to be a german, for us is english much easier to learn :)

[slyder1992x]

I denke German ist a wirklich difficult Sprache.

Ich think Deutsch is eine really schwierige Langauge.

That video was very nice

das video war sehr schön

i thank you for be posting it

ich danke dir das du es eingestellt hast =)

[Baabzi]

haha well *now* I can understand why everybody says german is so hard to learn :D great video, thanks!

[karottenzug]

OMG ich kann mich noch erinnern an die Zeit als ich das alles lernen musste. Da kriege ich richtig Panik.

Hätte ich einen Hammer wurde ich es wegschmeißen damit ich niemand diesen Satz sagen muss^^

German is a nice language when u can speak it its wonderfull.

[ogier1]

not bad! The few german sentences I heared sounded very well pronounced! the editing effects are excellent plus you are sympathetic! What would be the best german word for "modular/modularity"? "Baukastenartig" or "modular" is not really used in the living german language...

[honigmaeulchen]

Wonderful. I'm only at 3:10 and already have an Ohrwurm. And there hasn't even been a tune played*. Amazing!

*This sentence may possibly be so wrong gramatically that your eyes start to tear up.**

**Same goes for that sentence. Oh gosh.

[honigmaeulchen]

P.S.: I loved the crazy eye. And the crazy hair. I wish German wasn't my mothertounge so that I could get as much volume in my hair as you do only by thinking about German grammar *sigh*

[rewboss]

Oh, we can fix your hair quite easily. I have some Russian text-books...

[honigmaeulchen]

I tryed Bulgarian once but failed at the very first step: the cyrillic alphabet. Sad but true. I think it would be the same with Russian: I wouldn't even get to the hair challenging parts...

After 7 years of Latin and 3 years of French I'm trying Turkish now.

[LOrguedeJulianne]

einfach nur geil :) woher kannst du soooo GUT deutsch??????

[rewboss]

Naja, ich lebe seit 1993 in Deutschland... :)

[tavin15]

aeric never said german is easy

[tavin15]

and by the way: how did you do the letter animation?

[rewboss]

He said it was "modular" :-p

The letter animation is just a bit of work. They're graphics (one graphic for each word), and my video editing software lets me move graphics around. The principle is easy, but it takes a little time to get it right.

[terraceterra]

Awesomeness! That was so funny and intelligent. I have to agree that German is not a simple as many like to portray it to be. Even the spelling can be tricky even though I have been told that it is almost not possible to spell something wrong in German because it is so straight forward and logical. NOT. I loved this one! Well done. :]

[downhill240]

Well done. I think I woul dhave to re-learn proper gremmar in my language before I would have any hope of mastering any foreign language. Alas I have waited too long now!

[monicavm]

I was worried there for a while. Sigh of relief when everything finally fell into place...; )