[Course Forum] Advanced German Vocabulary by Carlykal

That’s an old expression, in my eyes. I’ve only seen it in books that have Gebrochene Schrift/Fraktur (which is the worst thing ever). like

https://books.google.com/books?id=eGtKAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA213&lpg=RA1-PA213&dq=eine+Erkundigung+ziehen&source=bl&ots=kIojMYuaQx&sig=tveCV10wVKPC7A6AQ9CXieV1t3A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2kq3mmK_VAhVEllQKHaLOA3QQ6AEIQTAF#v=onepage&q=eine%20Erkundigung%20ziehen&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=Ql5jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=eine+Erkundigung+ziehen&source=bl&ots=odXWjOvTaH&sig=DPoMrLe1I86LTyWkKSqK_pTMvIE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2kq3mmK_VAhVEllQKHaLOA3QQ6AEINjAC#v=onepage&q=eine%20Erkundigung%20ziehen&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=YdVPAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA612&lpg=PA612&dq=eine+Erkundigung+ziehen&source=bl&ots=pMc4ktAl1V&sig=O3Wkfm5af0qxt_77JUBQe2nkABg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2kq3mmK_VAhVEllQKHaLOA3QQ6AEIUzAJ#v=onepage&q=eine%20Erkundigung%20ziehen&f=false

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Thank you all for your suggestions.

@amanda-norrsken: I searched a number of sources, yes, but was unable to definitively rule it in or out.

@TheFour-GatedDanzig: thanks for your thorough search. Seems like it’s not correct (in modern usage at least), especially given @irridmemorizza’s brilliant suggestion of Erkundigungen einziehen, which seems to be the intended phrase.

So I will modify the entry as part of the coming update and let you all know asap.

Thanks!

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UPDATE 11

Alas, this will be my last major update, having reached the end of the course. Whatever will I do with myself? :sob: :rofl:

From now on, I will only be making maintenance updates on an as-needed basis. However, as I only started maintaining the course at around the Level 30 mark, there are likely to be significant issues with prior levels.

I’ll fix any errors I subsequently find but I’m unlikely to spot them all as I’ll only be spending a short amount of time with the course from now on. So I’m relying on you, the user! So please feel free to continue to make suggestions and point out errors and inaccuracies and I’ll deal with them as quickly as feasible.

With that said and done, let’s get on with this week’s update…

CHANGES TO ENGLISH

Level 9

ausmachen: ‘to put out, agree’ becomes ‘to recognise, discern; douse (e.g. a fire); agree’

Level 63

entzerren: ‘to equalize, to balance’ becomes 'to rectify, equalise, straighten out’
ableiten (von): ‘to derive’ becomes 'to derive, deduce (from)'
die Ausprägung: ‘forming, development, occurrence; specification, shape, value’ becomes 'characteristic, markedness, peculiarity’
die Selbstauskunft: ‘self-evaluation, self-report’ becomes 'self-disclosure, self-declaration’
die Falsifizierbarkeit: ‘refutability’ becomes 'falsifiability’
die Gesetzmäßigkeit: ‘principle, law of nature’ becomes 'legitimacy, legality’
der Mittelwert: ‘median’ becomes ‘mean (math.)’

Level 64

die Besonderheit: ‘peculiarity, particularity’ becomes 'feature, peculiarity, characteristic’
das Selbstwertgefühl: ‘self-esteem, feeling o self-worth’ becomes ‘self-esteem, feeling of self-worth’ [SPELLING]
der Ansatz: ‘approach, regard, start’ becomes 'approach (e.g. to a problem), beginning, estimate’
vertragen: ‘to tolerate, agree with’ becomes 'to tolerate’
die Verträglichkeit: ‘agreeability, good natureness’ becomes ‘compatibility, tolerance, good-naturedness’

Level 65

sich drängen: ‘to crowd, force ones way’ becomes 'to throng, cluster, crowd’
der Beifall: ‘clapping, applause’ becomes 'applause, acclaim’
ohne Umschweife: ‘direct, straight to the point,’ becomes 'outright, without further delay’
das Anliegen: ‘wish, request’ becomes 'concern, matter, desire’
der Vorstoß: ‘advance’ becomes 'foray, thrust, advance’
der Trichter: ‘funnel, spout’ becomes 'funnel, hopper’
der Kessel: ‘kettle’ becomes ‘kettle, cauldron’

CHANGES TO GERMAN

Level 62

das Datenerheben becomes die Datenerhebung

Level 65

die Umschweife becomes der Umschweif
eine Erkundigung ziehen becomes eine Erkundigung einziehen

In Level 3, untersagen und verbieten are both translated as “to forbid”, which is correct. But when I’m asked to translate “to forbid” in type exercises, I don’t know which one to type, I always get it wrong.

Maybe you can just add to interdict to untersagen.

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Just FYI:

The word “Kessel” is also a geographical term which I hear a lot living near Stuttgart, as you often hear about the problems caused by Stuttgart lying in a “Kessel” - basin??? in English???.

There are all sorts of traffic problems, for example, caused by the location of the city in a “Kessel” and you certainly couldn’t use “kettle” or “cauldron” as a translation for this use of the word.

@Maria_Mansurova0
Thanks for reporting this issue. I’ve now added untersagen and verbieten as alternative answers for forbid, so you should be able to type either one. Let me know if you’re still having problems.

@TheFour-GatedDanzig
Unfortunately, I’ve seen both terms translated as interdict, so I’ve gone with the option highlighted above.

@amanda-norrsken
Thanks for reporting the issue; I hadn’t noticed that as an alternative definition, which is why it’s so great to have proficient German speakers around. :smiley: I’ve now added basin (geog.) as an alternative translation for der Kessel, as this seems to be the closest English term.

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Hi,
I was offline for a few weeks. Since you tagged me I just want to say I agree with Erkundigung einziehen. You did a great job with the course!

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I hope it’s okay for me to comment here without an error to report, but I just wanted to say that I’m really impressed with all the work you’ve all done on the course, and I’m excited to use it.

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@zaksidhu - thanks, I’ll take all the praise I can get. :laughing:

Actually, I needed that. I was having a bad day, so reading what you wrote really gave me a lift. Much appreciated! And I’m glad you’re enjoying the course.

Also, I’m intending on releasing an update in the next week or so as I’ve spotted some mistakes while revising the course. So if anyone wants to contribute anything, don’t be shy: now is the time to do it! :slight_smile:

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Oh wow, there has been quite a lot of discussion about this course I see. I’d like to ask if someone could eliminate all the English synonyms? It’s very difficult to remember whether I’m supposed to answer eigenstirnig or hartnäckig when it shows “hard-headed, stubborn” vs. simply “stubborn”. There’s tons of these synonym things, and although the creator had good intentions by giving each word multiple translations to explain the “shade” of the word, it really ends up making learning the actual vocabulary slightly harder. There’s also this entire thing with beruhen auf, gründen auf, basieren auf, and sich stützen auf … if someone could look remedy it, @simonthomaswarner or @amanda-norrsken perhaps, that’d be great :slight_smile:

@simonthomaswarner is the man for the job!

I just pop in here every now and then as a native speaker of English who has lived in Germany for 30 years and who started learning German over 40 years ago :slight_smile:

Hi @lingosaurus. I understand the issues you’re describing but I think it’s down to personal preference. For me, the nuanced meanings are a really useful way to understand what a word really means (it’s an advanced course, after all). Otherwise, it’s easy to use a word inappropriately. The examples you give (eigensinnig and hartnäckig) demonstrate that perfectly: the English word stubborn doesn’t tell you enough to use the right word in the right context.

I can understand it may not be to everyone’s liking but if I changed it, someone else would probably ask for it back.

Hi, I haven’t tried this course yet but have come across your participation in correcting it and really appreciate that kind of devotion to the cause! Your situation, by the way, corresponds to mine if you replace Germany/German with France/French.
I’m struggling to finish learning in Wort für Wort Part I, which also contains countess mistakes (I have just commented on it in the forum today). If you wish to move on to that course and rectify all the errors, please do not hesitate!

my message above is for @simonthomaswarner

“countless mistakes” it can happen to anyone :wink:

Hi @simonthomaswarner

I’ve just found this forum. Thank you very much for your and others’ efforts in improving this course.

I’m finding this course very useful indeed.

I have a few suggested edits as follows for your consideration.

Level 13:

“die Minderwertigkeitskomplex” - I believe this should have “der” rather than “die”, i.e. “der Minderwertigkeitskomplex”

Level 15:

“der Hochschulabsolvant” - I believe the final vowel should be “e”, i.e. “der Hochschulabsolvent”.

“die Blindschrift” - I believe the standard spelling is “die Blindenschrift”.

Level 26:

“Die Spionage” - I would replace “Die” by “die”, i.e. “die Spionage”.

Level 32:

“sich in acht nehmen” - I believe that "acht should be capitalised, i.e. “sich in Acht nehmen”.

Level 38:

“senkrecht (zu)” - The translation has a typo with “perpandicular” instead of “perpendicular”…

Level 44:

“Krebserregend” - I believe this should not be capitalised, i.e. “krebserregend”.

and that’s all so far. I’m now learning Level 50.

I also have one question about a translation:

Level 49:

“die Gletscherschmelze” - This is translated as “glacial meltdown”. I would have a thought something like “glacial melting” would be more appropriate (not to take away from the seriousness of the issue). Is “meltdown” appropriate here?

I hope at least some of this is useful.

Thanks again for your work with this course!

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Good points, well spotted!

Hello All!

I’m currently on level 32 and would like to firstly thank everyone who has contributed to making this course what it is today.

I’d like to start with Carlykal (even when there is next to no chance of him/her seeing this) for creating this course in the first place, then all the people who have posted suggestions, followed by the native speakers like Foorgol and long time fluent speaker amanda-norrsken for their invaluable insights; and finally @simonthomaswarner, a fellow German learner who decided to take it upon himself to take what was undoubtedly a great idea, but riddled with issues and errors to the point where it could be almost detrimental to one’s learning, and turn it into a truly great learning resource.
Thank you all for your work on this wonderful course.

I’ve noticed that a lot of the suggestions have come from members who had already completed the majority of the course, and, understandably, as a result, the majority of the corrections have only concerned the higher levels. Being at a lower level I’ve noticed some errors that haven’t been picked up yet, that I’d be more than happy to bring to attention after sieving through the levels I’ve been through to date.

Beyond the typos and translations/definitions that could be improved, something I’d like to see streamlined is consistency with terms like pronouns, e.g.:

  • jdn
  • jdn.
  • jemanden

I’m happy for any of these terms to be used (though “jemanden” is probably unnecessarily long for a word that everyone doing this course should be more than comfortable with), but I think it just makes more sense that we are consistent and use the same term throughout the course. Beyond improving the aesthetics of the course and simplifying what learners have to remember/memorise (/memrise :P), it would quicken reviews, as it would increase the probability of typing the correct answer first time in classic review.

I wouldn’t mind posting my suggested corrections here for review, but I’d also be more than happy for @Lien to make me a course contributor, so that we aren’t all relying on @simonthomaswarner to implement any and all course corrections.

I really like the idea of posting the corrections, so that any and everyone can have their say as to whether the vocab has actually been improved by the change or not, and then add their voice to improving it further if needed. So I would certainly post any and all corrections I made, were I a course contributor, obwohl ich meiner Meinung nach ein ziemlich gutes Sprachgefühl entwickelt habe.

Once again, a massive thanks to everyone who has helped make this course what it is, and hopefully I can assist in improving it even more!

Adam

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Thank you very much for taking the time to mention my contribution, Adam, it is greatly appreciated :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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