When it comes to leisure, we may engage in sports or other hobbies and activities, but most people also enjoy listening to music or radio programs, watching films or TV, and/or reading in their free time. This week's lesson is devoted to vocabulary related to media and entertainment.
It used to be that music collections took up lots of space, but now this depends on how you listen. Many people still collect records (die Schallplatte, plural die Schallplatten), CDs (die CD, plural die CDs) or even cassettes (die Kassette, plural die Kassetten), but not all.
Also, der hat ein Lied „Fireflies“ und habe ich mir auch gleich das Album gekauft.
Well, he has a song called "Fireflies" and I bought the album right away too.
Caption 33, Eva Croissant: Interview
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Die Nashville-LP „Could Have Been Mine“ ist die dritte Platte der Band.
The Nashville LP "Could Have Been Mine" is the band's third disc.
Caption 43, Ann Doka & Band: New Country aus dem Rhein-Main-Gebiet
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Komm, dreh noch mal die Kassette.
Come on, play the cassette again.
Caption 28, Max Mutzke: Welt hinter Glas
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Den Platz im Regal für diese kunststoffreichen Staubfresser kann man sich sparen, indem man Musik und Filme online streamt oder herunterlädt.
You can save the shelf space taken up by these plastic-rich dust collectors by streaming or downloading music and movies online.
Captions 36-37, WWF Deutschland: Tipps zur Vermeidung von Plastikmüll
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Movies and TV series are also often accessed through streaming services, but some people have DVD collections with their favorite films. Others think nothing compares to the big screen:
Ich schenke ihr eine DVD.
I'm giving her a DVD.
Caption 18, Nicos Weg: Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
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Wohin gehst du heute noch? Ins Kino. Es läuft ein neuer Film.
Where else are you going to today? To the cinema. A new film is playing.
Captions 35-36, Diane erklärt: Fragewörter
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For TV series, there are two nouns to know: die Sendung and die Serie. A season of a TV show is called die Staffel, and an episode is die Folge.
Ja, ein Team dreht hier bald eine aktuelle Serie fürs Fernsehen.
Yes, a team is filming a current series for television here soon.
Caption 15, Nicos Weg: Ein Praktikum beim Film
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Die meisten kennen mich wahrscheinlich aus der Sendung „Der Bachelor“.
Most of you probably know me from the series "Der Bachelor."
Caption 11, Anja Polzer: Interview
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Nochmal zu deiner Karriere. Germany's Next Topmodel, zweite Staffel, Platz zwei.
Back to your career. Germany's Next Top Model, second season, second place.
Caption 24, Peyman Amin: Der Modelmacher
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It should be noted that die Sendung is also used for radio broadcasts and shows. You may hear der Rundfunk instead of das Radio, but the word "podcast" remains the same in German and in English:
Wir zeigen denen, wie man eine Radiosendung macht, richtig professionell.
We show them how you do a radio broadcast, really professionally.
Caption 59, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Backen mit Kindern & Auftritt bei Radio Rumms
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Schon jetzt gibt es Enkel, die ihren Großeltern einen Podcast aufnehmen,
There are already grandchildren who are recording a podcast for their grandparents
Captions 61-62, Coronavirus: Fernsehansprache von Angela Merkel
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Further Learning
What do you like to do? Write down a few sentences about your habits related to music, radio, films, or TV. And don't forget that accessing these in German is a great way to learn the language. You can find a number of different fun series and interesting films, as well as great music to listen to on Yabla German.
In last week's newsletter on the preposition nach, we also looked at a few instances in which in is used to express going to a place, specifically for certain countries. In is also used to talk about going into town (in die Stadt), and actually also to talk about going into the mountains (in die Berge) and into the forest (in den Wald).
Ich als Hamburger bin hier eigentlich als Flachlandtiroler bekannt
As a resident of Hamburg, I am actually known as a "flatland Tyrolean"
und dennoch zieht es mich immer wieder in die Berge.
and yet I am still repeatedly drawn to the mountains.
Captions 3-4, 48 h in Innsbruck - Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps
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In is a two-way preposition. With the accusative case, it is used to express movement towards a place — i.e. the English preposition "to." You wouldn't know it from the examples above, but one pattern you can note is that it is actually often used when the goal is an indoor location that you will spend time in. It is perhaps somewhat similar to how we sometimes use the preposition "into" in English.
Wir gehen total gerne ins Kino.
We really like going to the cinema.
Caption 50, Anja Polzer - Interview
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Ich erinner' mich, wie wir nach der Schule immer in den Laden gekommen sind.
I remember how we used to always come into the shop after school.
Caption 29, Malerei - Benno Treiber
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Wir sind jeden Morgen in die Schule gefahren nach West-Berlin.
We rode to West Berlin to school every morning.
Caption 44, Die Klasse - Berlin '61
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Note how in das is shortened to ins in the first example above. This is a common contraction.
When speaking about getting into a car or boarding a bus or train, you can also use the preposition in, as the implication is that you will spend time inside.
Und ich würd jetzt sagen, wir steigen jetzt ins Auto.
And I would now say, we'll get in the car now.
Caption 27, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt - Backen mit Kindern & Auftritt bei Radio Rumms
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Other phrases with the preposition in to memorize include ins Bett gehen:
Ich lese gleich noch ein Buch für die Schule und dann geh ich ins Bett.
I'm going to read a book for school now and then I'll go to bed.
Caption 21, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 31: Am Sonntag koche ich
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The German noun die Stellung is usually defined as "position" in English. As in English, to know the specific meaning of the word, it is important to know the context in which it is used.
In this short TV ad, a provocatively dressed woman makes the suggestion:
Dann gehen wir schon mal hoch, 'n paar neue Stellungen ausprobieren.
Then we'll go on up and try out a few new positions.
Caption 5, Klicksafe-Werbung - Wo ist Klaus?
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The "positions" she is referring to are the primary definition of Stellung in Duden, the German standard dictionary: to place the body in a particular posture.
In the next video, the speaker is referring to a celebrity who has been a patron of their non-profit activities:
Der Bülent hatte hier auch eine Stellung.
Bülent also had a position here.
Caption 65, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt - Backen mit Kindern & Auftritt bei Radio Rumms
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Here the Stellung being referred to is a job position or a role.
The word Stellung is also the first half of the word Stellungnahme, which means "statement" in the sense of a document that announces the position one is taking on a topic:
Grund für die Stellungnahme...
Reason for the statement...
Caption 21, Aufklärung der NSU-Verbrechen - SPD fordert Sonderkommission
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This week's new video "Mama arbeitet wieder" shows us an idiomatic use of Stellung:
Ich halte hier seit fünfzehn Uhr die Stellung.
I've been holding the position [idiom: taking responsibility] since three o'clock.
Caption 2, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 2: Kompromisse zu finden ist nicht einfach
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A looser literary translation might use the American English idiom "holding down the fort" (just "hold the fort" in British English), a military phrase dating from the middle ages meaning to keep a military installation occupied to prevent enemy takeover. Apparently the US State Department was objecting to its use as politically incorrect a few years ago.
Further Learning
Watch the above videos on Yabla German to get a better sense of the use of the noun die Stellung in real world context.
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