I'm an American moving to Leipzig, Germany and have some questions.?

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Biedronka

What Rio mentioned about the Saxon dialect is true - what you learn in the Volkshochschule and what people speak on the streets will be very different.Don't let that put you off - dialects take time, just learn the basics.

The best way will be to sign up at a local language school when you arrive and settle down.Also, go to the local library and sign up for the year - it costs 10 euros and you will have a huge resource of language books, cds, dvds etc.

I learned German for 1 year before moving to Berlin and realized very quickly that people do not speak pedagogic German - they speak fast and sometimes incoherently. After 3 years, I now speak German fluently and even understand Berlinisch!

Volkshochschule (cheapest adult education - classes may be full):
http://www.vhs.de/
Library:
http://www.leipzig.de/de/buerger/bildung/bib/sbib/
language schools:
http://www.sprachkurse-direkt.de/leipzig_sprachschulen.htm

Rick the keyboard w anker

rio blanco is correct here couldn t have said it any better.

rio-blanco

I hope you didnÂ´t try to learn german --- that makes the thing very difficult for you. If you know german it is easier for you to learn Chibcha or Suaheli than to learn SÃ¤chisisch even in the standard german form. And if you speak german in the standart german for but not in in the form of saxony then you are Wessi like me --- it is better to speak sÃ¤chsisch in the form of a texas boy --- then you are straight on their way for sÃ¤chsisch people like to travell.

hello Yvonne, one of my aunts is saxon --- she always speaks to me twice one time sÃ¤chsisch pure and one time standart german with the accent of Hannover, where she lived since 1946 (as you know - the best standart german) and so she did since 1949 -- the first time I met her. Why can you book special courses "sÃ¤chsisch4you" for foreigners especially germans :-) ???
Standart saxon german is differing from standart german like suaheli from castelliano.
In one point you are right --- Hessian, and Bavarian, cannÂ´t they learn a real language --- for example Hamburger Platt.

dotty.blue

I spent a weekend in Leipzig last year.

There was cool pub place called Flower Power! It's small but great!

Leipzig Zoo is great too!!!

Lady Warrior

I know do not use Berliners German hee hee. I learned to speak in High School some and it was Berlin German and we would say Ich as Ick rather than eesh as in most other places. As to which one is the best I cannot say but I would recommend you see if they have a school just to teach foreigners German, where I went did and it helped me a lot. Tito's helped me also and were not that expensive.

I had no favorite pub but I loved this little coffee shop I went to every day named after Wieland.

Last advice,have fun don't stress and you will learn a lot just from listening to others talk too.

TestSubject

One thing you have to know about Germany is that you have to register your dog and pay tax for it. You get a "Steuermarke" which has to be on his leash. If you get caught without one the penalty is usually very high.
And you're not allowed to take his leash off.

Anja H

2. I don't know how much German you know already and for how long you will be there.
A basic course in German, watching TV and DVDs in German, grammar info can be found here: http://german.about.com/
I personally learn the best, if I have to - being in the country - yet a basis of the language is a good start.
Leipzig will not be easy to understand, since the people there have a strong dialect, yet I am sure you will get used to it.

For the others I can't tell you anything

der PINGU

Don't listen to Rio-Blanco, he has no clue. SÃ¤chsisch is more understandable than a lot of other German accents, i.e. Bavarian or Hessian.

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