LEARN A LANGUAGE — Part 4 — GERMAN

Continuing in our monthly series of language resources offered by The Library, our focus in April is GERMAN. While the German language is on the decline in the United States (according to census.gov), it is still in the top ten languages (other than English) that are spoken at home. And, while it is spoken in just over 900,000 homes across the nation, North Dakota is the only state in which German is the second most commonly spoken language according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. If you remove the Spanish language from the mix, 16 mostly Midwest and Western states emerge, revealing their German influence. The bulk of these German speaking populations are in Midwestern states, but the spread is from Alabama and Tennessee to the south and as far west as Idaho and Utah. Notable exceptions on the list in the Midwest are Minnesota (Hmong language), Michigan (Arabic), Illinois (Polish), South Dakota (Dakota), and Nebraska (Vietnamese), demonstrating our country’s diverse populations and the influence of immigrants from other nations.

In Iowa, German is the third most commonly spoken language. The Amish population in southeast Iowa accounts for some of that finding, although that does not completely explain the fact as German is the third-most spoken language in a lot of states that don’t have a significant Amish community. According to IowaPBS.org, “German immigrants historically were the second largest immigrant group (behind people from the British Isles) to settle in Iowa”. Beginning around 1840, millions of Germans began immigrating to the US. The entry point for many of these immigrants to the upper Midwest region and points west was Scott County (IA) where the first passenger railroad crossed the Mississippi River. In 1900, Joseph Eiboeck, a veteran German newspaperman, described Davenport as, “the most German city, not only in the State, but in all the Middle West, the center of all German activities in the State.”

These German immigrants spread widely into every county across the state – more than any other immigrant group – and by 1900, the US Census indicated that over half of the citizens in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota were German immigrants or their descendants. By 1920, at least half of all farmers in Iowa were of German ancestry as well. Many of these Germans who settled in the Davenport area attempted to maintain a close-knit German community. They continued to speak their own language, published a local newspaper “Der Demokrat”, and formed their own social club, Turn Germeind, or Turnvereins (turner halls), which were an athletic and social gathering place for their community.

These immigrants also established the practice of going to parks for picnics, where they would listen to band music and drink beer. This brought alcohol consumption out of the saloons (that were typically only frequented by men) and perceptions slowly changed such that by 1900 the City of Davenport had over 100 taverns and beer gardens (Biergarten). Many orchestras and bands were formed within the city as well and they regularly played venues such as Schuetzenpark (which during its heyday, in addition to a music pavilion, also consisted of an inn, dance hall, shooting range, refreshments, bowling alleys, a roller coaster, and a zoo).  Music was such an important facet of German immigrant culture that their influence helped begin one of the oldest continually operating symphonic orchestras in the United States, The Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra. These are just some of the many cultural facets German immigrants brought with them from their homeland, becoming an integral part the “history and fabric of life in Iowa” as well as in the region and the country as a whole.

The decline of the German language is due to many factors including, among other things, the growth of industries in the area which draws in a talented and diverse workforce and impacts population growth. We also continue to see an influx of immigrants in the Quad Cities Area. We have a long history of welcoming immigrants, and our cities today continue to be a sanctuary for immigrants and refugees from around the world. Certainly, one factor that has impacted the decline was the Governor of Iowa’s ban on speaking the language in public near the end of World War I. Since the U.S. was at war with Germany, many Iowans became suspicious of their German neighbors. The governor issued a proclamation in May 1918 that prohibited anyone from speaking a foreign language in public, specifically German. German books were also removed from the library, and citizens of German birth were interrogated. After the war, many German descendants tried to hide their heritage and assimilate more closely with their neighbors. With the use of the German language declining, German names were removed from streets signs and towns, turner halls lost their popularity, and German businesses changed their names. Even Schuetzenpark was renamed Forest Park, for a time.

But, it’s not too late to reinvigorate the German language in our area!  In 2010, there were over 600 speakers of German in Scott County alone, with another 13,000+ statewide (MLA Language Map Data Center). Perhaps you have German heritage or have been influence by the culture that these immigrants have brought to our area. Maybe you have always wanted to travel to Germany and spend time in some of the beautiful alpine regions or see the architecture and museums of the Capital, Berlin. Whatever the reason you want to learn, we have lots of resources to help introduce you to the language.

Here’s just a sampling of the FREE resources available to you at The Library as you learn German. See our online catalog or ask a Librarian for more resources.

FOR A QUICK INTRODUCTION TO THE LANGUAGE:

15-minute German : learn in just 12 weeks by Sylvia Goulding

Fast talk German : guaranteed to get you talking (Lonely Planet)

Intermediate German for dummies

 

FOR A MORE LAID-BACK APPROACH:

101 conversations in simple German : short natural dialogues to boost your confidence & improve your spoken German  by Olly RIchards

Short stories in German for intermediate learners : read for pleasure at your level and learn German the fun way by Olly Richards

50 German coffee breaks : short activities to improve your German one cup at a time

German short stories for beginners and intermediate learners : engaging short stories to learn German and build your vocabulary

 

IF YOU ARE A VISUAL LEARNER:

German visual dictionary for dummies

5 language visual dictionary

 

MORE COMPREHENSIVE LANGUAGE COURSES:

 

Complete German by Paul Coggle

Langenscheidt German at your fingertips  by Tien Tammada

German by Paul Coggle

Basic German by Jolene Wochenske

Teach yourself German by Paul Coggle

#Language hacking German : a conversation course for beginners : learn how to speak German–with actual people–right from the start! By Benny Lewis

And, a Davenport Public Library cardholder, you have FREE access to the language learning program, Mango Languages.

 

FOR THOSE WHO PLAN TO TRAVEL:

German phrase book & dictionary (Berlitz)

Rick Steves’ German phrase book & dictionary by Rick Steves

German (Rough Guides)

 

NEXT MONTH…  LEARN A LANGUAGE — Part 5 — JAPANESE

Start French by Michel Thomas

If you find languages interesting, have I got a treat for you!  There is an excellent language learning series by Michel Thomas that is great listening!

I began with Start French. I always wanted to learn a little French, but it was offered during music class at my high school, so I could only choose one. I chose music and took an afternoon Spanish class for my foreign language. I’ve always found French to be a challenging accent to get, and reading the words on a page just didn’t work for me.

Enter Michel Thomas and his method.

When I popped his CD into my car, suddenly my commutes and errands turned into listening in on fun little conversations. He introduces basic words and phrases in a way that builds successively on one another, feels natural, and is a little easier to remember than trying to memorize nouns and conjugate verbs. He also relates the French word to the root of the English word, helping form connections in your brain to both words and their shared meaning.

After some time, I began talking with the recorded Thomas and enjoying being able to speak un peu de francais. I couldn’t help but share my discovery with family members and friends. My Dad wanted to try Start German. He has been listening to it before bed each night and greets the day with a guten Morgen!

This series is also currently available to check out in Irish, Italian, and Spanish. Also coming soon…Norwegian!

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

Did you know that the Davenport Public Library offers book clubs that you can join for free? We currently offer four book clubs that you can join: Book to Film, See YA, Short & Sweets, and True Crime Book Club. More information about the book clubs can be found on our website, by calling 563-326-7832, or by stopping by any service desk.

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse is the September book club pick for See YA, our adult book club that reads young adult books.

Girl in the Blue Coat tells the story of a teenage girl fighting to survive in 1943 Amsterdam. Amsterdam in 1943 is now Nazi-occupied with citizens scared as family and friends are either being killed in front of them or are being shipped out of town in transports. Hanneke has found a way to help her family survive by working the black market.

Hired to work at a funeral home, her boss has ‘errands’ for her to run on the side. Hanneke is good at finding whatever people need. With a network of contacts, she hunts down cigarettes, makeup, perfume, lotions, food, etc. While out on a delivery, Hanneke is asked by a repeat customer to find a Jewish girl that the customer had previously been hiding. The girl has seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Beginning the search for the missing girl, Hanneke is drawn into the resistance. Asking questions leads her down a road filled with underground resistance, activities, and secrets. Not sure about wanting to join the resistance, but wanting to find the missing girl, Hanneke has to decide how far she is willing to go in order to save the missing girl and solve the mystery surrounding her disappearance.

Sound interesting? Want to join one of our book clubs or have questions? Stop by any Davenport Public Library location and we can help! If you can’t make it to the book club, read the book anyway and let us know what you thought about it in the comments below.

The German Kitchen by Christopher and Catherine Knuth

german kitchenChristopher and Catherine Knuth take you into Oma’s German kitchen, sharing traditional comfort food to warm your heart. These authentic recipes, including meatloaf, rouladen, sauerkraut and seafood, bring the diverse tastes of Germany to your table.

Complete with clear instructions as well as full-color food and location photography, The German Kitchen is more than just a fantastic German recipe book. It is almost as though you are being taken by the hand on a cooking tour of Germany, where you would learn the recipes and techniques needed to cook culinary specialties such as goulash soup, beef rouladen, pork chops with mustard sauce, and spicy, herb-infused seafood native to the riverside outskirts of Hamburg.

Learn how to cook traditional German recipes without having to leave the comfort of your own kitchen. With enough seafood, vegetable, meat, dressing and dessert recipes inside, transform your kitchen into a truly German kitchen. (description from publisher)

The Original Energy Drink

beer exhibitBefore Red Bull and Monster Drink the victual of health around Davenport was a frothy mug of suds. There weren’t national brands in refrigerated trucks endorsed by athletes and scantily-clad models in the first half of the century. Each town had their own local brands, crafted by mustachioed laborers using recipes from the Fatherland.

For the 20 percent of Davenport Germans, it was a beverage steeped in tradition and culture, and one of the few remaining creature comforts they could control. They did so with a flourish as a number of brands sprung up in Davenport, including Mathias Frahm and Son, Koehelr and Lange (also known as the Arsenal Brewery), Littig Brohers, and Zoeller Brothers.

All of this information is featured in the latest exhibit at the German American Heritage Museum as you look at snapshots of the malthouse workers, tavern operators, and ancient conetop cans and vessels.

I found it to be a fascinating little tour and a great excuse to visit the GAHC for the first time, at the low Depression-era price of $2.