Die Kaiserin

Hi All there is a new series on Nettflix. Die Kaiserin

I have been watching it with English  subtitles. Tried the other way around to be able to read the subtitles, but just to fast for me to comprehend after reading. So will stick with German dialogue and English subtitles. Hopefully at some stage will be able to listen and read it all in German

Sebongela

Hi sebongelja

I've been enjoying Die Kaiserin too.

Like you I prefer to use English subtitles, the German ones often don't match the dialogue which is confusing and also I find that I read the subtitles rather than listening and trying to understand the dialogue.

Judging by the ending, I think there may be a second series. I looked her up on Wikipedia and she had a pretty intersting if unhappy life.

I also watch some shows with no subtitles, it's surprising that it's possible to get a general outline of the plot from the images and only understanding a minority of the speech. Historical dramas often have slower dialogue than modern show which makes them better for this.

Simon

Hi Simon

Hope you are well. All good here, although it is still summer here and in a drought situation. 

I have only watched the second episode, so far.  I have read a book about her and I agree not a happy story.  I always prefer to watch any film in the original language even if I don't speak that language. Find that voice overs don't often match and it just feels off. My German is not that great yet, but am understanding a fair bit. I have now got to the stage where I would be comfotable getting around in Germany.

We decided not to go to Germany during the summer. Too hectic at airports. I am planning a trip in May and hopefully a cycling holiday. Die Romantische strasse is on my bucket list.

Sebongela

HI Sebongela

We have just had one visitor from the US and we have another we have another currently in Germany coming soon. Neither has had any problems with flights so it looks a though the problems are mostly over now. It looks as though there should be on problems with your trip if the world doesn't blow up by then.

It sounds like a great trip.

Simon

Hi Simon

Your German is much more advanced than mine. Looking at the leaderboards and time frame. I was watching “die Kaiserin” and wondered if you had tried listening and having subtitles in German. In other words, would it be more accurate then? 

I have considered trying that. Having the general gist of the story and dialogue. Will obviously miss a lot, but wondered then on the accuracy of the subtitles. I have learn “Your Majesty” A new word to add to my vocabulary

Sebongela

Thanks for the update on travel. Will see what it is like in the spring. Canada has not got great dedicated cycling paths. Mostly have great big vehicles going near you. Quite terrifying at times. North America is very backwards in this regard.

Hi Simon

(Me again)

After watching an episode in German with English subtitles. I rewatched the episode in complete German. Having the gist of the episode, I found that I could recognize a lot of words. Obviously the sentence construction is still a complete enigma a lot of the time, but my vocabulary is quite good. Afrikaans helps as many words are very similar. 

It really delights me that I can see a lot of improvement

Sebongela

Hi Sebongela

Yes, I do that too, watch a show with subtitles and then with no subtitles.

I find it really helps with developing listening skills, even if you don't understand everything you can get used to hearing the words at full speed.

However the dialogue in some shows is so fast that I can't distinguish individual words especially if there is a lot of slang.

I tend to watch crime shows, SOKO Hamburg and SOKO Stuttgart are quite good. I tried SOKO Potsdam and Leipzig but they were to fast fo me. Maybe people in those areas just naturally speak faster. They are on https://www.zdf.de/ We are able to watch them in the UK even though we are no in the EU, so maybe you can too.

Simon

hi Simon

Have you watched the show “Bio Hacker” on Nettflix in German. I know you come from a medical background. 

Sebongela

Hi Sebongela

Yes, I have seen Biohackers. It's quite fun but as far as I remeber, the dialogue is not that easy as it has a young cast with fast dialogue and slang.

Dark on Neflix is one that a lot of people like. A time travel show about children who disapear.

Netflix has quite a few German shows if you put “German” in the search box. Then you get some sub menus.

Simon

Hi Simon

Dark sounds horrible, not my cup of tea that kind of thing. have a very vivid imagination, so creeps me out. I did watch a bit of the bio one and the dialogue is very fast. So caught very familiar phrases here and there. Die Kaiserin a bit slower and got more of that. Have you ever looked at LingoPie. Not sure if that is correct. You get a free trial, but need to use your credit card first andI don't like that. 

I have been using Deutsche Welle and that is great. Have their channel on our TV and have watched some items there too. 

Any suggestions are always welcome

Sebongela

I did a Lingo Pie trial a while ago and my impression was that it was quite good, but the conent was limited compared to Netflix,and you can get dual subtitles in Netflix if you use Language Reactor which is free.

https://www.languagereactor.com/

Have you tried Nicos Weg on Deutche Welle, it is a comple course from A1 to B1 based on movie clips. It follows Nico, a Spaniard who moves to Germany and tries make a life for himself there. I thought is was a nice supplement to Rocket German. It also includes a bit more grammar explanation than Rocket.

Simon

Morning Simon

Or morning my time anyway. Never heard oflanguage reactor, will have a look. I like Nicos Weg. Use it every couple of days, I also like the Deutsche Welle newsletter, even though most is too advanced I try and read and understand some of it. I find some of the tests in Deutsche Welle a but frustrating though, as explanations not always clear. Answer the question and it is marked incorrect with no reason given. Especially typing ones. I'm afraid a perfect score is a high priority for me too

Have a good weekend. My 2 youngest girls are coming up from Victoria, so busy weekend. One is currently doing her masters and the other has just started a PhD.

Sebongela