English and German in Color – separately and in comparison
This is a work in progress and an experiment.
I started out as an Anglomaniac philologist who specialized in English and American literature and historical and modern linguistics. Eventually I became fascinated with syntax in particular and wrote a 460-page book on The Joy of (English) Syntax.
One day I made a new friend who needed help with studying German. I wanted to be helpful and so looked to see what I could do. In the process of trying to help my friend, I caught the bug and joyfully created study materials for German by transferring my sound alphabet system and my joy of syntax to German. And it worked. And it has been fun.
I have also worked as a copy editor for texts written by native speakers of English. My deep understanding of English syntax enables me to do this kind of work well.
I have seen time and time again that native speakers of English usually don't deeply understand the grammar of their native language and that people studying German (via English as a lingua franca) often struggle with German because they lack a basic feel for what grammar really is and why it is important.
Slowly the idea emerged in me that instead of offering one club for English and one for German, I could combine the two.
Trying out this new idea, I created this new space for exploring and deeply understanding English – the language that is the love of my life – and German – my native language.
So here it is – an experiment and a budding multi-media project with videos, audios, pdfs, and study cards and posters. This is a three-in-one deal: You will find modules about English, modules about German, and modules about English & German in comparison – and all of that as a work in progress. So the choice is yours: Do you want to just study English, or just study German, or study both separately, or study them in comparison?
You currently get access to the following offerings:
The module Frid's Fun and Colorful German Sound Alphabet is identical with the product in the shop by the same name, the difference being that you get to keep the product in the shop "forever" while you only have full access to it in this club as long as you are a paying member.
The module "Understanding German Grammar" currently contains a variety of PDFs with overviews of German syntax and some stuff on noun declensions. By and by there will be overviews and then also videos for all important areas of syntax as well as info on the essentials around the German declension and conjugation systems, negation, and morphology.
Here is a little heads-up: When you deeply study the architecture of a particular language, you will come to understand how language in general works for us or against us. Language can be this beautiful bridge that leads us to deep connections with ourselves, with others, and all that is. But very often language is used – unknowingly and knowingly – as a manipulation and brainwashing tool that is used to program and imprison us from the very beginning of our lives.
In this space I will explore how the words and grammar structures of the stories we are told and believe shape our awareness, consciousness, mindsets, and behaviors. I suspect that it is impossible for us humans to distinguish consciousness from the stories we live by. We can only come to understand this by telling different versions of stories and noting how they differently affect the way we sense, feel, think, and behave. This growing understanding will enable us to keep choosing true freedom and authenticity.
For me studying other languages and then coming back to study my mother tongue was a great way to deeply understand how our mother tongue in particular and languages in general shape us for better and especially for worse. In this context I have come to understand how important it is to be able to truly sense our own bodies and to develop an awareness around the difference between physical sensations, emotions (which are, in my opinion, interpretations of physical sensations), stories, thoughts, ideas, and conditioning ... It is an interesting vocabulary issue (that easily turns into a relationship issue) that the words "feeling" and "feel" can be used to refer to physical sensations (I can feel hot, cold, numb or tingly, for instance), to the interpretations of those sensations, i.e., emotions (he felt angry), to extrasensory experiences (she felt a heaviness in the room), and even to thoughts (he felt that she was being stupid). People are often not aware of how they use words – and when they wake up to the importance of words, they often ignore the matrix underlying all meaning – which is grammar. Eventually I want to use this space to study the sounds and grammars of languages as a tool for gaining self-understanding and for undergoing transformations.
I am "vegan" but not "woke" and I disapprove of political correctness. I don't fit into the mainstream at all. I am not obedient. I am a free spirit. I ask bold questions and discard world views that don't serve me any longer. I have shed many old beliefs and am willing to keep shedding my conditioning. I use grammar study and different kinds of writing as tools for exploring consciousness and trauma healing, and finding my life's purpose. If any of this annoys or scares you, please don't join this club. If you find this intriguing, please come on in.
Much love from Friderike
PS
I offer this club as a no-commitment monthly membership. There is no extra sign-up fee. You can cancel any time. There is no money-back guarantee because you get full access to everything right after you pay your first monthly fee. The format is subject to change.
PPS
I used to offer free monthly zoom calls and also offered my email address so people could discuss questions with me personally. However, there are weird regulations in Germany that make it difficult for creatives to offer so-called "synchronous" and "asynchronous" study modalities side by side without expensive certification. Well, this aquarian free spirit is not about to shell out thousands of euros to be controlled by any agency. I'll figure out a legal way for mutually beneficial interaction. Meanwhile this space is a one-way street: I offer materials, thoughts, and inspiration and my club members can use them as inspiration and support or not.
This is a work in progress and an experiment.
I started out as an Anglomaniac philologist who specialized in English and American literature and historical and modern linguistics. Eventually I became fascinated with syntax in particular and wrote a 460-page book on The Joy of (English) Syntax.
One day I made a new friend who needed help with studying German. I wanted to be helpful and so looked to see what I could do. In the process of trying to help my friend, I caught the bug and joyfully created study materials for German by transferring my sound alphabet system and my joy of syntax to German. And it worked. And it has been fun.
I have also worked as a copy editor for texts written by native speakers of English. My deep understanding of English syntax enables me to do this kind of work well.
I have seen time and time again that native speakers of English usually don't deeply understand the grammar of their native language and that people studying German (via English as a lingua franca) often struggle with German because they lack a basic feel for what grammar really is and why it is important.
Slowly the idea emerged in me that instead of offering one club for English and one for German, I could combine the two.
Trying out this new idea, I created this new space for exploring and deeply understanding English – the language that is the love of my life – and German – my native language.
So here it is – an experiment and a budding multi-media project with videos, audios, pdfs, and study cards and posters. This is a three-in-one deal: You will find modules about English, modules about German, and modules about English & German in comparison – and all of that as a work in progress. So the choice is yours: Do you want to just study English, or just study German, or study both separately, or study them in comparison?
You currently get access to the following offerings:
- My Fun and Colorful High German Sound Alphabet
- My module "Understanding German Grammar" – a work in progress that will ultimately contain an overview of all important aspects of German grammar
- An online-version of my book "The Joy of Syntax & the Zen of Grammar Practice"
- An online-version of my "English tenses in Color"
The module Frid's Fun and Colorful German Sound Alphabet is identical with the product in the shop by the same name, the difference being that you get to keep the product in the shop "forever" while you only have full access to it in this club as long as you are a paying member.
The module "Understanding German Grammar" currently contains a variety of PDFs with overviews of German syntax and some stuff on noun declensions. By and by there will be overviews and then also videos for all important areas of syntax as well as info on the essentials around the German declension and conjugation systems, negation, and morphology.
Here is a little heads-up: When you deeply study the architecture of a particular language, you will come to understand how language in general works for us or against us. Language can be this beautiful bridge that leads us to deep connections with ourselves, with others, and all that is. But very often language is used – unknowingly and knowingly – as a manipulation and brainwashing tool that is used to program and imprison us from the very beginning of our lives.
In this space I will explore how the words and grammar structures of the stories we are told and believe shape our awareness, consciousness, mindsets, and behaviors. I suspect that it is impossible for us humans to distinguish consciousness from the stories we live by. We can only come to understand this by telling different versions of stories and noting how they differently affect the way we sense, feel, think, and behave. This growing understanding will enable us to keep choosing true freedom and authenticity.
For me studying other languages and then coming back to study my mother tongue was a great way to deeply understand how our mother tongue in particular and languages in general shape us for better and especially for worse. In this context I have come to understand how important it is to be able to truly sense our own bodies and to develop an awareness around the difference between physical sensations, emotions (which are, in my opinion, interpretations of physical sensations), stories, thoughts, ideas, and conditioning ... It is an interesting vocabulary issue (that easily turns into a relationship issue) that the words "feeling" and "feel" can be used to refer to physical sensations (I can feel hot, cold, numb or tingly, for instance), to the interpretations of those sensations, i.e., emotions (he felt angry), to extrasensory experiences (she felt a heaviness in the room), and even to thoughts (he felt that she was being stupid). People are often not aware of how they use words – and when they wake up to the importance of words, they often ignore the matrix underlying all meaning – which is grammar. Eventually I want to use this space to study the sounds and grammars of languages as a tool for gaining self-understanding and for undergoing transformations.
I am "vegan" but not "woke" and I disapprove of political correctness. I don't fit into the mainstream at all. I am not obedient. I am a free spirit. I ask bold questions and discard world views that don't serve me any longer. I have shed many old beliefs and am willing to keep shedding my conditioning. I use grammar study and different kinds of writing as tools for exploring consciousness and trauma healing, and finding my life's purpose. If any of this annoys or scares you, please don't join this club. If you find this intriguing, please come on in.
Much love from Friderike
PS
I offer this club as a no-commitment monthly membership. There is no extra sign-up fee. You can cancel any time. There is no money-back guarantee because you get full access to everything right after you pay your first monthly fee. The format is subject to change.
PPS
I used to offer free monthly zoom calls and also offered my email address so people could discuss questions with me personally. However, there are weird regulations in Germany that make it difficult for creatives to offer so-called "synchronous" and "asynchronous" study modalities side by side without expensive certification. Well, this aquarian free spirit is not about to shell out thousands of euros to be controlled by any agency. I'll figure out a legal way for mutually beneficial interaction. Meanwhile this space is a one-way street: I offer materials, thoughts, and inspiration and my club members can use them as inspiration and support or not.
