Maybe you have already tried to learn German (or another language) but without any real success. You enrolled in courses, memorized the rules, and filled in all the blanks in your manuals. And yet you wouldn’t say that you master the language as you’re still lacking the confidence to speak. Or, even worse, you found the process so difficult, frustrating, and not rewarding at all, that you gave ...

Maybe you're one of those "lucky" expats living in Switzerland, that don't have to learn (Swiss) German, neither for professional nor for personal reasons. Are you relieved that you don't have to bother with that and grateful that you can fully work or socialize in English/another language? Or maybe you do need to learn the language but you're frustrated with the process. Either way, here ...

Learning a language is such an intricate, fascinating journey. The first time we acquire a language, our native one, it all happens so natural, simple, and early in our life, that we barely remember anything about it. However, learning a second (or third, or fourth) language is often a much more energy- and time- demanding process. And there are a variety of reasons that can make this experience a very ...

Whenever going places having a look at their written media – what used to be called press :) - gives a glimpse into their thinking, their way of perceiving and interpreting the world. Surely, it helps getting acquainted.

The Swiss press – it also - is undergoing deep changes. Digitization and industrialization being the key words. The strategies of the various media groups are rather different.

The challenge in one sentence: the earning power of ...

Wahrnehmung

• High German: Die Wahrnehmung
  
• English: Perception

I love the combination of ‘Wahr’ (truth) and ‘Nehmung’ (taking) to mean the English word ‘perception’.

The German word Wahrnehmung reminds me that our perceptions (how we take the truth) are not necessarily the same as truth. In our current world of ‘fake news’ I think remembering this is especially important.

Overview

Some say (Swiss) German isn’t a beautiful (let alone sexy ...