Day 56 of 59

Day 56: Kölsch Words for Carnival Week

At a primary school in Cologne, Mia (A), a pupil preparing a short talk on Kölsch words for carnival week, has a question for her class teacher, Mrs Esser (B).

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Frau Esser, ist Kölsch eigentlich eine eigene Sprache oder nur ein Dialekt?

    Mrs Esser, is Kölsch actually a language of its own, or just a dialect?

  2. B

    Gute Frage, Mia. Es ist gar nicht so leicht, das kurz zu erklären.

    Good question, Mia. It isn't that easy to explain in a few words.

  3. A

    Das brauche ich für meinen Vortrag. Alaaf und Kamelle hab ich schon.

    I need it for my talk. I've already got Alaaf, the carnival cheer, and Kamelle, the sweets.

  4. B

    Fachleute sprechen von einem Dialekt. Aber in Köln gibt es sogar eine Akademie zur Pflege der Mundart.

    Experts call it a dialect. But in Cologne there's even an academy devoted to preserving the dialect.

  5. A

    Meine Oma spricht zu Hause nur Kölsch. Die kennt bestimmt hundert Karnevalswörter!

    My gran only speaks Kölsch at home. She must know a hundred carnival words!

  6. B

    Prima! Zur Vorbereitung deines Vortrags könntest du sie ja interviewen.

    Great! To prepare for your talk, you could interview her.

  7. A

    Mach ich! Sie hat sogar angeboten, der Klasse ein Lied auf Kölsch beizubringen.

    I will! She's even offered to teach the class a song in Kölsch.

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