Tinder Method for Learning German
Schwippe rechts auf Zunder
If you were hoping this new method (*) is about getting matched with an attractive native speaker on a dating app, I'm afraid it's more about words than romance.
To start with a name-giving example: When you first encounter the word 'Zunder' in German, linking it to 'tinder' might not be immediate. But with a bit of practice and guidance, such connections can become second nature.
tl;dr:
Utilize the online dictionary of English-German cognates at langtools.io/tinder to train yourself to reduce a German word to its English cognate by 7 rules of shifting consonants (see the set of rules below, e.g. “Zunder” to “tinder”).
Refer to the comprehensive list of German irregular verbs to recognize their past forms and correlate them with English verbs.
Intro
Certain word pairs, like 'free' and 'frei' or 'sword' and 'Schwert', are straightforward enough that they almost explain themselves. However, others aren't so obvious. Take, for instance, 'twitter' and 'zwitschern', 'tight' and 'dicht', or 'hip' and 'Hüfte'.
Imagine if, by learning just a handful of rules and practicing a bit, you could bypass memorizing hundreds, maybe thousands, of words.
Not as fun as swiping through profiles, but it still can offer some help ("Hilfe").
Here's our game plan.
We'll explore why English and German have so much in common.
We'll look at some important rules that show how these languages are connected.
I'll share some great (and free) tools for finding these connections yourself.
Finally, we'll talk about some of the tricky parts you might come across.
Exploring Common Roots: The Shared Heritage of English and German
(Optional, and perhaps better for a second read)
Let's take a brief look at the linguistic history behind the differences between English and German.
Fast forward: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic
Our journey starts from the Proto-Indo-European language (more on the topic in this article), evolving into Proto-Germanic, during which the first consonant shift (erste Lautverschiebung - 1LV) occurred.
While fascinating, it's a bit less relevant for us since both English and German are descendants of Proto-Germanic, having already experienced this shift.
Fast forward: From Proto-Germanic to modern English/German
The real game-changer is the second consonant shift (zweite Lautverschiebung - 2LV). This shift was crucial in differentiating High German dialects from Low German dialects.
'High' and 'Low' here refer to geographic elevation – think Highlands and Lowlands –
which is why regions like the Netherlands are called 'Niederlande' (Lowlands), and 'Niedersachsen' (Lower Saxony).
English aligns more with the Low German consonants.
Moreover, both English and German have kept the Proto-Germanic system of irregular (or 'strong') verbs.
Linguists have identified 7-8 classes of these verbs, each with its own conjugation patterns. So, while they're called 'irregular', there are actually some predictable patterns within them.
Often, you can figure out how to conjugate a German verb if you know its English counterpart.
For example, compare English 'come-came-come' with German 'kommen-kam-gekommen' or English 'eat-ate-eaten' with German 'essen-ass-gegessen' (change in a consonant comes here on top).
Generally, the system of English irregular verbs got 'corrupted' more with the time than the German one.
It means that one can easily find examples where a German verb is irregular, but its English cognate isn't, e.g. 'backen-gebacken' in German and 'bake-baked' in English.
Finding the reverse scenario, however, is more challenging.
There's also a bunch of other intriguing aspects we won't dive into right now.
For instance, the way the verb conjugation can extend to other parts of speech in German, like in 'Einkünfte' (income), is quite a topic in itself.
And then there's the whole separate universe of vowel shifts!
Rules/hints
Enough theory, let's get down to practice. The rules/hints that might help you: consonant shifts (2LV) and verbs conjugation.
Consonant shift
So, what exactly changed in the 2LV? Here are seven key shifts to know.
English to German:
'p' to 'ff'/'f': 'ship' in English is 'Schiff' in German.
'p' to 'pf': Compare 'pepper' with 'Pfeffer', and 'plough' with 'Pflug'.
't' to 'ss' /'s'/'ts'/'tz': 'eat' in English vs. 'essen' in German, or 'set' in English vs 'setzen' in German
't' to 'z' (at the beginning of words): 'tinder' in English vs. 'Zunder' in German
'k'/gh to 'ch': Hence 'make' becomes 'machen' and 'night' becomes 'Nacht'
'd'/th' to 't': This is why 'day' and 'Tag', 'father' and 'Vater' are related. Also ‘fold' with 'falten', 'hold' with 'halten’
'th'/’t’ to 'd': Thus, 'think' aligns with 'denken', 'thirst' with 'Durst', 'south' with 'Süden'.
The same, but the opposite direction.
German to English:
'ff'/'f' to 'p': In German 'Schiff', becomes 'ship' in English.
'pf' to 'p': As in 'Pfeffer' in German compared to 'pepper' in English, and 'Pflug' in German to 'plough' in English.
'ss'/'s'/'ts'/'tz' to 't': For example, 'essen' in German is 'eat' in English, and 'setzen' in German is 'set' in English.
'z' to 't' (at the beginning of words): Like 'Zunder' in German becoming 'tinder' in English.
'ch' to 'k'/gh: For instance, 'machen' in German changes to 'make' in English, and 'Nacht' to 'night'.
't' to 'd'/th': This is evident in words like 'Tag' in German and 'day' in English, or 'Vater' in German and 'father' in English. Also 'falten' with 'fold', 'halten' with 'hold'
'd' to 'th'/’t’: As seen in 'denken' in German translating to 'think' in English, and 'Durst' to 'thirst', 'Süden' with 'south'.
Verbs
Now, let's review the irregular verbs conjugation. We've already seen ('gesehen') some patterns.
Here's a table with a few examples per conjugation class.
If you find it helpful to gain a deeper understanding of the German language, you can deep dive into the 200+ irregular verb list.
Tools
I prepared an online dictionary of English-German cognates: langtools.io/tinder. In its alpha version, you can look up ca. 4600 German/English words (e.g. look up tinder).
If you want to go deeper on German irregular verbs, go through this list of ca. 200 irregular verbs assigned into classes: 200+ irregular verb list
Here's a short list I mentioned before: short list.
Houston, we have a problem
Well, first, it's not an exact science, there's always the issue of 'false friends' to watch out for, but there are less obvious and none-the-less essential problems.
e.g. why English 'father' is German 'Vater', but English 'brother' is 'Bruder', and not 'Broter'? or why English 'lip' is German 'Lippe', and not 'Lipfe'/'Lüpfe'/'Liffe'?
More on this in the article Problems with the Tinder method of learning German
p.s.
(*) Maybe, it's not a 'method' in the sense of its completeness bringing you from zero to native level, but rather a 'submethod' that helps you gain a deeper understanding and cut some corners.
Maybe it's also not that 'new' since the facts were discovered mainly in the 19th century, most of professional German language teachers are aware of them (they had German linguistics at the university).
These ideas find their way into the study curriculum. At the same time, I have an impression that they are not part of the mainstream German language learning, and, definitely, we lack convenient tools.
I hope to make this gap smaller.