I quickly stumbled across my first major problem which was filler words. These words include like, me, I, is and the (Swick 62). These are words that we don't think about using, they are automatic and the spelling has been ingrained in us since kindergarten. I was starting from scratch however and each time I needed to use one of these words, it required a painfully slow process of digging through the book to find it. Unfortunately, until I memorize the filler words this part of writing will not speed up.
The next problem was that I was unable to use a German keyboard to type out the email. Luckily, Edward Swick had a solution to this problem, "Type ae where you need ä. For example, spaet instead of spät. Type oe where you need ö. For example, schoen instead of schön. Type ue where you need ü. For example, Tuer instead of Tür" (168). This came in handy when typing the German word for "for" which is für. Instead of searching for an umlaut, ü, I could just type ue.
A third problem was how to conclude the letter. Edward Swick says that there are different types of conclusions; Auf Wiedersehhn means "till I see you again"; auf Weiderhoeren means "till I hear your voice again"; and Tschues which is a more casual good-bye. auf Weiderhoeren did not fit with the context of the letter but it would be appropriate on the phone. Tschues would be useful when saying good-bye to my cousins, but not saying good-bye to my great aunt. So with the last two omitted, this left auf Weidersehn to sign my letter with.
Typing out my German has proved more challenging than I thought but I feel that it has helped me with my grammar. I wonder if practicing variations of your goal has helped you achieve them faster?
Swick, Edward, MA. The Everythig Learning German Book. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Avon: Karen Cooper, 2009. Print. The Everything.
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