Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 February 3

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Language desk
< February 2 << Jan | February | Mar >> February 4 >
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.


February 3[edit]

This German Life?[edit]

Resolved

I've been listening to Deutsche Welle's Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten podcast, and it's improving my German (rather hypnopoedically) quite a bit. But the vocabulary isn't very general, so I find myself knowing how to discuss Patriot missiles and Syrian politics, but not knowing the word for a bowl. I also listen to the podcast for This American Life. Is there something somewhat akin to that, but in German? Specifically I'm looking for all of:

  1. a podcast (I want stuff to just appear in my phone without my lifting a finger)
  2. in Standarddeutsch, or thereabouts; I don't think my German is good enough to fathom regional dialects or strong accents
  3. regular (ideally weekly)
  4. factual
  5. spoken and engineered professionally (so it's clear for my Anglophonic ears)
  6. discussing a wide range of everyday subjects (not some specific subject area, nor news and current affairs)

So I guess some kind of magazine program like This American Life or Radiolab would be just the ticket. I don't particularly care that it's not targeted at learners; I'd rather have language above my head wash over me than be talked down to. Is there anything like that which anyone here can recommend? -- Finlay McWalterTalk 23:49, 3 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know This American Life, but from what I read in the article, I'd recommend you to try "Neugier genügt" which is broadcast by WDR5, which seems quite comparable. Though unfortunately, they seem to be unable to create a full podcast of the emissions, so you'd have to download the different parts individually. Or "Lebensart", the topics there are even more everyday-ish and trivial. --MF-W 11:05, 4 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Deutsche im Alltag might be just what you're looking for - they published 473 episodes already, so that should keep you occupied for a while :) -- Ferkelparade π 12:02, 4 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]
While Ferkel's link seems to be exactly what you're looking for, I'd like to recommend Die Sendung mit der Maus. It's a children's TV-show that' both educating and entertaining, and it's enjoyed by many adults in Germany. It aims to explain everyday things in a language children can understand.--Zoppp (talk) 18:35, 4 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks everyone, those all seem to be just the kind of thing I'm looking for. -- Finlay McWalterTalk 01:58, 6 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]