LG4315    READINGS IN THEOLOGICAL GERMAN         

Spring Semester 2006

 

Instructor:         Frederick J. Gaiser

Office:              GH 203 (office hours by appointment)

Phone:              Office, 641-3210; Home, 646-3484

E-mail:  fgaiser@luthersem.edu

 

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:

 

Readings of selected theological German literature.  Attention given to building theological vocabulary and developing speed and comprehension.  College or university courses in intermediate German assumed.  Half course

 

OBJECTIVES:

 

1.         To encourage and gain proficiency in reading theological works in German

2.         To develop vocabulary and review German grammar, as necessary

 

REQUIRED BOOKS:

 

Helmut Ziefle, Modern Theological German: A Reader and Dictionary

A German-English dictionary and a review grammar

In addition, students will be asked to pay the cost of duplicating reading materials handed out in class.

 

ONLINE DICTIONARIES:

 

Note the several online dictionaries now available, for example:

http://dict.leo.org

http://dictionaries.travlang.com/GermanEnglish/

http://www.quickdic.de/index_e.html

http://www.wordreference.com/de/en/

http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/

 

RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO WORK INDEPENDENTLY:

 

Waltraud Coles and Bill Dodd, Reading German, 1997—not a primary grammar, but potentially quite useful as a secondary tool

Hubert Jannach and Richard Korb, German for Reading Knowledge, 1998 (4th ed.)—thorough, but “dense,” according to reviewers

Karl Sandberg and John Wendel, German for Reading, 1973—highly recommended by Luther Seminary graduate students, but out of print

H. J. Siliakus, 500 German Theological Terms and Their English Translations Together with 500 Useful Phrases—particularly useful for vocabulary building

April Wilson, German Quickly, 2002 (3d rev. ed.)—a primary grammar, highly recommended by reviewers particularly for its clear explanations

Cecile Zorach and Charlotte Melin, English Grammar for Students of German, 1994 (3d ed.)—especially valuable for those whose study of German would be helped by a review of English grammatical constructions (and how they relate to their German counterparts)

 

REQUIREMENTS:

 

1.         Attend all class sessions and be prepared to read, translate, and discuss the assigned material.  After missing more than one class session, students must hand in written translations of the material assigned for any subsequent missed classes.

2.         Prepare occasional written translations to be handed in.

3.         An optional final translation exam (normally required for students desiring a letter grade; recommended for any preparing for the M.Th./Ph.D. German exam).