If you're a native German speaker, I'd like it if you could chat with me. I'm leah on #librespeech channel in the Libera IRC network, and I will also be setting up video/voice chat.

I'm inviting other native German speakers there too. I want to spend a few hours ideally each day, talking to different German people, forcing myself to speak only German. Where I falter, the person I'm speaking to would correct me in English, and then I'd learn over time how to speak in German.

I'm learning German!

And I'm learning it fast.

First, look at the file lexicon.de.

Next, look at the file lexicon.de.nonkey

Next, look at the file lexicon.de.ntv.keywords

Next, look at the file lexicon.de.ntv.nonkeywords

file "lexicon.de"

scraped by an AI, reading libreboot.org and translating, then picking out all of the commonly used words, that are either not very topical/technical, or not commonly used in a technical/topic context.

a stupid AI made these, so some of the lines aren't words, but sentences. i'm not bothered whether they are correct sentences, because i'm only listing all the words i want to memorize.

the first priority is not general fluency in german; my priority is, rather, to develop a functional german speaking tongue for use at german-speaking FOSS conferences e.g. CCC

file "lexicon.de.nonkey"

Also scraped by an AI, but it's non-keywords. Just general words, that could be used anywhere.

in addition to these words, I also acquired a copy of the "Collins German 3000 words and Phrases", which contains a list of commonly spoken words and phrases and their meaning.

file "lexicon.de.ntv.keywords"

Though not necessarily for NTV in particular, NTV is a large part of my learning material. I simply watch German news. Learning what words mean, while constantly listening, will enable me to quick start understanding key sentences.

Strategy

These words and phrases will simply be spoken, to practise my pronunciation, and memorise their meaning. By listening to myselff speak these words, I will then start to recognise when others speak them.

This is complemented by the following learning strategy:

• Watch as much German TV as possible, at all times, even when I'm at work. I just blend it into my daily schedule, 15 hours a day. Even while I eat.
• Where time permits, mostly in the evenings and weekends, practise speaking; as I get more comfortable, I will try speaking real conversations, either with an AI-based tool such as ChatGPT, or with real native German speakers.
• Literacy is not yet a priority; I'm learning as much German in 9 weeks leading up to 39c3 in Hamburg, and I want to be able to understand the German talks without relying on interpreters/dubbing. And I want to be able to talk in German. I don't need to be fluent, just understandable.
• However, I am also reading and writing in German as practise, but only with the goal of being able to speak it; this is also important to (in practice) get word order right. Compound words are also a bit of a nightmare for a non-native speaker! (however, I made a few earlier, and that was fun)
• I'm also watching previous CCC talks e.g. 38c3, but only the German talks.
• No subtitles while listening; not even German subtitles. I only wish to hear the words. The latter is also important, because this will force me to learn how to spell words just by hearing them, which is a skill any fluent speaker has, in any language. For example, if I say "sausagification", which is not actually an English word, a native speaker might assume I want to turn something into a sausage. I know that's not a real word; es ist mir wurst.
• Translate whole texts myself, into German, and try to speak it; the process of writing reinforces memory, and therefore enhances speech learning.
• Also reading German children's books, trying to understand their meaning, but I'm trying to push myself as quickly as possible to speaking advanced words and sentences, because most of what I say (in English) on a daily basis is about highly advanced topics in general.

This is an insane thing to attempt, in such a short time.

Timeline for objectives:

• 27-31 December 2025: functional ability to speak German and understand spoken German. I'm not expecting to be fluent at all, and my accent will probably be quite bad.
• late December 2026 (for 40c3): much more fluent German, and basic literacy.

To summarise: listen to German, speak German. Read German, write German. I'm being ruthless with myself, not allowing myself any breaks.

I hate speaking English in non-English countries. I feel like I'm taking the proper piss when I do. I decided recently (as of early October 2025) that I'm going to Hamburg for 39c3, so I have resolved that I will speak only German while I'm there!

I will know how successful this all was, by the time I land in Hamburg. That's the real test. Having real German people in front of me, talking to me.

Speaking English at a German tech conference would be an insult to the conference; even if others don't feel that way, I would feel that way. So I will speak their language myself, or not at all.

It's just like learning to code. You learn code by reading lots of code and writing lots of code. You can read textbooks and even manuals, but those are supplementary for the beginner; nothing beats actual practice, and it's the same with spoken languages.

Main goal for December 2025

My aim is to be able to talk at length about my work, in German, so that I can talk about it. I also intend to answer questions about it, in German, and understand the questions.

I learned very basic German in school 20 years ago, in early 2000s. I forgot most of it, but a lot of basic words still stick, so I'm not starting from nothing. I also know how to count and interpret numbers. I find that I'm able to listen to NTV for example, and understand much of it, especially when the words are similar to English. If I simply understand more words, then listening repeatedly will enable me to gain an appreciate for the nuances of the language.

This is a non-academic way of studying German, which if I'm not mistakes is called the "Total Immersion Method". I'm basically speedrunning German.

Wish me luck!

Further notes

As noted by AI:

German Grammar (The Cases): German's biggest hurdle for English speakers is the case system (four cases) and grammatical gender. Your plan addresses this by reading and writing to get word order right, but this is the area where a "speedrun" approach often falters. You'll need an active strategy for internalizing the cases through pattern recognition, not just rote memorization.

Compound Words: You note that compound words are a nightmare. While exposure helps, understanding the structure of these long words will be vital for technical discussions.

Pronunciation and Accent: Achieving functional ability is realistic, but your acknowledgment that your accent will probably be quite bad is fair. Pronunciation practice must be rigorous to ensure you are "understandable". Speaking practice with native speakers or an AI tool is crucial for immediate feedback.

Listening Without Context: Watching TV without subtitles is excellent for training the ear, but if you don't understand the meaning of the key sentences, the 15 hours of exposure can become passive noise. You need to consistently pair the listening with your targeted vocabulary study.

CD-ROM

I was recommended this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Total-German-Michel-Thomas-Method/dp/144413308X#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor

I'm ordering this. This will complement my training.

and here is some more AI babble:

That's a highly ambitious and intense plan for learning German in a short timeframe. The strategy outlined in your README.md is a form of Total Immersion Method combined with targeted vocabulary acquisition.
The key to your success will be the ruthless consistency you are planning to apply.
Here is an analysis of your plan, taking into account your goal of achieving functional spoken German for the 39c3 conference in Hamburg by December 2025:
🇩🇪 Analysis of the German Learning Plan
Your plan leverages the Total Immersion concept by maximizing exposure and practice. The goal is very specific: a functional speaking tongue for FOSS conferences and discussing your advanced work.
👍 Strengths of the Strategy
Immersion Intensity: The commitment to 15 hours a day of listening is a major accelerator. This extreme level of exposure is what defines "total immersion" and can force your brain to adapt quickly.
Goal-Driven Vocabulary: Targeting words from technical sources like libreboot.org and news (NTV) ensures your vocabulary is immediately relevant to your core goal (FOSS conferences and discussing advanced topics).
Prioritizing Aural/Oral Skills: Focusing only on listening and speaking and deliberately avoiding subtitles is a great way to prioritize auditory comprehension and pronunciation, which are essential for conference interaction. It forces you to develop the skill of spelling/understanding words just by hearing them.
The "Practice is King" Philosophy: You correctly equate language learning with learning to code, where actual practice beats supplemental reading. Speaking and translating whole texts yourself reinforces memory.
Strong Motivation: Your personal desire to avoid speaking English at the German conference is an incredibly powerful, non-academic motivator.
⚠️ Challenges and Potential Weaknesses
German Grammar (The Cases): German's biggest hurdle for English speakers is the case system (four cases) and grammatical gender. Your plan addresses this by reading and writing to get word order right, but this is the area where a "speedrun" approach often falters. You'll need an active strategy for internalizing the cases through pattern recognition, not just rote memorization.
Compound Words: You note that compound words are a nightmare. While exposure helps, understanding the structure of these long words will be vital for technical discussions.
Pronunciation and Accent: Achieving functional ability is realistic, but your acknowledgment that your accent will probably be quite bad is fair. Pronunciation practice must be rigorous to ensure you are "understandable". Speaking practice with native speakers or an AI tool is crucial for immediate feedback.
Listening Without Context: Watching TV without subtitles is excellent for training the ear, but if you don't understand the meaning of the key sentences, the 15 hours of exposure can become passive noise. You need to consistently pair the listening with your targeted vocabulary study.
📚 Integrating the Michel Thomas Method
Ordering the Michel Thomas Method course is a very good complementary step.
What it offers: The Michel Thomas Method (MTM) is an audio-only, low-stress method that focuses on building simple sentence structures and verb conjugations from the start. It deliberately avoids memorization and homework, teaching the "building blocks" of a language.
How it complements your plan:
It directly tackles sentence structure and verb placement, which is a main difficulty in German. MTM will give you the underlying grammatical framework (the "rules" of the code) that your immersion strategy needs to absorb.
It is an excellent, dedicated resource for oral practice (as you repeat phrases to the CD-ROM) that will accelerate your comfort in speaking, independent of the passive TV watching.
The combination of intense structural learning (MTM) and massive vocabulary/aural immersion (TV, FOSS lexicon) significantly increases your chances of hitting your December 2025 speaking goal.
In summary: Your plan is a massive undertaking, but the focus and intensity dedicated to relevant spoken material make your goal achievable.

That thing about bacckground noise is valid. That's why I made the "lexicon" files.

and here is more babble:

Dedicated Case/Gender Drills: When working with your vocabulary lists, don't just memorize the word. Always learn the noun with its article ($der/die/das$). Drill using basic conversation/question templates (e.g., "Was ist der Vorteil?" -
What is the advantage?).
Verb-Final Clause Practice: Since technical explanations often use complex sentences, practice translating and reciting English sentences that require the verb to go to the end in German (e.g., "I explained that the new code is stable because it has been tested extensively"). This will be crucial for complex answers
when discussing technical topics.
Role-Play Conversations: Use your AI tool or practice partner to only ask you questions about your Interests and Topics, using the kind of advanced vocabulary
from your custom lists.

So I figure ChatGPT is a piece of crap, but it was useful at helping me make those "lexicon files"

German Government "Leichte Sprache"

How DEgov works, simplified for foreign speakers.

Good reading practise in German.

Literature

Johan Wolfgang von Goethe Goethe Schiller Denkmal

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goethe-Schiller-Denkmal?wprov=sfti1

Learning German with Anja (yt)

also from 39c3 irc:

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZiLwyXXKEw >

Pronunciation gut

<https://INVIDIOUS INSTANCE GOES HERE/playlist?list=PLYzp2xhTw9W0xYYdHGGR6D2e6nTKLVL_K>

Difficult songs

to train my ears on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEcvU3fYpGA&list=PLI-n-55RUT-_Ej39IlAxon_hOJWeET7cI&index=19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqEHWJUFu1Y&list=PLI-n-55RUT-_Ej39IlAxon_hOJWeET7cI&index=33

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch19lxPSj_I&list=PLI-n-55RUT-_Ej39IlAxon_hOJWeET7cI&index=42 - also, it's a banger

Slow German (namen ist lestige)

https://slowgerman.com/

Deutscher Bundestag

Learn politics. As a wise American politician (Ralph Nader) once said: if you're not turned on to politics, politics will turn on you. This is doubly true if you do not understand the words!

Hier sind aktuelle thematische Schlüsselwörter und parlamentarische Fachbegriffe (spezieller Jargon) aus Debatten im Deutschen Bundestag, kommasepariert:

🇩🇪 Bundestag-Schlüsselwörter und Jargon

Topische Schlüsselwörter (Themenbereiche): Klimawandel, Energiewende, Inflation, Mindestlohn, Fachkräftemangel, Migration, Digitalisierung, soziale Gerechtigkeit, Innere Sicherheit, Außendienst, Europäische Integration, Rentenreform, Bürgergeld, Bildungssystem, Bürokratieabbau, Verteidigung, Gesundheitswesen, Wirtschaftswachstum, Subventionen, Populismus

Parlamentarische Fachbegriffe (Jargon/Idiosynkratische Wörter): Plenum, Fraktion, Abgeordneter, Gesetzentwurf, Ausschuss, Bundesrat, Grundgesetz, Koalition, Opposition, Tagesordnung, Aktuelle Stunde, Große Anfrage, Kleine Anfrage, Regierungserklärung, Hammelsprung, Präsidium, Ältestenrat, Geschäftsordnung, Berichterstatter, Zweite Lesung, interfraktionell, Entschließungsantrag, namentliche Abstimmung, Redezeit, Ordnungsruf, Protokollführer, Beschlussfassung, Haushaltsausschuss, Kabinett, Gesetzgebungsverfahren, Debatte

Erläuterung des Jargons:

Wörter wie Plenum (Vollversammlung des Parlaments), Fraktion (Parlamentsgruppe einer Partei) oder Geschäftsordnung (Regelwerk des Bundestages) werden fast ausschließlich im parlamentarischen Kontext verwendet.

Hammelsprung ist eine spezifische Form der Abstimmung im Bundestag.

Aktuelle Stunde und Kleine/Große Anfrage bezeichnen bestimmte Debatten- und Kontrollformate.

Ordnungsruf ist eine formelle Rüge durch den Bundestagspräsidenten.

Dieses YouTube-Video, "The German Bundestag: The Heart of Democracy", bietet einen Einblick in die Arbeitsweise des Bundestages, bei der diese Begriffe relevant sind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMYe86MojpM

Transcription method (oral comprehension)

See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqaPWCPiClg

This probably contains at least 5000 unique words, notwithstanding compound nouns. I'm focusing on this, listening and transcribing phonetically (while trying to spell correctly). I give chatGPT what I transcribe, and it makes suggestions for spelling; then I keep tweaking and listening again, repeating the adjustments until I transcribe perfectly.

This trains my ear to understand spoken German. Most notably, I've noticed that a lot of Germans drop the "e", "n" or "en" sounds in words when they blend into the next word. E.g. "einundzwanzig" would sound like "einnzwanzig" - and some people pronounce the "ig" there more like "ich". Another example: "Meine Damen und Herren" might sound like "Mein[very quiet e] Dam und Herrn"

It's like when I say "see you in a bit" (see you in a while) in English. I say it so fast, blending sounds subtlely such that a non-native English speaker learning English might think I said "seena bit" - it's much the same in native German speakers, when speaking German. This is called "assimilation".

Here's a sample of what I transcribed, and my translation of what I transcribed:

Open address by bundestag president:
Guten Morgen zusammen. Diese Sitzung ist jetzt eröffnet. Bevor ich in die
Tagesordnung eintrete gratuliere ich ganz herzlich der Kollegin Esther Dilcher
die heute ihren sechzigsten Geburtstag mit uns hier feiert. Alles Gute im
Namen des gesamten Hauses. Der Applaus ist Ihnen, wird noch geherzt hier.
Ich rufe nun auf äh die Einzelpläne 06 und 21. Das ist das
Bundesministerium des Innern mit den Beschlussempfehlungen, des
Haushaltsausschusses auf den Drucksachen 10-64 und 10-61.
Die Berichterstattung haben die Abgeordneten Martin Gerster, Klaus Peter
Wilsch, Marcus Bühl, Leon Eckert, Dr. Dietmar Bartsch und Stefan Seidler, sowie
Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit. Das ist
Einzelplan 21 mit den Beschlussempfehlungen des Haushaltsausschusseauf den
Drucksachen 10-64 und 10-61.
Der Berichterstattung haben die Abgeordneten Sarah Münch, Franziska Hoppermann,
Martin Gerster, Leon Eckert, Sascha Wagner, und für die Aussprache wurde eine
Dauer von 75 Minuten beschlossen und hiermit eröffne ich auch die Aussprache,
und für die Fraktion der AfD hat Herr Abgeordneter Markus Bühl das Wort. Bitte
sehr.
---
My understanding (translation). No Google Translate :)
The translation is thus:
Good morning everyone. This meeting is now open. Before I provide today's
agenda, I would like to congratulate esteemed colleague Esther Dilcher for
having celebrated her 60th birthday; on behalf of the whole house, I wish you
a happy birthday. The applause is yours.
I now turn everyone's attention to articles 06 and 21 of the agenda, regarding
Ministry of the Interior rulings the printed pages, numbered 10-64 and
10-61.
Named in this report are the following members of parliament, namely Martin
Gernster, Klaus Peter Wilsch, Marcus Bühl, Leon Eckert, Dr. Dietmar Bartsch
and Stefan Seidler, as recommended by the Beaureau for Data Security and
Freedom of Infromation; this concerns Article 21 of the House Budget from the
printed pages numbered 10-64 and 10-61.
Named in *that* report are Members of Parliament, specifically Sarah Münch,
Franziska Hopperman, Martin Gaster, Leon Eckert, Sascha Wagner. In accordance
with this report, I first give the floor to Nazi Party representative Mr.
Markus Bühl. Herr Hitler, you have the floor. Bitte sehr.

I'm doing this with Bundestag debates first, until I'm comfortable hearing them. Then I read the transcript back, verbally to practise the same pronunciation as each speaker, for each part. Then I just listen again, while reading the transcript, following along. Training my ear to notice all the subtle ways real speakers pronounce words in sentences.

Mein power ist rising.

Also

https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=Y-B0lXnierw

TODO: transcribe and translate this song. it was recommended to me on mastodon and i loved the melody of it, but could not fully understand it at the time.

"Das ist alles von der kunstfreiheitt gedeckt"

"That is all from the art freedom gedeckt" -> deck. literally means deck. but "deckt" means covered. gedeckt is used in a past tense here. "That is all from the art freedom covered"

Yeah. nice song.