Language for literary discussion
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Flip to reveal answersder Autor zeigt… / die Szene stellt … dar
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All 14 Flashcards — Language for literary discussion
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Question
der Autor zeigt… / die Szene stellt … dar
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the author shows… / the scene depicts… (describing)
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der Erzähler berichtet, dass…
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the narrator tells us that… (describing)
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das Werk handelt von…
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the work is about… (describing)
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das deutet darauf hin, dass…
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this suggests that… (interpreting)
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man kann es so verstehen, dass…
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it can be understood as… (interpreting)
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es symbolisiert… / es ist eine Metapher für…
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it symbolises… / it is a metaphor for… (interpreting)
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das erzeugt ein Gefühl von…
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this creates a sense of… (effect / interpreting)
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meiner Meinung nach… / ich finde, dass…
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in my opinion… / I find that… (personal response)
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was mir besonders auffällt, ist…
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what particularly strikes me is… (personal response)
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ich kann mich mit … identifizieren, weil…
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I can identify with … because… (justified personal response)
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How do you talk about what a text DOES — present or past?
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The literary present (das szenische Präsens): «der Autor zeigt…», «die Szene stellt … dar», «Marta sieht den Schnee» — even though you read it in the past.
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How does the Konjunktiv II lift a literary opinion? Give two examples.
Answer
It softens/hedges an opinion: «ich würde sagen, das Thema ist…» (I would say…) and «man könnte es als … verstehen» (one could understand it as…) — mature, tentative.
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How does the passive (das Passiv) help in literary analysis? Give an example.
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It describes how the text is constructed without naming an agent: «Die Einsamkeit wird durch das Fenster dargestellt» (werden + Partizip II).
Question
What is wrong with «das Buch gefällt mir» in the oral?
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It's an unjustified opinion — it earns nothing. Justify it: «ich finde es bewegend, WEIL…» / «was mir besonders auffällt, ist… weil…» (verb to the end after weil).
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Full study notes for Language for literary discussion
Topic 8.2 hub
The literary individual oral
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German B exam skills
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