Meeting number 5 took place over 2 lattes in a convenient café around the corner from TOAS city. Alex and I discussed the stereotypes surrounding Britain and tea. There are just as many coffee drinkers as there are tea drinkers in the UK and there are a huge range of teas available to choose from. Personally I’m a coffee snob that has been dragged around far too many tea stores by my family!
We also had a chance to discuss the difference between an accent and dialect and whether or not I have ever felt that I have to change my accent for example in a job interview. I feel that in many circumstances I will change my speech to a more standard English and wouldn’t use words like ‘aye’ but I have never had to drop my accent. That is not to say that people with a stronger accent may not change theirs as it is still possible for some people to be subconsciously prejudiced against it and it can sometimes be difficult to understand.
Alex also asked for clarification as to when to use certain prepositions- to, at, on, with etc. For example you can agree on a time and date, agree with a person or concept and agree to take an action but you can not agree at. You can also be at a meeting or even in a meeting but you wouldn’t be on a meeting, the meeting could be on though.
The preposition describes a temporal, spatial or logical relationship with the something known as the ‘object of the preposition’. The object of a preposition is always a noun and never a verb. Changing the preposition can subtly change the meaning of a sentence.
I asked for some conjunctions and prepositions in German to help me create sentences and learned some more answers to the question; Wie geht es dir?, how are you?
I now know;
aber but
und and
mit with
für for
Mir geht es gut/exzellent I am good/excellent
So,
Hallo, ich heiße Joanne. Ich bin 22 Jahre alt und ich bin Britin. Meine Lieblingsfarbe ist blau. Ich mag es Schokolade zu essen und Kaffee zu trinken.
Next meeting Alex is going to bring some written German so I can practice reading in German and then see if I can translate it.
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