5.23 Academic German — Epoché
What you will be able to do Follow the logic of a German academic text through its connectors: folglich , somit , gleichwohl , wohingegen , es sei denn . Use the genitive prepositions of formal prose: hinsichtlich , angesichts , aufgrund , anhand . Name the parts of a piece of research: assumption, research question, approach, source, sample, conclusion. Hedge a claim the German way, and tell scheinbar from anscheinend . Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Das Baseballspiel wurde aufgrund des Regens abgesagt. [1] The baseball game was called off on account of the rain. Dein Kommentar ist in dieser Angelegenheit nicht relevant. [2] Your comment is not relevant to the matter. Könntest du anhand eines Beispiels erklären, was du sagen willst? [3] Could you explain what you're trying to say by way of an example? Die Züge sind unpraktisch und unbequem; außerdem sind sie nie pünktlich. [4] The trains are inconvenient and uncomfortable, and they are never on time. Mein Erfolg basierte weitgehend auf Glück. [5] My success was largely due to luck. Wenn es morgen regnet, wird das Baseballspiel abgesagt. [6] If it rains tomorrow, the baseball game will be put off. Das Unmögliche geschieht bisweilen. [7] Impossible things sometimes happen. Könnten Sie das genauer ausführen? [8] Could you be more specific? Prerequisites : 5.22 — you need the science words of 5.17 Vocabulary and the connectors of 2.32 Grammar . Academic German has a reputation for long sentences, but the length is not the real difficulty. The difficulty is the small words that carry the logic: a gleichwohl in the middle of a sentence turns the argument round, and a reader who passes over it will understand every noun and miss the point. This lesson collects those small words, together with the nouns and verbs that every German paper, thesis and report uses. You have already met some of them in Kant and Weber in 10.3 Argument and 10.4 Argument . The table of connectors from those texts shows you what they look like in the wild, in the spelling of their time. Word list Sixty words in five groups: connectors of logic, prepositions of formal prose, verbs of argument, the language of research, and hedging and precision. Connectors of logic Word (article, plural) Meaning Notes folglich de consequently, therefore Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs An adverb: in first position it is followed by the verb, Folglich muss er recht haben ; it can also stand in the middle, der muss folglich recht haben . Es gefällt mir, was der sagt; der muss folglich recht haben. [9] I like what that guy's saying, so he must be telling the truth. somit de thus, therefore Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Shorter and drier than folglich . Er war neu im Dorf und somit niemandem bekannt. [10] He was new in the village, and therefore unknown to everyone. demnach de accordingly, according to this Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Draws a conclusion from what was just said. Gewohnheit ist demnach die große Richtschnur im menschlichen Leben. [11] Custom, then, is the great guide of human life. infolgedessen de as a result, consequently Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs in consequence of that : one word. Es regnete heftig, und infolgedessen wurde das Baseballspiel abgesagt. [12] It rained heavily, and consequently the baseball game was called off. gleichwohl de nevertheless, all the same Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Formal; everyday German says trotzdem . Er hat nichts falsch gemacht; gleichwohl wurde er hart bestraft. [13] He did nothing wrong; all the same, he was severely punished. wohingegen de whereas Gender / part of speech subordinating conjunction How English differs Verb at the end: wohingegen meine Brüder sehr reich sind . Ich bin arm, wohingegen meine Brüder sehr reich sind. [14] I am poor, whereas my brothers are very rich. zudem de moreover, in addition Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Adds a further point. Die Züge sind unpraktisch und unbequem; zudem sind sie nie pünktlich. [15] The trains are inconvenient and uncomfortable, and they are never on time. überdies de moreover, besides Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Formal; same job as zudem . Die Tasche war groß und überdies schwer. [16] The bag was big, and moreover, it was heavy. andererseits de on the other hand Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs Often paired: einerseits … andererseits . Es ist billig, aber andererseits ist es nicht gut. [17] It is cheap, but on the other hand it is not good. sofern de provided that, as long as Gender / part of speech subordinating conjunction How English differs Kant writes it as two words: So fern . Du darfst das Buch benutzen, sofern du es rein hältst. [18] You can use the book as long as you keep it clean. es sei denn de unless Gender / part of speech conjunction How English differs Followed by a main clause: es sei denn, es regnet . Wir gehen spazieren, es sei denn, es regnet. [19] We will go for a walk, unless it rains. inwiefern de to what extent, in what way Gender / part of speech adverb How English differs The question form of insofern . Inwiefern ist das relevant? [20] How is that significant? indes de however; while Gender / part of speech adverb, conjunction How English differs Formal and old-fashioned; as a conjunction it means while . So gehe du doch schon vor, indes ich hier warte. [21] You just go ahead while I wait here. Prepositions of formal prose Word (article, plural) Meaning Notes hinsichtlich de with regard to Gender / part of speech preposition with genitive How English differs Typical of official and academic writing. Was ist Ihre Meinung hinsichtlich der Angelegenheit? [22] What's your opinion with regard to this matter? bezüglich de concerning, regarding Gender / part of speech preposition with genitive How English differs Bu