This is definitely something that has left me confused. My past comments have been replied to with the explanation that written German is so precise but verbal German, because of the lack of precise tenses, often leaves me having to make assumptions. I chalk it up to my elementary understanding of German, but you explaining the difference a bit helped me pin point what I mean.
German isn’t overly precise to be honest. It’s kind of a “primal” language. We use a tiny active vocabulary and juggle it around to mean completely different things (that’s probably a thing a beginner will struggle with, every word in a sentence could potentially be a context clue that changes the entire meaning). English for example has way more unique words. Often texts become noticeably shorter if translated from German to English. I think that rules out precision 😅
This is definitely something that has left me confused. My past comments have been replied to with the explanation that written German is so precise but verbal German, because of the lack of precise tenses, often leaves me having to make assumptions. I chalk it up to my elementary understanding of German, but you explaining the difference a bit helped me pin point what I mean.
German isn’t overly precise to be honest. It’s kind of a “primal” language. We use a tiny active vocabulary and juggle it around to mean completely different things (that’s probably a thing a beginner will struggle with, every word in a sentence could potentially be a context clue that changes the entire meaning). English for example has way more unique words. Often texts become noticeably shorter if translated from German to English. I think that rules out precision 😅
That’s how I felt/feel, but couldn’t/can’t refute a native speaker because I just don’t know enough. Thanks for the comments!
Sure. Feel free to ask if there’s anything else. I could chat about languages all day 😄