German Quickly: A Grammar for Reading German

by April Wilson

German Quickly:  A Grammar for Reading
German, is a thorough, straightforward textbook with a sense of fun. It teaches the fundamentals for reading German literary and scholarly texts of all levels of difficulty.  It can be used as an introductory text for scholars with no background in German, or it can serve as a reference text for students wishing to review German.  The grammar explanations are detailed and clear, addressing common problems students encounter while learning to read German.  The book includes thought-provoking and entertaining reading selections, consisting mainly of aphorisms and proverbs.  There are also 12 appendices, including a summary of German grammar, a partial answer key, strategies for learning German, and an extensive humanities vocabulary. 

April Wilson has been offering German reading courses to graduate students in the University of Chicago community since 1972.  Her courses have an excellent reputation for providing students with the essentials of German grammar, quickly. 

Genres: German Literature, Language, Reference, Linguistics, Nonfiction, Academic, Textbooks

430 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

For April Wilson, author of McIntyre-series etc, use two spaces to get theright author (April^^Wilson)

Reviews

[Brent]

Simply excellent for seminarians wishing to pick up German as a research language, and quickly. Worked through this independently in about two months or so. I memorized the vocabulary for each section first and then proceeded to read a chapter and translate the exercises. Lots of Nietzsche which was super fun for me.

[Noah Buresh]

It was quick, and it was German.
My personal subtitle for this book: "Fighting for My Life for 15 Weeks"

[Tyler Stewart]

Prior to using Wilson's textbook I had never taken a German course in my life. However, I had already learned other inflected languages which made it much easier to pick up German without an instructor to help clarify the different noun cases and verb tenses. Working through the text at the pace outlined in one of the many appendices, I gained German reading competence that allows me to read complicated texts with the help of a dictionary.

The book will not teach one how to speak German, but it is specifically designed to teach one to read German. Each lesson is clear, includes practice translations of increasing length as the the reader gets further along. It also includes a key for grading your own work. The practice translations range from funny stories and proverbs to excerpts from Nietzsche and the Bible.

If you need a book that will introduce you to reading German this is the book.

[Alina]

This book is amazing. Numerous people who had to learn German for reading recommended it to me as the best book out there. I was not let down at the least. It's hard to imagine that an in-depth book with emphasis on grammar and syntax could be both this engaging and clear. I've spent time with two other resources for learning to read German; one was engaging but not very in-depth, and the other was equally in-depth as this one but not fun at all and less clear (Jannach's German for Reading Knowledge).

The ordering of the chapters is unique and great. It is not "linear" by topic. We are first introduced to the basics of tenses, articles, sentence structure, for example; and then we go into other topics such as adjective and adverb constructions; and then we revisit elements of sentence structure, which only make more sense now given that we have covered these other topics. The other resources I've looked at confined themselves to presenting topics "linearly," but which ended up being less effective.

Also there are many useful exercises, and they are engaging and sometimes hilarious. A nice mixture of intriguing proverbs, quotes from famous literary and philosophical figures, and bits from an ongoing, hilarious fictional narrative consisting in these exercises about a love affair.

[Denise]

Really helpful for learning the basics to work German translations. Contains a dictionary (towards the back)of commonly used words, specific to the humantities. Includes practice sections too. Good tool for students.

[Kyle Wright]

More like German Very Slowly (languages are hard, will hopefully get back to this someday)

[Nathan]

The most helpful book for learning to read German that you can use. I don't mind technical terminology, but Wilson manages to arrive at the same clarity and precision that other grammars seek WITHOUT distended grammatical conversations and overly technical jargon. And (this is the best part perhaps), the book is just plain fun. Wilson writes with wit and whimsy, a difficult task in a language grammar. By interweaving the innocent Victorian romance of Fräulein Meier and Der Briefträger into the text, she pulls you through chapter after chapter of grammar. At the end, she translates selections of Mark Twain's justly famous essay "The Awful German Language" - a nice treat for any anglophone who has made it through the book.

With the aid of this book and one other (Manton's "Introduction to Theological German," see my review), I passed my reading competency exam for Princeton Theological Seminary. If you are truly trying to learn German quickly, I strongly recommend the one month reading schedule outlined in Appendix A. See also Andy Rowell's blog on Theological German: http://www.andyrowell.net/theological...

Viel Glück!

[Zachary]

Pitiful, awful. The numerous copy-editing errors (that for some reason the publisher decided to correct with only an inserted "errata sheet" rather than a reprint) alone make this more than a sub-par introduction. As for the work itself, it is helpful only as a back-door entrance into the language--which is about as grotesque as it sounds. The author uses non-conventional terms and paradigms in a way that will cripple most language learners. (e.g., the declensions are set in order of Nominative Accusative, Genitive, and Dative--this makes all of her charts near useless).
With that said, the approach is fantastic. A much better book could be written using the same shortcut approach. I'd wager it'd make far more money than Wilson, as well.

[James]

Well, I'm pretty sure I passed my language exam. So the book did its job. This is a good book if what you want to do is read German for research in the humanities (or for general interest reading in things like newspapers). There are several errors, many (but not all) of which are in the errata provided with the book. Most (but not all) of the exercises are included in an answer key in the back -- so you could use this to self-teach if you wanted to. Lots of helpful material in the appendices. The repetitive vocabulary lists (which don't indicate which words you've seen before and which are genuinely new) are a bit annoying.

[Christopher Smith]

A fantastic way to learn to read academic German. I was wading through encyclopedia articles by the end of one semester.

[Amy]

The most helpful, comprehensive, clearly articulated German grammar that I have found. A resource I devoured in preparation for a proficiency exam, yet will return to often throughout my career.

[Chris]

Be prepared to translate many, many proverbs no one uses. There are also some factual errors, and the text is missing letters.

[C.J. Moore]

Sufficient.

What you think of this book depends on what the word "quickly" means to you and just how much you need to learn German. I think most can get through this in 3-4 months relatively easy and 1-2 months if you're able to devote a lot of daily time to it. I believe this book was written for doctoral students who need to pass proficiency exams for reading German. If used rightly, it should serve the reader well to that end (though I often needed further explanation from Anja on YouTube - check her out!). Your humanities vocabulary will need to be pretty well-memorized for the grammar rules learned in this book to be put to useful practice in a timed exam. While I do feel that I can now translate German fairly well with the use of a dictionary, I'll find out soon enough if I can actually pass a timed, proficiency exam.

Formatting and layout are pretty poorly done. The editor could've done better. It is not reader-friendly. It is mostly just running text, page-to-page, with no sufficient headings (instead, bold font is used to mark off new sections).

[Allen Radtke]

This book is for those who want to be able to translate from German into English, principally for academic purposes. It's well organized, and things are laid out clearly. However, this seems to be intended as a reference work as much or more than as a book of instruction in German, per se. Having read this once, very slowly and in close detail from end to end, and having learned what it contains and where things are located, it will have utility in future for learning to read at a more advanced level of German. Readers should also beware that this book is peppered with errors, some of which can be quite confusing, but most of which are mere errors of omission or spelling. This is, in my estimation, not a book for someone wanting to learn German, but suffering from weak reading and interpretation skills. It assumes the reader has a fairly decent command of English grammar, sentence structure, etc. A healthy dose of stubborn dedication to the task doesn't hurt, either.

[Justin Dewell]

The title is accurate. This is a great book to help you learn to translate German in a short time frame. I didn't like the amount of vocabulary Wilson expected you to pick up in each chapter. Towards the end of the book I felt discouraged and struggled to know if I understood the grammar concepts because of the huge amount of vocab she threw at me. A couple chapters also seem like they are in odd places.

[Claire Mummert]

This is an excellent book to help you learn German for reading. I really loved the ongoing story of Fraulein Meier and the Mailman. The only thing that keeps this from being perfect is that she frequently uses the word "excited" using erregen which generally has a sexual connotation while the verb for "excited" aufregen is more excited in the sense of enthusiasm. Our professor kept making us cross out the word and write the correct one throughout the text.

[Chandler]

dieses Buch ist sehr gut! A fantastic introduction to German grammar and vocabulary. I just wish that I didn’t have to fly through it for my German class that I took this Summer. Will be a handy reference for any future readings I do in academic German. I also appreciate that the translation exercises throughout the book are usually proverbs at quotes from famous German academics. That made translation work feel more rewarding.

[Niki Ludwig Zinzendorf]

What can one say about April Wilson, who for me has grown into a mythical figure after all these decades of consulting her German Quickly? Every libretto by Wagner I peruse, every sermon by Schade I read, any sentiment by Luther I hold dear, it is because April taught me to read it. I don't think I've spoken to two Germans in the last five decades, but I have thought with the best of them from having acquired the basics in this abundantly sufficient grammar for the Deutsch-reader.

[Jacob Rowland]

A good, modern grammar book with the expressed purpose of reading literature, philosophy, theology, etc. No idea why such a thing is so hard to find. Humanities vocabulary list at the back is particularly good. Saving so i can remember to buy it down the road when I have room and money to be buying grammar books.

[Daniel Crouch]

If it weren't for some subpar formatting, I would give this book a higher rating. It covers the major topics of the language with the speed that the title suggests and makes the experience enjoyable with creative practice sentences.

[Bennett]

This is my second time through this book and it's a great refresher. Most helpful chapter is on overloaded adjectives-managing German's lengthy sentences is a chore, but with Wilson's explanations and examples, most sentences have now lost their impenetrability.

[FL]

Can't say this is as much a "read" as "work-through" book, but it got me from not knowing any German at all to passing a grad school reading proficiency exam, in about 6 months (plus another month of translation practice). So, the book succeeded at its purpose.

[Rachel]

Fun and accessible (as much as German can be), though I would have preferred a bit less of the dire warnings of "learn this grammatical rule or you will never understand German." Babies learn German. Grownups can too, even if we make a few mistakes along the way.

[Parker]

Rating this book without having completed it would be unkind. I was actually much enjoying it, but my German course in seminary didn't carry me through to the last chapter, and my pastorate hasn't allowed me the leisure of continued study.

[Erin]

A few errors and unclear passages. But the most delightful example sentences of any language textbook I’ve ever used!

[Timothy Decker]

I know I'll be reviewing this throughout the rest of my life!

[Cmoreglass]

I've gone through the grammar very quickly. A small vocabulary is a great obstacle for my learning german. So I'm learning on Duolingo now, struggling to remember more words.

[Nathan Nadeau]

Great simple introduction to German for reading

[Keith Pinckney]

A SLOG but we finally made it through!

Ich weiß nichts!!

[Chris Rorke]

The best of the standard German reading textbooks (Jannach, etc.)