School of Modern Languages

Newcastle University

GERMAN@NEWCASTLE

EDITED BY HELEN FERSTENBERG Autumn 2012

Life after Newcastle By Helen Morgan, Class of 2011

After graduating from

Newcastle in 2011 with

a First Class BA in Ger-

man and Business Stud-

ies, I decided to con-

tinue my studies abroad

at Ruhr-Universität Bo-

chum in Germany, one

of Newcastle’s partner

universities. I am cur-

rently doing an MA in

German Studies, specialising in Linguistics, and I am visiting

lectures for Business Studies as part of my optional modules, as

I am planning to look for a job where I can combine the two

subjects after I finish my MA.

As English native speakers are few and far between, I have al-

ready had many job opportunities in my first two semesters. I

am currently employed at the university’s International Office

and my duties include translation and working on English texts.

I also had a temporary job in my first semester, editing English

internet sites for a Management Department at the university. I

was one of 18 students to be selected to represent the university

in the Excellence Initiative in February, which is a competition

amongst German universities for funding for cutting-edge re-

search. Furthermore, I spent one day in Mannheim and one day

in Iserlohn interpreting for the Federal Employment Agency in

March.

I have to admit that it is a challenge to study amongst native

speakers in a foreign country in a foreign language, and I have

to put in twice as much work as the Germans. However, it is all

the more rewarding to know I have achieved the same as the

native speakers, and that it will result in a foreign degree in the

end, which will hopefully improve my chances when pursuing a

career. Studying abroad has been extremely beneficial because I

am around German native speakers all of the time and I am

constantly improving my language skills. I would definitely

recommend that those Modern Languages students who are

thinking about pursuing a postgraduate degree do this at one of

Newcastle’s partner universities abroad. What better way to im-

prove your foreign language skills than in the country itself?

Dr Beate Müller interviewed for

BBC4 documentary on metamorphosis

and culture What is the role of metamorphosis –

the transformation of a living creature

from one shape into another – in na-

ture, and how has the idea of metamor-

phosis influenced our culture? A forth-

coming BBC Four documentary ex-

plores these questions, and Newcastle

University’s Dr Müller has been inter-

viewed by the film makers about the

cultural significance of metamorphosis.

The BBC contacted Dr Müller, because

she teaches an optional module on

metamorphosis in German literature

and because of her research on Kafka.

The filming took place in a derelict,

atmospheric old cinema in Liverpool.

The interview explored why metamor-

phosis fascinates people so much and

why the theme has such a strong pres-

ence in culture, ranging from Ovid’s

famous verse epic “Metamorphoses”

with its 250 legends of transformations,

to classics such as Robert Louis Ste-

venson’s story “The Strange Case of

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” and Kafka’s

“Metamorphosis”, as well as contem-

porary horror films such as “Alien” or

“The Fly”. In the natural world, meta-

morphosis is written into the biological

programme of many species: every but-

terfly was once a caterpillar. Metamor-

phosis is a necessary step in the devel-

opment of the butterfly. But in many

(continued on page 2)

Dr Beate Müller interviewed for BBC4 documentary on metamorphosis and culture (continued from page 1) cultural representations, the darker side of metamorphosis becomes the focal point. Literary texts and films

about metamorphosis often revolve around an individual’s loss of control over his or her shape, and as our

sense of identity is closely bound up with our outer appearance, stories of metamorphosis are usually sto-

ries of identity, of loss of identity, and of loss of control.

FRANZ KAFKA’S METAMORPHOSIS

The most famous literary engagement with metamorphosis in 20th century literature is Franz Kafka’s no-

vella Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung, 1915; also translated as “The Transformation”). Kafka (1883-

1924) is one of the most important

20th century writers. He became fa-

mous for stories about the alienation of

man in modern society, about the ad-

verse impact of modern, bureaucratic

organizations and institutions on man,

and about issues to do with power. His

Metamorphosis tells the story of

Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman

who awakes one morning and realizes

that he has been transformed into a gi-

ant beetle. What seems like a night-

mare is no dream. Along with his hu-

man form, Gregor has also lost his

ability to speak, and so he ends up isolated and effectively imprisoned in his room, increasingly neglected

by his parents and his sister. The former breadwinner becomes vermin – a useless burden to the others who

have to learn to cope with the new situation. As they emancipate themselves, there is

no longer any room for Gregor, and the wounded, starved, heartbroken creature dies

quietly in his room.

Vermin, insect or beetle?

While Kafka’s prose is clear, its apparent simplicity sometimes poses problems of in-

terpretation and translation. Thus, the expression “ungeheures Ungeziefer” in the first

sentence is not easy to translate into English. The adjective “ungeheuer” means

“monstrous, huge”, but there is also the noun “(das) Ungeheuer”, which means

“monster”. So is Kafka emphasizing the animal’s size or its monstrosity or both?

Also, the word “Ungeziefer” – “vermin” – is usually only used in the plural to refer to

a whole group of insects, rather than to an individual, but of course Gregor is on his

own. Translators have variously used the words “vermin”, “beetle” or “insect”, but

none of these are truly satisfactory.

Kafka was horrified when he heard that his publisher had commissioned some illustrations for the book.

The writer was adamant that the insect may not be drawn. Kafka presents us with an image – a man trans-

formed into an insect – but this is a metaphor for his situation in life: Gregor Samsa leads the life of an ex-

ploited employee at the bottom of the pile, and through his transformation he is ironically liberated from

his lowly, depressing existence. In principle, he is now free to explore opportunities he has never had

while he was still a human being, for example he can now enjoy hanging from the ceiling. An unsettling

question arises: if what we deem to be crucial to our lives – our family, our job, our outer appearance, our

roles in society – if all that disappears, what is left of us? And would such a radical break be just a loss, or

would it possibly also be a gainful experience?

The documentary is presented by the award-winning filmmaker David Malone, and directed by David

Briggs. It will be broadcast early next year in the UK on BBC Four and distributed by BBC Worldwide.

A ls Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen

erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren

Ungeziefer verwandelt. Er lag auf seinem panzerartig harten

Rücken und sah, wenn er den Kopf ein wenig hob, seinen

gewölbten, braunen, von bogenförmigen Versteifungen

geteilten Bauch, auf dessen Höhe sich die Bettdecke, zum gän-

zlichen Niedergleiten bereit, kaum noch erhalten konnte. Seine

vielen, im Vergleich zu seinem sonstigen Umfang kläglich dün-

nen Beine flimmerten ihm hilflos vor den Augen.

»Was ist mit mir geschehen?«, dachte er. Es war kein Traum.

(The opening lines of Kafka’s Metamorphosis)

Title cover of the first book

version of Kafka’s Metamor-

phosis (Leipzig: Wolff, 1916)

Unser neuer Sprachassistent stellt sich vor Mein Name ist Sascha Stollhans und ich werde im Studienjahr 2012/2013 an der

School of Modern Languages der Newcastle University als DAAD-

Sprachassistent tätig sein. Ich komme ursprünglich aus einer kleinen Stadt in

Nordrhein-Westfalen, habe aber nach meinem Abitur den Weg in die Großstadt

gefunden und in Berlin studiert. Da Sprachen schon immer meine große Lei-

denschaft waren, absolvierte ich zunächst ein B.A.-Studium in Linguistik und

Französisch. Während eines sechsmonatigen Praktikums in Südafrika entdeckte

ich meine Freude am Unterrichten und an der Zusammenarbeit mit Menschen

aus unterschiedlichen Kulturen. Deshalb schloss ich einen Master in Deutsch als

Fremdsprache an, während dessen ich bei unterschiedlichen Institutionen in

Deutschland und Frankreich Deutsch unterrichtet habe.

Nun werde ich dank eines Stipendiums vom DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer

Austauschdienst) für ein Jahr in Newcastle sein. Die Stadt gefällt mir super, es gibt

viel zu entdecken und die Leute sind alle so nett, dass ich mich bereits jetzt sehr

wohl hier fühle. Ab Oktober werde ich Konversationskurse und andere zusätzliche

Sprachkurse für die Studenten anbieten. Außerdem werde ich die DAAD-Lektorin

Franziska Schulz bei extracurricularen Aktivitäten wie dem monatlichen deutschen

Stammtisch und Filmabend unterstützen. Wir planen gerade sogar einen deutschen

Wandertag, an dem wir zusammen mit Studenten des Abschlussjahrgangs und

deutschen Erasmus-Studenten einen Teil des Hadrianswalls erkunden möchten.

Hoffentlich lässt uns das Wetter nicht im Stich! (Bisher kann ich übrigens allen

Klischees zum Trotz noch nicht viel Schlechtes über das englische Wetter sagen…)

Ich freue mich schon sehr auf all diese Aktivitäten und auf die Zusammenarbeit mit

den Studenten!

In May, Routes into Languages North East were

invited to participate in an exciting day of German

events at Abbeyfields First School in Morpeth,

Northumberland. The day was organised by school

staff with several other local schools invited to at-

tend and was designed to increase awareness and

enthusiasm for German language and culture

amongst the pupils. Sessions included learning Ger-

man songs, meeting German teaching assistants

from the local high school and a German language

introduction led by Routes into Languages.

Routes project manager Nick Johnston was accom-

panied by student ambassadors Angela Stone and

Ruth Thompson together with university teacher

Helen Ferstenberg. The language session was an

interactive introduction to the language including

colours, numbers and basic phrases. Pupils com-

peted in games like bingo for prizes to take away

and learned the basics very quickly. The whole

team was extremely impressed with the enthusiasm

and ability of all the children, who were between

eight and ten years old. The natural curiosity of the

pupils meant that the allocated time for questions

was never enough as more and more questions kept

on coming!

The day was an undoubted success and highlighted

the need to engage pupils at a young age with for-

eign languages and culture. We hope the introduc-

tion of compulsory language learning from age

seven will tap into the enthusiasm in pupils of this

age and help motivate them to continue language

learning throughout their education. Routes into

Languages works principally with secondary pupils

but this was a refreshing and exciting addition to

our programme.

To find out more about the Routes into Languages

project please visit

www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/northeast or email

nicholas.johnston2@ncl.ac.uk.

Don’t

miss...

Routes into Languages takes part in

German day at local school By Nick Johnston, Project Manager for Routes into Languages

Contact us

For information about admissions please contact Lesley Sherrin Tel: 0191 222 5082, e-mail: sml@ncl.ac.uk

or visit www.ncl.ac.uk/sml/german

Eine ganz moderne Liebesgeschichte:

Zwei E-Mail-Romane von Daniel Glattauer Von Simone Schroth, Teaching Associate 2011-12

Emmi Rothner will ein Zeitschriften-Abonnement kündigen und schickt ihre E-

Mail versehentlich an Leo Leike. Obwohl die beiden sich nicht kennen, schreiben

sie einander danach immer wieder, und dann …

Mit Gut gegen Nordwind (2006) und der Fortsetzung Alle sieben Wellen (2009) hat

Daniel Glattauer den E-Mail-Roman in die deutschsprachige Literaturszene geholt.

Und eine moderne Liebesgeschichte erzählt. In diesem Ausschnitt möchte Emmi

herausfinden, ob Leo anhand ihrer Mails ihr Alter erraten kann:

[… ] Wie alt schreibe ich? Wie alt bin ich? Warum? – Wenn Sie diese Aufgaben gelöst haben, dann

verraten Sie mir, welche Schuhgröße ich habe. Alles Liebe, Emmi. Macht echt Spaß mit Ihnen.

45 Minuten später

AW:

Sie schreiben wie 30. Aber Sie sind um die 40, sagen wir: 42. Woran ich es zu erkennen glaube? – Ei-

ne 30-Jährige liest nicht regelmäßig „Like“. Das Durchschnittsalter einer „Like“-Abonnentin beträgt

etwa 50 Jahre. Sie sind aber jünger, denn beruflich beschäftigen Sie sich mit Homepages, da könnten

Sie also wieder 30 und sogar deutlich darunter sein. […] Und schließlich: Sie heißen Emmi, also Em-

ma. Ich kenne drei Emmas, alle sind älter als 40. Mit 30 heißt man nicht Emma. Emma heißt man erst

wieder unter 20, aber unter 20 sind Sie nicht, sonst würden Sie Wörter wie „cool“, „spacig“, „geil“,

„elementar“, „heavy“ und Ähnliches verwenden. Außerdem würden Sie dann weder mit großen An-

fangsbuchstaben noch in vollständigen Sätzen schreiben. […] Heißt man nun Emma und schreibt man

jünger als man ist, zum Beispiel weil man sich deutlich jünger fühlt, als man ist, nennt man sich nicht

Emma, sondern Emmi. Fazit, liebe Emmi Rothner: Sie schreiben wie 30, Sie sind 42. Stimmt’s? Sie

haben 36er Schuhgröße. Sie sind klein, zierlich und quirlig, haben kurze dunkle Haare. Und Sie spru-

deln, wenn Sie reden. Stimmt’s? Guten Abend, Leo Leike.

Am nächsten Tag

Betreff: ???

Liebe Frau Rothner, sind Sie beleidigt? Schauen Sie, ich kenne Sie ja nicht. Wie soll ich wissen, wie

alt Sie sind? Vielleicht sind Sie 20 oder 60. Vielleicht sind Sie 1,90 groß und 100 Kilo schwer. Viel-

leicht haben Sie 46er Schuhgröße – und deshalb nur drei Paar Schuhe, maßgefertigt. […] Also bitte,

seien Sie nicht böse. Mir hat die Einschätzung Spaß gemacht […]. Ich wollte Ihnen wirklich nicht zu

nahe treten.

Liebe Grüße, Leo Leike.

Zwei Stunden später

RE:

[…] Ich melde mich morgen. Ich freu mich schon! Emmi.

Aus: Daniel Glattauer, Gut gegen Nordwind, Goldmann-Taschenbuchausgabe 2008, S. 13-15.)