(c) Note that the following German letters can sound misleadingly like English letters:[ah] is a German A (not an R)
[e:] is a German E (not an A)
[i:] is a German I (not an E)(d) If one is in doubt about the exact letter, it can be solicited by asking ‘wie +
identifying word?’ (or just wie? with a level intonation, which invites the other person
to supply the identifying word):Das habe ich nicht mitbekommen. Wie Richard?
I didn’t catch that. As in Richard (i.e. R)?Nein, wie Anton!
No, as in Anton! (i.e. A)Es tut mir Leid, das habe ich nicht mitbekommen. Wie ...?
I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. As in...?Wie Heinrich.
As in Heinrich.119 Shaping the course of a conversation
119.1 Developing the current topic
(a) A speaker can use a number of phrases to reiterate and explain what has just
been said:das heißt ‘that is to say’
mit anderen Worten ‘in other words’
anders gesagt ‘in other words’
nämlich ‘namely/that is to say’
oder besser ‘or more appropriately’Er arbeitet jetzt unter Hochdruck. Das heißt, er spielt morgen
bestimmt nicht Tennis.
He is working under enormous pressure at the moment. In other words,
he certainly won’t be playing tennis tomorrow.Sabine ist kein Einzelkind. Sie hat nämlich einen Bruder und eine
Schwester.
Sabine is not an only child. You see, she has a brother and a sister.Sie kann morgen nicht. Oder besser, sie will morgen nicht.
She can’t make it tomorrow. Or rather, she doesn’t want to.119
Shaping the conversation