Advanced German: Language, culture and history

# Übung 5

Hören Sie sich Teil 2 des Hörberichts an und machen Sie sich auf Englisch zu den folgenden Punkten Notizen:

- dyke-building over the centuries;

- heathen customs;

- the flood of 1962;

- the East Frisian character;

- the interrelationship between the landscape and the East Frisian character.

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Transcript

## Answer

As well as helping you to record important information, note-taking under specific headings as in this activity is a useful technique that will help you check your understanding of the main points.

1. Dyke-building over the centuries:

   - crucial activity throughout the centuries, was always a matter of life or death;

   - oldest dykes date from eleventh century;

   - those dykes provided protection only in summer;

   - in winter they could not contain the floods;

   - from thirteenth century onwards so-called winter dykes were built;

   - these protected larger areas all year round.

2. Heathen customs:

   - animals and humans were sacrificed to protect dykes;

   - example of baby that was sacrificed can be seen in museum.

3. Flood of 1962:

   - dyke gave way;

   - debris from dyke was slung against house walls, walls gave way;

   - whole row of houses had to be cleared to shore up dyke;

   - children were sent home from school;

   - situation was very threatening.

4. East Frisian character:

   - home-loving people (‘rooted in the soil’), don't like to be moved;

   - rather cold and distant but with dry sense of humour (rather like English sense of humour);

   - local communities very important to them, like to celebrate and keep local customs alive.

5. Interrelationship between landscape and the East Frisian character:

   - very distinct group of people with their own way of life, result of barren landscape;

   - large meadows, open landscape, causing solitary/isolated existence with little communication and some loss of social skills.

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