Rediscovering German with Peloton and ChatGPT apps
When Sunday morning called for a workout, I opened my Peloton app. Only one class met my very specific requirements and it was in German! As an adventurer and lifelong learner, I wondered if I could follow along, given my rusty German; but knowing my fellow Synadia n's David Gee , Brian Flannery and Michael Roeschter would be attending SUSECON in Berlin this week alongside our friends at SUSE , I saw the solidarity and I jumped right in.
The highly visual class with the Peloton Interactive mobile app made it easy to follow and engaged my body and brain while decoding the German instructions.
One standout word was "geschafft," which the instructor used at the end of each exercise. I remembered the sense and pride of accomplishment from hearing “geschafft” from my German teacher when growing up in Poland. “Geschafft” is the past tense of the fascinating verb “schaffen” that has two interrelated meanings around action and success.
Curiosity piqued. ChatGPT (with its new features) listened to my questions on the meanings of "schaffen" in German. Here’s what I learned.
The German verb "schaffen" has two primary meanings:
It’s this latter description the German Peloton instructor leaned on. “Geschafft” after completing the exercise signaled to us: “well done” or “we got there. We’re complete.”
Only when I dug deeper did I remember the versatility of this fantastic verb, which is super helpful in business and regular conversation. Like any great technology or software, it can do many things.
For instance, the conjugation of "schaffen" in the past tense changes, depending on its meaning.
Weak conjugation (regular): When "schaffen" is used "to create" or "to make," it follows the regular conjugation pattern:
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Strong conjugation (irregular): When "schaffen" means "to manage" or "to succeed," it is conjugated irregularly:
Here’s a short video of diving into the nuances of the German verb "schaffen" with ChatGPT.
My Peloton workout in German taught and reminded me three things that day.
Looking forward to more German Peloton classes and keeping my curiosity alive! Thanks to my German Peloton instructor Marcel Maurer for reminding me of a language I’d never lost and continue to learn from, even today.
#LanguageLearning #German #Peloton #NeverStopLearning #TechInEducation #ChatGPT #Synadia #SUSE #SUSECON #genAI
I am post-evidential.
2moLearning a language is actually not for communication, but instead for automation with yourself.
Great job with your German practice! As a native speaker, I can tell you there's a third, typical German use of "geschafft." When someone asks "Wie geht's?" ("How are you?"), people say just one word: "Geschafft," meaning "I'm exhausted." It's funny how the negative meaning comes to mind immediately – very German! But it's perfect to use after a tough Peloton workout! Keep up the great work! 😊💪
The Codefather
3moIn South Germany theres also the noun "Schaffer" present - a person thats very diligent
Category Manager & Art Director at SebaKMT® (Megger Germany GmbH) | Graphic-Design, Adobe Creative Suite, Corel
3moThis is not a 🇩🇪 posting...
🌟 What a brilliant way to combine fitness and language learning! Using AI to rediscover German during workouts is both innovative and motivating. Justyna Bak