Internet E-Mail Workshop/Internet E-Mail Workshop.iso/info/german03.

Text File | 1993-11-24 | 25.1 KB | 780 lines

·    Subject: soc.culture.german, frequently answered questions (posted monthly)

Version: 1.1
Last-modified: 1993/03/24



        **************************************
        *                                    *
        *     FAQ for SOC.CULTURE.GERMAN     *
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NEW: where to get the new german ZIP codes from (FTP!!! Mailserver)


CONTENTS
--------

1     Introduction

2     Mail Order

2.1     Bookstores
2.2     News Papers
2.3     Videotapes, Audiotapes

3     Addresses of Embassies/Consulates

4     Deutsche Welle (shortwave radio/sat. TV)

5     Goethe Institutes

6     E-mail to Germany

7     Misc. Addresses

8     How to write Umlaute in soc.culture.german

9     FTP sites of dictionaries

10    Soccer results (how to get them)

11    Transfering foreign degrees to germany

12    Questions and Answers


12.1    - What have I to take care off if I buy electronic equ. in the
          US and bring it to germany
          Different TV norms

12.2    - How about phones? Work American phones in Germany?

12.3    - zip-codes (Postleitzahlen)

12.4    - public phones in germany, US phonecards in germany.


1 INTRODUCTION
--------------

This posting contains answers to frequently answered questions in
soc.culture.german. The answers are neither complete nor tested by
me. All information in this faq is free and everybody should feel
encouraged to distribute it.

Please check first this posting before you ask a question in soc.
culture.german.

Input to this list is always welcome. Please refer to
     [e-mail] or [e-mail]
if you have questions about the FAQ.

The FAQ was prepared by collecting different postings and e-mail
msgs.


Special thanks to:

Jennifer Dodd, [e-mail]
Ed Lieser, ASTRO::[e-mail]
David Weisberger, [e-mail]
Kurt, [e-mail]
Eberhard Wegner, [e-mail]
Michael Griesser, [e-mail]
Frank Deis, [e-mail]
Stephanie Schmitz, [e-mail]
Harald Giessen, [e-mail]
Erika C. Linke, [e-mail]
Sacha Moufarrege, [e-mail]
Volker Soffel, [e-mail]
William R. Palenske, fed![e-mail]
Arno Laesecke, [e-mail]
and many others I forgot (sorry) ...


2 MAIL ORDER
------------

In this section, you will find addresses of mail order stores which sell
books or tapes either in German or about Germany (or both.)  This list is
not necessarily based on the maintainer's personal experience.  The
maintainer of this list is not responsible for the accuracy of this
information.  As always, caveat emptor !

2.1 BOOK STORES

    German Information Center
    (see 2.2 Newspapers)


    Der Buchwurm
    (German Books, Music Tapes, CD's, Journals Subscriptions, etc.)
    P.O. Box 268
    Templeton, CA  93465

    Tel  [phone]
    Fax  [phone]


    Mary S. Rosenberg, Inc.
    1841 Broadway
    New York, NY 10023
    Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
       Mail order, but no credit cards!  However, checks do not need
       to clear your bank before they send merchandise.

    Schoenhof's Foreign Books
    76A Mount Auburn Street
    Cambridge, MA  02138
    Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
       Accept Visa, MC, and Amex.
       French, German, Italian, and Spanish books

    Adler's Foreign Books, Inc.
    915 Foster Street
    Evanston, Illinois 60201
    Tel: 1-800-ADLERS-1
       Accepts major credit cards,
       no current catalog!

    International Book Import Service, Inc.
    2995 Wall Triana Highway, Suite B4
    Huntsville, Alabama 35824-1532

    Continental Book Company
    80-00 Cooper Avenue
    Bldg. #29
    Glendale, NY 11385

    MAIL ORDER KAISER
    Postfach 401209
    W 8000 Muenchen 40
    Germany
    Tel: [phone]
       Mail order bookstore in Germany
       Delivery worldwide at German domestic prices.
       Monthly newsletters.

    ATS (Associated Technical Services)
    855 Bloomfield Ave.
    Glen Ridge, NJ 07028
       Technical Dictionaries

    2001
    (Someone out there has the address? Please let me know.
     They have tapes, too.)

    Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft
    Hindenburgstrasse 40
    Postfach 11 15 53
    W - 6100 Darmstadt 11
    Germany

    Telephone: [phone]
    Fax:       [phone]




2.2 Newspapers

    Deutschland Informationen/The Week in Germany

    The German Information Center
    950 Third Ave.
    New York NY
    10022
    phone: [phone]

    "Deutschland Informationen," or its english version "The Week in

     Germany," is a free 8 page flyer.  It has articles excerpted from
     various German newspapers, soccer results, and the $/DM exchange rate.
     The German Information Center also distributes lots of other
     information ( books, maps, .... ) for free.  They are an especially
     helpful resource for those who may have to make a school presentation
     about Germany.

    Der Spiegel

    German Language Publications, Inc.
    153 South Dean Street
    Englewood NJ
    07631
       Published weekly, subscription price for the USA is $280
       per annum

    ZEIT

    Distribution:

    German News Company Inc.
    220 E 86th St, NY
    New York
    10028-3098
    USA          phone: [phone]


    or:

    Die Zeit
    29 Coldwater Road      P.O. Box 9868
    Toronto, ON            Englewood, NJ
    M3B 1Y8                07631-1123
    Canada                 USA

       "Die Zeit" is available either via air mail or as international
       edition via surface mail out of canada. The international
       edition is much cheaper but contains less pages.

       If you order it at the German News Company you have to call them
       and to send them a check for $30 payable to German News Co. This
       is a subscription for half a year.

    The German Tribune

    The German Tribune
    c/o Mass Mailings, Inc.
    540 West 24th Street
    New York, NY
    10011
        in English, about $100 for one year.


    Die Nordamerikanische Wochenpost

    Die Nordamerikanische Wochenpost
    1120 E. Long Lake Road
    Troy, MI
    48098

     3 month trial subscription: $ 15, one year $42.95

    This is a general interest newspaper.  The front pages generally
        deals with news from/about Germany.  There are special pages for
        regional, domestic-American, news of interest to German speakers.
        E.g., Florida, New York, Chicago-Milwaukee, and Detroit.  Additionally,
        there's  a special page for news from/about Austria.  All the major
        sections that you would expect in any newspaper are represented:
        politics, sports, the economy, fashion, cartoons, features, editorials,
        etc.  There are also several short-stories and a serialized novel.
        There's a list of German-language  radio broadcasts for North
        America ( US and Ontario, Canada. )  It also contains a list of
        German-American associations.

    Other Addresses

    German News Co., Inc.
    220 East 86th Street
    New York, NY 100028
    Tel: [phone]

    GLP International
    P.O. Box 9868
    Englewood, New Jersey 07631-1123
    Tel: [phone] or [phone]

2.3 Tapes

    VIDEO:

    German Language Video Center
    7625-27 Pendleton Pike
    Indianapolis, Indiana 46226
    Tel: [phone]
       free catalog

    (To convert videotapes (NTSC <-> PAL) see 10.2)


    AUDIO:

    The Olivia and Hill Press
    P.O. Box 7396
    Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107
    Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]

       Selection of German-language cassette recordings of novels, plays,
       and radio plays. E.g. Duerrenmatt's "Der Richter und sein
       Henker".  Free catalog.

    Schau ins Land
    P.O. Box 158067
    Nashville, TN 37215-8067
    Tel: [phone]

       Monthly audio magazine of news, stories, music, etc.  Comes
       with a written transcription including a vocabulary glossary.
       Approx. $120/yr. in U.S.

3. Addresses of Consulates/Embassies

  The Consulates are very helpful in getting information about anything
  concerning Germany (travel, politics, laws ....)  They're very
  thorough and supply lots of information in response to requests.
  The German Information Center (see 2.2) is sponsored by them.

  There is a list of all embassies/consulates in the US. You get
  it from the Department of State. It's title is: "Foreign Consular
  Offices in the United States". You find there the addresses, names of
  the staff and phonenumbers. You might find the broschure in most public
  libraries.

   Consulate General of the
   Federal Republic of Germany
   One Union Square, Suite 2500
   600 University Street
   Seattle, WA 98101

   The German Embassy
   4645 Reservoir Road NW
   Washington, DC  20007

   Consulate General of the FRD
   2100 Edison Plaza
   660 Plaza Drive
   Detroit, MI 48226-1849
   [phone]; Fax: [phone]

   Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
   460 Park Ave.
   New York, NY
   [phone]

   Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
   6222 Wilshire Blvd. , Suite 500
   Los Angeles, CA 90048
   [phone]


4. Short-wave Radio / Sat. TV

The official German short-wave station is the "Deutsche Welle". It broadcasts
worldwide in a variety of languages. To get a monthly free schedule write to

   Deutsche Welle
   Postfach 100444
   W 5000 Koeln 1
   Germany

The "Deutsche Welle" also broadcasts TV using different satellites.

Europe: EUTELSAT II-F1 (13 deg. east)
        Transponder 27, 11,163 GHz, vert. pol, 15-05 UTC, PAL.

Nord/South America: INTELSAT-K (21.4 deg. west)
    Transponder H7, 11,605 Ghz,
    North America: hor. pol.
        South America: ver. pol.
        15-05 UTC, NTSC M

North America: SATCOM C-4 (135 deg. W)
    Transponder 5V, 3,8 GHz, pol. vert., 15-05 UTC, NTSC M


Look also for the Suedwestfunk (SWF3). It is a regional station which sends
at 7265 kHz in Europe.

   Suedwestfunk
   Postfach 820
   W 7570 Baden-Baden


Consult the "World Radio and TV Handbook" for a complete listing of all
shortewave stations. The book is updated anually and can be found in many
libraries.

5. Goethe Institute

The various "Goethe Institutes" are funded by the German government to
provide an opportunity for persons outside Germany to become acquainted
with German culture.  They offer exhibitions, movies, and German classes.
To get more information, call one of the following:

   Ann Arbor       [phone]
   Atlanta         [phone]
   Boston          [phone]
   Chicago         [phone]
   Cincinnati      [phone]
   Houston          [phone]
   Los Angeles     [phone]
   New York        [phone]
   San Francisco   [phone]
   Seattle         [phone]
   St. Louis       [phone]
   Washington DC. [phone]
   Montreal        [phone]
   Toronto         [phone]
   Vancouver       [phone]
   Kyoto           75/761218-889
   Osaka           6/3413051-53
   Tokyo           3/35843201 or 03-3584-3267

6. E-Mail to Germany:

If you look for an E-mail address in germany, give the address servers a
chance.

I will no longer include information about e-mail connections to Germany.
It's too difficult to acquire and maintain current and accurate information
about the various non-Internet networks etc. I don't live in Germany at the
moment and don't use German systems. How about some volunteers? I could
include their e-mail address in the faq; and people who have questions
about a given net could ask this contact person. It would be ideal if the
contact person uses the network on a regular basis and is, therefore,
up-to-date about gateways between internet/bitnet and such.


7. Misc. Addresses

    Representative of German Industry and Trade
    One Farragut Square South
    Washington, DC. 20006
    Tel: [phone]

    Zentralstelle fuer Arbeitsvermittlung
    Feuerbachstrasse 42-46
    W 6000 Frankfurt/Main
    Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
This is an important address for people who want to work in Germany.

    Association for International Practical Training (AIPT)
    217 American City Building
    Columbia, MD 21044-3492
    Tel: [phone]

    Chamber of Commerce

    The German - American
    Chamber of Commerce
    465 California Street, Suite 910
    San Francisco, CA  94104
    [phone]

    German-American Chamber of Commerce
    104 S. Michigan Ave. Suite 600
    Chicago, IL 60603-5978
    Tel: [phone]

    German-American Chamber of Commerce
    909 Fannin Suite 3750
    Suite 3418
    Houston, TX 77010
    Tel: [phone]

    German-American Chamber of Commerce
    3250 Wilshire Blvd.
    Suite 1112
    Los Angeles, CA 90010
    Tel: [phone]

    German-American Chamber of Commerce
    666 Fifth Avenue
    New York, NY 10103
    Tel: [phone]

    German-American Chamber of Commerce
    Peachtree Center Harris Tower
    233 Peachtree Street NE
    Suite 2701
    Atlanta, GA 30303
    Tel: [phone]

This office has a listing  of the German companies in the US along with
their address that you can purchase.  The price varies according to how
detailed a list you wish to have.


8. How to write Umlauts

As you may have noted, there are various ways to write umlauts.  There is
no generally accepted way to do this in soc.culture.german. Periodically,
therefore, you will observe hard-fought battles on this topic in this group.

Here the two most common methods:


TELEX-Version   ae oe ue AE OE UE ss or sz
TEX  -Version   "a "o "u "A "O "O "s

Please ! if you have a German-style keyboard with umlauts, and if you're using
it to, say, post something in soc.culture.german, DON'T use the umlauts.
They probably won't get displayed correctly on terminals in, say, North
America.

9. Dictionaries

German word lists and German-English dictionaries are available via
FTP from the sites listed below with brief descriptions following the
filenames. N.b., this list includes only those sites which I believ are the
most current and complete.

FTP SITES:

At ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de in directory /pub/doc/dict :
-rw-r--r--  1 gruner   ftp         37070 Oct 19  1990 exercise.vok.Z
-rw-r--r--  1 hartl    ftp        761528 Aug 21  1991 german-wordlist.Z
-rw-rw-r--  1 stumpf   ftp        761910 Oct 23  1991 german-wordlist.new.Z
-rw-r--r--  1 bartel   staff      137591 May 13  1991 germanl.Z
-rw-r--r--  1 gruner   ftp         55447 Oct 19  1990 idioms.vok.Z
-rw-r--r--  1 gruner   ftp         11089 Oct 19  1990 technik.vok.Z

These files are mirrored at
   ftp.uni-kl.de in directory /pub2/packages/doc.tum/dict
and, of particular interest for people west of the Atlantic,
   arthur.cs.purdue.edu in directory /pub/pcert/dict/german/ftp.informatik.
                                                            tu-meunchen.de

 *  also:
 *  ftp.th-darmstadt.de       /pub/dicts/german
 *

At switek.uni-muenster.de in directory /pub/dict/german :
-rw-r--r--   1 stephan  all           186 Aug 17 11:39
 German-English-Computer.dict.README
-rw-r--r--   1 stephan  all         45440 Aug 17 11:39
 German-English-Computer.dict.v9.tar.Z
-rw-r--r--   1 stephan  all          1683 Aug 17 11:40 german-english.README
-rw-r--r--   1 stephan  all        102912 Aug 17 11:39 german-english.tar.Z
-rw-r--r--   1 stephan  all        761910 Aug 17 11:44 german-wordlist.new.Z
-rw-r--r--   1 stephan  all          6703 Aug 17 11:40 german.README.1st
-rw-r--r--   1 stephan  all        761919 Aug 17 11:58 german.ispell.Z
-rw-r--r--   1 stephan  all        137591 Aug 17 11:40 germanl.Z

A different version of german.english.tar.Z, called english-german.dic, is
available at
   reseq.regent.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de
     in the directory /physik.archive/mailserv.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de

FILE DESCRIPTIONS:

germanl                         : alphabetized list of ~ 27,000 German words
german-wordlist,
german-wordlist.new             : alphabetized list of ~160,000 German words
idioms.vok                      : 2400 German idioms with English translations
technik.vok                     : 810 alphabetized German technical terms
                                        with English translations
German-English-Computer.dict.v9 : several hundred computers terms in German and
                                        English, alphabetized by English, some
                                        with German explanations
german-english                  : several English-German and German-English
                                        lists, including the .vok files

10. German soccer results

If you ask Thomas Hofmeister ([e-mail])
he will send you the most recent soccer results via e-mail.

11. Transfering german degrees

(Because this is only important for germans, I write this in german. There
are just to many special legal terms involved to do it in english ...)


!!! HIER FEHLEN MIR NOCH LITERATURHINWEISSE (GESETZESTEXTE) UND BEISPIELE !!!
!!! SPEZIELL DER ZWEITE TEIL (Bundeslaender ausser Bayern) BRAUCHT HILFE  !!!

Hier einige wichtige Fakten welche man wissen sollte:

Fuer alle Bundeslaender:

- Es ist fuer deutsche Staatsbuerger VERBOTEN in Deutschland auslaendische
  akademische Grade zu fuehren.

- Um einen auslaendischen akademischen Grad in seiner Originalform fuehren
  zu duerfen bedarf es einer "Erlaubniss zum Fuehren ... "

- Diese Erlaubniss erteilt das Kultusministerium des Bundeslandes in welchem
  man seinen ersten Wohnsitz angemeldet hat. Fuer Personen welche nicht in
  Deutschland wohnen gibt es ein spezielles Bundesland welche diese Erlaubniss
  erteilt (NRW ?)

- Die Erlaubniss kostet etwa 100-150 DM Bearbeitungsgebuehr. Die Bearbeitung
  dauert etwa einen Monat.

- Die Erlaubniss besagt nichts ueber eine Gleichwertigkeit. Sie stellt
  lediglich fest, dass man den Titel rechtmaessig erworben hat und gibt an,
  in welcher Form man den Titel verwenden kann. Zum Beispiel wird aus einem
  Master of Science welchen man an der State University of New York at Albany
  erworben hat ein "Master of Science at State University of New York at
  Albany". Gleichzeitig werden auch zulaessige Abkuerzungen mitgeteilt
  (Bsp: M.S. (SUNYA)).

Fuer alle Bundeslaender ausser Bayern:

Es gibt noch den zweiten Weg (ausser in Bayern): Man kann einen im Ausland
erworbenen Titel als gleichwertig einem deutschen anerkennen lassen. Die
Bearbeitung ist dann im allgemeinen etwas aufwendiger (laenger, teurer).
Das Ergebniss ist, dass man sich dann statt Ph.D Dr. phil nennen darf (oder
auch Dr. rer. nat.). Die Details sind von Bundesland zu Bundesland sehr
verschieden. Diese Anerkennung kann auch abgelehnt werden.

12. Questions and Answers

12.1 American Electronics in Germany

If you wish to use domestic-American electronics in Germany you encounter
difficulties such as:

 - German plugs have a different shape.
 - The medium wave (AM) frequencies have different spacings (9kHz/10 kHz). This
   might cause problems with digital receivers.
 - The voltage / frequency in Germany is 220-240 V / 50 Hz and not 110 V /
   60 Hz, as it is in the US. Improper voltage / frequency could result in
   serious damage.
 - TVs use the PAL norm. American televisions use the NTSC norm.
   These two norms are incompatible. I.e., an American television
   in Germany will not work and vice-versa.

   Similarly, PAL format videotapes will not display properly using an NTSC
   based VCR and vice-versa.  There is a service in Raleigh, NC (see below)
   where video conversion from any format to any other format can be made
   (VHS, VHS-C and 8 mm types of cassettes) for a fee. This will allow playback
   of videotapes made overseas using U.S. TV's and VCR's (PAL,
   SECAM --> NTSC) and vice-versa (NTSC --> PAL, SECAM, etc....)

   INTERNATIONAL VIDEO CONVERSION
   520 Harvest Lane
   Raleigh, NC 27606-2217

   [phone]

   Fees: $20.00 + $5.00 S&H
         (Price of a High Grade Cassette Included, 2hrs or less)

   Delivery: Mailed back the next day, express shipping at request.

   Payment: Cheque, Cash or Money Order mailed with tape.

   OR:

   [e-mail] does it for $5 per tape + $3 for the blank tape.
   (formats: ntsc, pal, npal, mpal, secam, msecam)

   OR:

   Conversion Labs
   2250 Monroe St #263
   Santa Clara, CA 95050
   [phone]

   $20 / tape (up to 2h, each add. hour $ 10). Tape, S&H included.
   mail only, next day shipping, overnight available. Check, cash,
   money order.

   NTSC (8mm, Hi8, VHS) -> PAL (VHS)


12.2 Facts about phones in Germany

THE LAW: The German phone system is operated by German Telekom. There are
         no private long-distance/local phone companies. Every phone/fax/modem
         you connect to a phone line needs to be approved by the German
         telekom.  Approved appliances have a special sticker with a
         ZZF number on the back.

         You may own a phone but you may not connect it to the public system
         unless it has a ZFF number.  You may not own radios or cordless
         phones which are not approved.

German Telekom: Telekom is a state-owned company. It split from the
                German mail (Bundespost) a couple of years ago. It tries to
                act like a private company but doesn't quite measure-up
                because it lacks competition and for various historical
                reasons. Some things might change vis-a-vis German Telekom
                with the advent of the E. E. C.

Pulse dial phones should work in Germany. Tone dial is not common and is unavail
in most areas. This is changing, however.

Cordless phones are a real problem. In Germany, cordless phones operate on
different frequencies than in most other countries. The frequencies many
foreign phones use are used by others (police, 911, radio, TV ...).
Therefore,

      USE ONLY APPROVED CORDLESS PHONES !!! OR THEY _WILL_ GET YOU !!!

Problems are possible with Hong Kong/British pulse dial phones because
the pulses in Britain/Hong Kong are not exactly the same shape as in
Germany. But the phone system is very tolerant and with most of these
phones you can switch to the other system anyway (same for Modems).

The wall outlets for phones in Germany have a different shape than the usual
modular plug. There are adapters available in Germany (about 2.50-20 DM). These
adapters are no problems with phones.


12.3 The new german zip codes

Until end of june 1993:

every ZIP code has one letter and four digits. The letter is a "W" for former
west Germany and a "O" for east Germany.

You can get these ZIP codes via gopher at the infoserver of the RWTH Aachen.
The also have them as a file for FTP.

June 1993 and latter:

Beginning 7/1/93 all ZIP codes get changed. The ZIP codes have than 5 digits.
There is no easy way to convert the old to new ZIP codes. Diverse files with
new and old ZIP codes you find at ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (/info/allgemein/PLZ).
Get the README file out of this directory for more information.

Thomas Bullinger has writen a mailserver. To get a ZIP code send a mail
msg. to [e-mail]. The subject line should be: #PLZ# name-of the town.
The name of the town has to be spelled in CAPS. Add your E-mail address to
the Subject.

example:   To   :   [e-mail]
           Subj.:   #PLZ# ELLWANGEN [e-mail]

One city might now have more than one ZIP code. Big companies get there own
codes (like the US zip code system).

The German mail also maintains a toll free number (0130-55555) to ask for a
ZIP code. It is not possible to call this number from outside germany. (If
somebody knows how, please tell !!!).

The 4 digit ZIP codes will of course still work. But letters will take longer
if you use the old code.


12.4 Public Phones in Germany

Public phones in germany work more or less like everywhere with some special
exceptions:

In germany are now quite a lot of card-phones. But don't mix them up with
american style card-phones. German phone-card can be bougth at any post

- AT&T: 0130 0010
- MCI : 0130 0012

Ask these companies for details. The numbers starting with 0130 are toll free.
At public phones you might have to enter first 30 Pfennig (the minimum price
for a call). But you will get the money back.

At card-phones it is not possible to use money. If you have neither change
nor a phone card there are nice public phones at post offices. Some of them
have a (tiny)









--
Johannes Ullrich               [e-mail]
SUNY Albany                    [e-mail]
Center for X-Ray Optics        phone [phone]
************************ Have fun *********************************************