The German language's affinity for sesquipedalians once led Mark Twain to
quip, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective." Having
polysyllabic words in a language is no sin as long as you get your words'
worth. In that respect, those lengthy German words are worth every syllable.
Where else can you find a single word, schadenfreude, for example, that
conveys the whole concept of 'pleasure derived from the misfortunes of
others'. The English language knows a good thing when it sees one and has
generously borrowed terms from German. This week we meet seven of them,
both with and without 'perspective'.
This isn't exactly about German loanwords,but Mark Twain did write a funny essay, called The awful german language. That's where Wordsmiths quote comes from, and the parts about parentheses and gender are funny.I can't tell you where to get a copy,though, because mine was printed in the 30's. jimthedog
This is about a funny essay on German by Mark Twain more than loanwords,but here goes it. Mr. Twain wrote The awful German language.It's got some funny parts on gender(3,not related to the person) and parentheses(use them whenever you want,as long as it's frequent.)Also, I believe it's where Anu got his quote.I wouldn't know where to get it, though, because our copy is old enough to be out of print.you might be able to borrow it from somebody. jimthedog
Hier herrscht ja Totenstille.
This section might as well be deleted
During WWII, many German military terms became widely known. Just a few are:
flak - antiaircraft fire
Luftwaffe - airforce
Panzer - tanks, etc.
Blitzkrieg - literally lightning (swift) attack in war
Feuerwerfer - flame thrower
During WWII, many German military terms became widely known.
Just a few of them are:
flak - antiaircraft fire
Luftwaffe - (German) Air Force
Panzer - tanks, etc.
Blitzkrieg - lightning (fast) war
During WWII many German military terms became widely used in newspapers and magazines.
Just a few examples:
flak: anti-aircraft fire
Panzer: tanks and othere armored vehicles
Blitzkrieg: lightning fast attack
Luftwaffe: (German) air force
I submit this post for the sole reason of removing the tag "one posts" from this thread on the main index page. Obsessive? Who's obsessive?
Danke.
Chuz.
I am submitting this post for the solely to change the "one posts" tag on this thread on the main index page.
Obsessive? Who's obsessive?
Just a test from Switzerland, to check the reach of big brother
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have read the story that Twain quote is from. It is out of The Awful German Language. If you ever find it anywhere, read it. It goes on a bit in one part about the illogic of how they use gender.he has a short story in there translated word for word into English. The whole thing is very funny
jimthedog
Neanderthal: A species of prehistoric man first identified in the Neander Valley; Neander + Thal/Tal (valley)...no, don't ask! Sorry, folks, I had to!
The word terrorist is spelled the same way in German and English. I was wondering if it means the same thing in both languages.
I am constantly amazed by the new and difficult to translate words that I have stumbled upon since moving to Germany. One that I can think of off the top of my head is schrottreif (pronounced shrot-rife). The dictionary translation is "Ready for the scrap heap". What a useful word!
.........................
..........................
...........................
............................
.............................
..............................
...............................
................................
.................................
..................................
...................................
....................................
.....................................
......................................
.......................................
........................................
.........................................
..........................................
...........................................
............................................
.............................................
..............................................
...............................................
................................................
.................................................
..................................................
...................................................
....................................................
.....................................................
......................................................
.......................................................
........................................................
,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I vonder if zis is vurking yet?
Bingley
Who says you can't post under "Loanwords from German"?
Mark Twain learned to speak German quite well, enough to make fun over some long German words
that would not be candidates for LoanWords:
Generalstaatsverordnetenversammlungen.
Alterthumswissenschaften.
Kinderbewahrungsanstalten.
Unabhaengigkeitserklaerungen.
Wiedererstellungbestrebungen.
Waffenstillstandsunterhandlungen.
In reading Stephen Ambrose's "D-Day" I find this:
...the German command structure was a disaster. Hitler's mistrust of the generals and the generals' mistrust of Hitler were worth a king's ransom to the Allies. So were Hitler's sleeping habits, as well as his Wolkenkuckucksheim ideas.
I assume the big word may be glossed approximately as Cloud-cuckoo-land?
Good assumption, tsuwm.
Wolke - cloud
Kuckuck - cuckoo (the s makes it genitive)
Heim - home
A king's ransom in those days would have been peanuts. A better figure of speech might have been "worth twenty divisions".
I also think that Hitler's intelligence has been erroneously underestimated. It is hard to judge his mental aberrations. I asked a top Boston psychiatrist in 1939 if Hitler was insane, and he replied "Absolutely not!"
I recently read that Hitler's own physician felt differently.
...and your Boston guy might well have changed his opinion by '44 or '45.
I just decided to venture below the equator to LfG, and I'll resurrect this in order to publicly bring up the book I'm currently fascinated by - Dr Bill, did your top Boston psychiatrist happen to work at McLean? I'm in the middle of Gracefully Insane, the author of which escapes me currently, but it's an amazing history of the psychiatric hospital in the Boston suburbs. Just fishin' to see what comes out of bringing it up...
Gracefully Insane, the author of which escapes...Get him back quick!
But tell us more - what is it that's particularly got you interested in this tale?
Gracefully Insane, the author of which escapes...
Get him back quick!
Didn't Ken Kesey identify most strongly with the Indian? But I digress...
It's a social history of Boston as much as anything. Apparently every prominent family in New England (that is anybody who was *anybody*) had someone take a "vacation" there. Sylvia Plath, James Taylor plus his brother and sister, Ray Charles, and John Forbes Nash (A Beautiful Mind) all did a stint there, along with many others (long gone) whose names I don't remember off the top of my head (likely because they're long gone). Just read last night about the rise of talk therapy and Freud's stint in treating some McLean patients... a great survey of the evolution of psychiatric practices, plus regional social history.
And to think I was drawn to the cover in the bookstore because I saw the picture of the building on the cover and initially misread the first word of the title as "Graceland". I bought it anyway after I read the inside flap!
I checked this one out at amazon.com and the closest match they could find for me was The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (DVD/VHS)