Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, but first I need more coffee.

Category: Deutsch

Bloody Hell

So you hear that English use the word ‘bloody’ as an expletive all the time. I just learned the German word blöde which translates as stupid. It sounds a bit like the English bloody and is similar in meaning. It’s an intensifier in German but not as intense as it is in British English. Americans don’t use the word bloody the way the Brits do.

Wikipedia tries to explain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody

I think it’s time to look up the etymology of the word blood to see if their is a connection. I’ll leave that as a homework assignment as I’m too tired to continue expositing on the words. I just happened to notice the similarity.

 

Ich lerne Deutsch

I am using Duolingo to brush up and learn more German. It’s fun and I am learning but it is not an end in it self. I need other tools. I’ve started watching Babylon Berlin with German subtitles (watching with English subtitles is not conducive to learning the language). It’s amazing how much you can follow the story without knowing the language.

If you are a fan of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, you will recognize this reference. And now you know how to say it in German:

Die Antwort is zweiundvierzig. Was ist die Frage?

 

Ich mag Duolingo. Es ist sehr gut.


I like learning languages. I actually have a minor in Russian, but I’ve forgotten most of it (Я забыл как говорить по русски). I can still read it. I studied both Spanish and German in high school. I preferred German but was talked into taking a little Spanish. I also took a semester of Japanese at a community college. Other languages I have studied on my own: Scottish Gaelic and French.  I am not fluent in any of these. However, now is as good as time as any to become fluent in one of them. And German was my first (language) love. Ich habe Deutsch in meinem herzen. My second love is Scottish Gaelic. ‘S toigh leam Gaidhlig.

The Squirrel/Eichhörnchen Divide

A few years ago with some German acquaintances we saw an Irish comedian at the Kansas City Irish Festival. I forget his name and I’m too lazy to look him up. Anyway he talked about an English word Germans had difficulty pronouncing. The comedian said the German word first, Eichhörnchen, correctly. Then asked a German in the audience to say the English translation, squirrel. And there was much laughter. It’s true Germans do have a difficult time saying the word squirrel, but you know what? Americans have a more difficult time saying the German word, Eichhörnchen.

Do I have a point? Nein.

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