Earl Evleth

The temperature will got to 14°C today, which is about
as warm as I have seen in on a January day.

Rain is predicted throught the week and cooling weather.

But not cold.

Boston was around 0°F this weekend, and sometimes those
cold patterns in North America show up here a
week or so after.

Earl

Jens Arne Maennig

Earl Evleth wrote:

    > The temperature will got to 14°C today, which is about
    > as warm as I have seen in on a January day.

...and it's getting worse: http://tinyurl.com/ypoyl.

Jens
(only 7°C in Munich today)

Earl Evleth

On 12/01/04 12:13, in article , "Jens Arne
Maennig" <> wrote:

    > Earl Evleth wrote:
    >
    >> The temperature will got to 14°C today, which is about
    >> as warm as I have seen in on a January day.
    >
    > ...and it's getting worse: http://tinyurl.com/ypoyl.
    >
    > Jens
    > (only 7°C in Munich today)


Ah ha, another adept of global warming!


But Munich has gemütlichkeit* to hold up the morale
of the people!

Earl

*the word is officially in American English!

http://www.bartleby.com/61/53/G0075300.html

Jens Arne Maennig

Earl Evleth wrote:
    > On 12/01/04 12:13, in article , "Jens Arne
    > Maennig" <> wrote:

    >> (only 7°C in Munich today)
    >
    > Ah ha, another adept of global warming!
    >
    > But Munich has gemütlichkeit* to hold up the morale
    > of the people!

A longer beergarden season isn't that bad... We just went a few
kilometers south to Oberammergau yesterday. Just 100 meters higher but
around 0°C and good skiing conditions :-)

    > *the word is officially in American English!
    >
    > http://www.bartleby.com/61/53/G0075300.html

See http://germanenglishwords.com/ for a nice overview of others.

Jens

Earl Evleth

On 12/01/04 13:44, in article 1hve5a6v95ctx$., "Jens Arne
Maennig" <> wrote:

    > Earl Evleth wrote:
    >> On 12/01/04 12:13, in article , "Jens Arne
    >> Maennig" <> wrote:
    >
    >>> (only 7°C in Munich today)
    >>
    >> Ah ha, another adept of global warming!
    >>
    >> But Munich has gemütlichkeit* to hold up the morale
    >> of the people!
    >
    > A longer beergarden season isn't that bad... We just went a few
    > kilometers south to Oberammergau yesterday. Just 100 meters higher but
    > around 0°C and good skiing conditions :-)
    >
    >> *the word is officially in American English!
    >>
    >> http://www.bartleby.com/61/53/G0075300.html
    >
    > See http://germanenglishwords.com/ for a nice overview of others.
    >

As you probably know there are more Americans with German descendants
that English. WWI sort of smothered the German culture, since everybody
had to get super loyal and not speak German anymore. My wife`s
grandmother spoke German, although was not born there, her father was.
But she would never speak it, I think the WWI experience really traumatized
German-Americans (the term is hardly used, other hyphenated groups still
exist). But the words could not go away. And songs too, especially at
Christmas.

Although we have lived here a long time we only visited Munich once. Our
skiing from Paris took us through Zurich to Davos, which being high
always had snow, even when Klosters, slightly lower was
sparce.

Our daughter was posted with Solomons for about two years in Frankfurt.
She spoke fluent French and her Spanish and Japanese was not poor but
with German she had to more or less start from scratch. However,
her German language instructor asked her where her "Schweizerdeutsch"
accent came from? From ski instructors in Davos. Her only previous
training in the "awful German" language is with ------

Mark Twain's description of the German language.

ttp://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/awfgrmlg.html#x2

Earl

*****
(example from his book)


There are some exceedingly useful words in this language. Schlag, for
example; and Zug. There are three-quarters of a column of Schlags in the
dictionary, and a column and a half of Zugs. The word Schlag means Blow,
Stroke, Dash, Hit, Shock, Clap, Slap, Time, Bar, Coin, Stamp, Kind, Sort,
Manner, Way, Apoplexy, Wood-cutting, Enclosure, Field, Forest-clearing. This
is its simple and exact meaning -- that is to say, its restricted, its
fettered meaning; but there are ways by which you can set it free, so that
it can soar away, as on the wings of the morning, and never be at rest. You
can hang any word you please to its tail, and make it mean anything you want
to. You can begin with Schlag-ader , which means artery, and you can hang
on the whole dictionary, word by word, clear through the alphabet to
Schlag-wasser , which means bilge-water -- and including Schlag-mutter ,
which means mother-in-law.

Just the same with Zug. Strictly speaking, Zug means Pull, Tug, Draught,
Procession, March, Progress, Flight, Direction, Expedition, Train, Caravan,
Passage, Stroke, Touch, Line, Flourish, Trait of Character, Feature,
Lineament, Chess-move, Organ-stop, Team, Whiff, Bias, Drawer, Propensity,
Inhalation, Disposition: but that thing which it does not mean -- when all
its legitimate pennants have been hung on, has not been discovered yet.

One cannot overestimate the usefulness of Schlag and Zug. Armed just with
these two, and the word also, what cannot the foreigner on German soil
accomplish? The German word also is the equivalent of the English phrase
"You know," and does not mean anything at all -- in talk , though it
sometimes does in print. Every time a German opens his mouth an also falls
out; and every time he shuts it he bites one in two that was trying to get
out.

Now, the foreigner, equipped with these three noble words, is master of the
situation. Let him talk right along, fearlessly; let him pour his
indifferent German forth, and when he lacks for a word, let him heave a
Schlag into the vacuum; all the chances are that it fits it like a plug, but
if it doesn't let him promptly heave a Zug after it; the two together can
hardly fail to bung the hole; but if, by a miracle, they should fail, let
him simply say also ! and this will give him a moment's chance to think of
the needful word. In Germany, when you load your conversational gun it is
always best to throw in a Schlag or two and a Zug or two, because it doesn't
make any difference how much the rest of the charge may scatter, you are
bound to bag something with them . Then you blandly say also , and load up
again. Nothing gives such an air of grace and elegance and unconstraint to
a German or an English conversation as to scatter it full of "Also's" or
"You knows."

******

Jens Arne Maennig

Earl Evleth wrote:

    > As you probably know there are more Americans with German descendants
    > that English. [...]
    > But she would never speak it, I think the WWI experience really traumatized
    > German-Americans (the term is hardly used, other hyphenated groups still
    > exist).

Apart from some funny places like Frankenmuth, MI, this is best
experienced in Cincinnati in my opinion. Cin'ty used to have lots of
German Street names that were finally anglicized during WWI. However,
they still have a "Bürgerliga" and some stuff like that.
http://gauverbandnordamerika.org is a pretty interesting web address do
experience the North American interpretation of the German heritage.

Some of my ancestors immigrated to Prussia from France (where they were
hoping to experience less repressive measures for being protestants).
My great great grandfather changed his name from Tascheau to the more
german sounding Tasche to speed up his career in the Prussian army. It
seems to have worked: His son already became a private tutor of the sons
of the last German emperor. Of cours, French as the language of the
"Erbfeind" ("traditional enemy") had to be forgotten in the family. You
see: The problems are the same all over when silly values like national
pride are becoming more significant.

    > Although we have lived here a long time we only visited Munich once. Our
    > skiing from Paris took us through Zurich to Davos, which being high
    > always had snow, even when Klosters, slightly lower was
    > sparce.

Not too bad. Certainly more stylish than most of the French ski
resorts.

    > Mark Twain's description of the German language.

Interesting. I just read some of Twain's essays on the German language
and also some of the stuff he was writing *in* German yesterday evening.
I hadn't read in it for a while but I always carry some literature like
that around with me on my handheld computer. My little daughter
couldn't sleep, so I was sitting on her bed reading Twain's "Awful
German Language" as well as the "Forth of July Oration". You're one day
too late :-)

Those texts are very interesting to see how the German language has
changed since Twain't time in Germany. He had to fight with al lot of
grammatical peculiarities that simply dissapeared in the meantime.

Jens

Earl Evleth

On 12/01/04 16:04, in article 16g1dgmpldowu$., "Jens Arne
Maennig" <> wrote:

    > Those texts are very interesting to see how the German language has
    > changed since Twain't time in Germany. He had to fight with al lot of
    > grammatical peculiarities that simply dissapeared in the meantime.
    >
    > Jens


Back in the 1950s, the Saturday evening post had a man who use
to write "funny German", I think he came from some partly speaking
German community in Michigan and he thought he spoke German.

In fact it was a hybrid of English words. Eventually
he decided to make a joke of of it.

I looked through the web for what I remembered his word
for a dog was (Barkenpantensniffer) and came up with the following
which should amuse child.

dog Barkenpantensniffer

dog catcher Barkenpantensniffersnatcher

dog catcher's truck Barkenpantensniffersnatcherwagen

etc.

If you Google "Barkenpantensniffer" you find a few hits, about 40
and some other fractured German (or fractured English) is found.

The author`s name I forget but he did a lot more just redefine
a few words, he told stories, poems etc. These I have not found
on the web, however. This humor wears thin quickly, good
for a chuckle or two. However, a child might get a big laugh
out of it and it is pleasant to hear children think some is
very funny. Making a child laugh leaves a good feeling.

Earl

Wolfgang Schwanke

Jens Arne Maennig <> wrote in
news::

    > Earl Evleth wrote:
    >
    >> The temperature will got to 14°C today, which is about
    >> as warm as I have seen in on a January day.
    >
    > ...and it's getting worse: http://tinyurl.com/ypoyl.

Quote: "In the Mediterranean, the changes are dominated by tzhe men warming
(by around 5 °C, see left-hand panel)" Interesting. Human body heat has
long been ignored as a cause of climatic change.

Wolfgang Schwanke

Earl Evleth <> wrote in
news:BC2847A0.2228A%:

    > Ah ha, another adept of global warming!

I'm not. There is too much ideology and media hysteria in the publications
to sort out what's real science and what's not. 30 years ago they predicted
a coming ice age. AFAIK, climatologists do not pretend they can predict
climate anyway.

And I remember one or two extremely mild winters from the 1970s. One
particular christmas had close to 20C in many parts of Germany. I was then
in a region in Northern Bavaria otherwhise is known for its cool climate,
which is why it's locally called "little Siberia". But it was just as warm
there.

    > But Munich has gemütlichkeit* to hold up the morale
    > of the people!

30 years ago maybe, now they're all yuppified.

Regards

Wolfgang Schwanke

Earl Evleth <> wrote in
news:BC286237.223D4%:

    > WWI sort of smothered the German culture, since
    > everybody had to get super loyal and not speak German anymore.

Also, mutual loan words were ousted at that time in both languages. English
got rid of some German ones such as "wolfram" (replaced by "tungsten" from
Swedish), whil German got rid of lots of French loans. An early form of
political correctness, just as silly then at is now. Some things never
change.

Regards