DEUDSCHE SPRACHE

[Tironis]

It's Stinktier, though.

Yes, absolutely. A skunk is a Stinktier - I got somewhat carried away.

 

[Pacifica]

View attachment 9903

German is really amazing, sometimes.

 

[Bitmap]

German is really amazing, sometimes.

Thank you.

 

[Pacifica]

I really like its descriptive compound nouns like Handschuh and many of the animal names in Adrian's post.

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

The German for 'mucous membrane' is Schleimhaut.

 

[rothbard]

Earlier I was surprised to hear on the radio the Italian foreign minister, who was visiting Berlin, speak what appeared to be reasonably decent and not too embarrassing German. Then I realised it was the German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, welcoming him.

 

[Issacus Divus]

German is really amazing, sometimes.

Þankōs!

 

[rothbard]

Yesterday I sent someone a German email. Rereading it today I found out that when criticising some people I'd written "Sie" instead of "sie" .

 

[Pacifica]

 

[Tironis]

Klein Erna fragt Mutti: "Mutti, stimmt es wirklich, dass der Klapperstorch die Kinder bringt?"

Mutti: "Ja Erna, das stimmt!"

Klein Erna nachdenklich: "Ja ... aber ... wer bumst denn dann den Klapperstorch?"

 

[Tironis]

Down with a bit of a runny nose today, which justifies another Klein Erna joke:

Inne Schule sacht der Deutschlehrer: "Wer kann mir einen Satz mit 'einfältig' sagen?
Nach'ne Zeit meldet sich Klein Erna un sacht: "Ich weiß ein: Du hast zwei Tropfen an die Nase, ein fällt dich gleich runter!"

 

[Tironis]

Klein Erna hat beim Baden den kleinen Unterschied zwischen sich und ihrem Bruder entdeckt.

Mutti, jammert sie.
"Wann kriege ich denn auch sowas zwischen den Beinen?"

"Geduld, mein Kind, nur Geduld.

 

[Tironis]

Warum ist Sex mit der Lehrerin besser als mit der Krankenschwester?

Die Krankenschwester sagt: "Der nächste bitte!" und die Lehrerin sagt: "Wir wiederholen das ganze!"

 

[Bitmap]

Is there anything that would prevent that joke from working in any other language?

 

[Tironis]

Come to think of it, it probably would work in other languages. Well, one or two forumistas seem always eager to practice their German.

 

[Bitmap]

If you care about current German orthography (which even I have failed to fully embrace, even though I might be doing better than most), I think "das Ganze" would get a capital G.

 

[Tironis]

It was a copy/paste job - so I let it pass, sorry. But of course you are quite right. That said I am thoroughly fed up with the number of U-turns the authorities performed handling German orthography. Still don't know - and now no longer care - if ß is in or out, if it's du or Du, etc.

 

[Bitmap]

That said I am thoroughly fed up with the number of U-turns the authorities performed handling German orthography.

You take the words right out of my mouth

Still don't know - and now no longer care - if ß is in or out

I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but the new ß rule is not that difficult (the old one wasn't, either, but I'd argue that the new one is even easier ... but well, most people don't get it either way).

if it's du or Du, etc.

That's a matter of choice, actually ... and it's not too different from the old rule, where it was mainly a matter of choice as well. I mean, the only occasion when you ever capitalise Du is in birthday cards. Few of them will win a literature prize, anyway.

A lot of the new rules work on an "anything goes" base ... but then, some rules surprisingly don't. You can go "ich habe Recht" and "ich habe recht", but you can only go "es tut mir leid" (even though, at some stage, "es tut mir Leid" was allowed as well) ... I have no idea why they didn't just go for universal decapitalisation at all when they set out to reform the spelling, anyway. der gefangene floh is not really a convinving counter argument for me.

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

but the new ß rule is not that difficult (the old one wasn't, either, but I'd argue that the new one is even easier ... but well, most people don't get it either way)

Yes, in theory. But the decision to change one set of arbitrary rules for another seems pointless. Is there much of an argument for retaining it at all? The Swiss gave it up years ago, and they're doing all right.

I mean, the only occasion when you ever capitalise Du is in birthday cards.

The rule I learnt was that it was capitalised in direct address -- so in letters and sundry contexts apart from birthday cards. Hence the confusion as to what to do on the internet.

 

[Pacifica]

Isn't "du" pretty much always used in direct address, that is, when you're addressing the second person in question? Or do you mean, by direct address, apostrophes like "O Du Etaoin, du bist eine wunderliche Frau"?