The Awful German Language (1880)
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The Awful German Language (1880)
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Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#2Even if you don't know a word German, it's Mark Twain, and therefore well worth a read. If you don't know German, the essay makes you want to learn German so that you, too, can suffer along with the author.
Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#3Heh, its honestly not that bad of a language, and has undergone two reforms (maybe 3? I forget) since this document was created.
The "awful" parts of German are in some ways its saving grace. Example: surfing is Wellenreiten, literally wave-riding or riding waves. This whole thing is all over German with compound words.
Its really no different conceptually from "the old blue car" in English, its just mashed together as a single compound word without spaces. You get used to it fast and then get to (maybe) impress your friends by belting out insanely long words in German.
Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#4Heh, its honestly not that bad of a language, and has undergone two reforms (maybe 3? I forget) since this document was created. The "awful" parts of German are in some ways its saving grace. Example: surfing is Wellenreiten, literally wave-riding or riding waves. This whole thing is all over German with compound words. Its really no different conceptually from "the old blue car" in English, its just mashed together…
Some of the compound words are really quite funny, too... two of my favorites, randomly encountered recently: gloves/mittens are "Handschuhe" (hand shoes), and a porcupine is "Stachelschwein" (spike/quill pig).
Very intuitive actually!
Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#5Heh, its honestly not that bad of a language, and has undergone two reforms (maybe 3? I forget) since this document was created. The "awful" parts of German are in some ways its saving grace. Example: surfing is Wellenreiten, literally wave-riding or riding waves. This whole thing is all over German with compound words. Its really no different conceptually from "the old blue car" in English, its just mashed together…
Some of the compound words are really quite funny, too... two of my favorites, randomly encountered recently: gloves/mittens are "Handschuhe" (hand shoes), and a porcupine is "Stachelschwein" (spike/quill pig). Very intuitive actually!
Porcupine is the same thing, just using latinate roots rather than native English/Germanic ones.
Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#6Even if you don't know a word German, it's Mark Twain, and therefore well worth a read. If you don't know German, the essay makes you want to learn German so that you, too, can suffer along with the author.
Also this bit from Connecticut Yankee
"She had exactly the German way; whatever was in her mind to be delivered, whether a mere remark, or a sermon, or a cyclopedia, or the history of a war, she would get it into a single sentence or die. Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his Atlantic with his verb in his mouth."
Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#7Heh, its honestly not that bad of a language, and has undergone two reforms (maybe 3? I forget) since this document was created. The "awful" parts of German are in some ways its saving grace. Example: surfing is Wellenreiten, literally wave-riding or riding waves. This whole thing is all over German with compound words. Its really no different conceptually from "the old blue car" in English, its just mashed together…
To me, as a Germany, it felt rather strange that in English it isn't the same.
Like, why would you add a space between two words that are meant to be read together?
Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some of the compound words are really quite funny, too... two of my favorites, randomly encountered recently: gloves/mittens are "Handschuhe" (hand shoes), and a porcupine is "Stachelschwein" (spike/quill pig). Very intuitive actually!
Porcupine is the same thing, just using latinate roots rather than native English/Germanic ones.
Ah, yes, that makes perfect sense! So many word roots hiding in plain sight...
Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#9Heh, its honestly not that bad of a language, and has undergone two reforms (maybe 3? I forget) since this document was created. The "awful" parts of German are in some ways its saving grace. Example: surfing is Wellenreiten, literally wave-riding or riding waves. This whole thing is all over German with compound words. Its really no different conceptually from "the old blue car" in English, its just mashed together…
Then there are also slightly funny ones
-plane / Flugzeug / flight stuff
-lighter / Feuerzeug / fire stuff
-light bulb / Glühbirne / Glow pear
-eyeball / Augapfel / Eye apple
Re: The Awful German Language (1880)
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some of the compound words are really quite funny, too... two of my favorites, randomly encountered recently: gloves/mittens are "Handschuhe" (hand shoes), and a porcupine is "Stachelschwein" (spike/quill pig). Very intuitive actually!
Porcupine is the same thing, just using latinate roots rather than native English/Germanic ones.
Ditto for Hippopotamus (Greek base for River Horse) and the German Nilpferd - Nile Horse.