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On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

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Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#311

Post by wheels »

m_fayer wrote: post #120
jillesvangurp wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing that is specific to Berlin is that increasingly bars and cafes are staffed by foreigners. This is a quirk of the German employment system, a scarcity of staff, and the wide availability of expats in need of gigs. Instead of hiring permanent staff and paying them a salary, it's less risky to have temporary workers. However, you can't do that endlessly with the same people in the German system. You would have…

When I moved to Berlin 15 years ago, this was not the case. Many bars and cafes were staffed by German-speaking people in their 30s - underpaid artistic or intellectual types or professional partiers making an extra buck. This had a particular charm - they were often cranky and unconcerned, but they kept the same job for a long time and you could get to know them and feel like a "regular." This kept me returning to t…

I've been in Berlin for 17 years, and in my early days in Berlin, a room in a shared apartment could be found for as little as €75/month (e.g. 6 bedroom apartment), and studio apartments could be found for €250/month. Hell, I paid €450/month for my 2 bedroom (3. Zimmer in German parlance) in Alt-Treptow (800 meters from Schlesicher Str., where I worked).

That opened up a lot of quirky social possibilities because the floor for survival was so low in Berlin. If an artist could throw together €400/month, they could survive on that. Now that's what a room in a shared apartment costs.

Even when I started a tech company, I got my cost of living down to €800/month, in the above apartment, which I shared with my co-founder.

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#312

Post by zvr »

DoughnutHole wrote: post #290
MayeulC wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IDK, it sounds OK to me: you make plans for meeting, you'll decide what to do on the spot, "improvising". Meeting is definitly not done spontaneously. Neither is choosing the activity. The choice, however, may be spontaneous.

Spontaneity implies impulse, without forethought. You just wouldn't say something was something spontaneous if it was at all planned. Having a plan to do X, but working out the exact details later is not spontaneous unless there's a radical departure from the plan. Situation 1: On your way home from work you run into an old friend and decide to go to the nearest bar. In retrospect you would call that outing spontaneo…

You meet your friend at a pre-arranged time, walk down the street and spontaneously choose which bar to enter.

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#313

Post by joseda-hg »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #294
treis wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone else curious: B1 Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and brie…

I wish I could admit to being able to tell a significant difference between those two lists.

From what I gather C2 - Borderline Native

B2 - A fluent, but not overly practiced level, An example that comes to mind, First Generation migrant that is usually surrounded by people that speak it's native language, they can clearly communicate, but might slip on word order or particularly complex information

A2 - Think about the level of someone that paid attention in 2nd language classes, simple sentences, describing yourself and your immediate enviroment

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#314

Post by ben_w »

dfawcus wrote: post #309
ben_w wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Comedian Dara O'Brien wanted to name one of his shows something like "Good craic", but was told he couldn't because the British would colossally misunderstand.

Misunderstand in what manner? The written form, the spoken form, or some minor meaning? The spoken "crack" has currency from around Yorkshire / Lancashire north, meaning "news" / "gossip" / "comversation", it'd not be confused. South of there is isn't so common. Many folks in the northern part recognise the Irishised spelling, but not all. Have a read of the first paragraph of this, which (as far as GB goes) is a fai…

Misunderstood as the homophone crack is type of cocaine.

Either that or butt checks, which are also euphemistically someone's "crack", but the implication I took from it being disallowed was the former.

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#315

Post by vr46 »

cyberpunk wrote: post #267
vr46 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was at the local immigration office only a few weeks ago and German language skills are still very much required for PR. One doesn't need it for the family reunion visa and work permit, but does for PR. There is talk of dropping this requirement, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Where are you from? Post brexit I was just handed perm residence with no language test and one short form… I do speak German, and have a German native child though.

London. It depends when one applied. If you were already there and it was by 30/6/21 then you would have been handled normally under the Withdrawal Agreement, if after, you are able to rejoin on a family reunion visa by dint of having a German child - with no language requirement - but that still isn't permanent residency. All that said, there appears to - still - be some lack of clarify between various government departments on this front. Not sure why, because the UK is now a third-country and that should be the end of that.

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#316

Post by trallnag »

boffinAudio wrote: post #81
larodi wrote: post #62

(joke warning) The omnipresent English in Europe is the Mohammad English, a very simplified and useful version - spoken by most middle-eastern emigrant, and some Balkan residents. Next to it is the very distinct (by its accent) French-English.

Not funny. Prejudiced. The trope of "Mohammad in Germany" is sinister and should not be propagated in that realm.

Next time he will send you a trigger warning beforehand.

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#317

Post by mietek »

ElevenLathe wrote: post #269

It's not just German. Language groups around the world are struggling to fit English vocabularly into their language. My favorite English borrowing into Polish is probably kolesław (pronounced something like COAL-eh-suave) for coleslaw, but there are so many that it's hard to choose. Poles in Chicago decline "Milwaukee" (the street) as if it were a Polish plural ("na Milwaukach"). I'm fairly OK in Polish but still fi…

The funniest thing about „kolesław” is that the suffix makes it sound like a traditional Slavic first name: Bogusław, Jarosław, Mirosław, Stanisław, Władysław…

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imiona_słowiańskie#Imiona_złoż...

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#318

Post by netsharc »

marban wrote: post #61

I honestly can't be friends with people who use beamer and public viewing in one sentence.

One of my favorite anecdotes: A German was going to show the football game at his place, but had to cancel because his beamer broke, so he sent an email to the people he invited.

An American who got the email wondered why they couldn't watch the game because the German's BMW broke down...

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#319

Post by nerdbert »

zvr wrote: post #312
DoughnutHole wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spontaneity implies impulse, without forethought. You just wouldn't say something was something spontaneous if it was at all planned. Having a plan to do X, but working out the exact details later is not spontaneous unless there's a radical departure from the plan. Situation 1: On your way home from work you run into an old friend and decide to go to the nearest bar. In retrospect you would call that outing spontaneo…

You meet your friend at a pre-arranged time, walk down the street and spontaneously choose which bar to enter.

That still sounds weird. You knew you were going to choose a bar to enter, just not which one. That's not really spontaneity. It's just postponing the final details of your plan.

Spontaneity isn't going to the restaurant as agreed, but without being sure what you would order to drink.

It's bumping into an old friend on the way back from the post office and deciding "fuck my conference call at 3, let's go catch up for coffee right now."

Re: On the unexpected joys of Denglisch, Berlinglish and global Englisch

#320

Post by nerdbert »

wendyshu wrote: post #289
ben_w wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm British by birth, I chose Berlin after Brexit because: 1. Friends here 2. Alternative countries were Luxembourg/Switzerland (more expensive); Canada (worse weather); Ireland (fear I might get blamed personally for the stupid done by British politicians, and the UK Gov was being loudly stupid about Ireland at the time); USA (weird culture, guns); Australia/New Zealand (too far from the old country to visit regular…

Why are you afraid of police with guns?

It feels like a sign that the authorities believe there is at least a medium likelihood of Bad Things Happening.
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