News:

Eurofurence 28 — "Cyberpunk"
Sep 18 – 21, 2024
CCH — Congress Center Hamburg


The Awful German Language

Started by Onkel Kage, 28.04.2007, 19:01:43

Previous topic - Next topic

Zefiro

Quote from: Onkel Kage on 20.09.2007, 23:38:56
Quote from: Zefiro on 20.09.2007, 11:49:26
I assume you also didn't think we wish every female noun to be dead :)
Do you refer to the Meistersinger that everyone wants to kill?
No, I'm referring not to any person but to our definite article for female nouns, which is "Die" :)
Usage example: Die Küchenschabe.

*purrr*

CodeCat

Well nobody's stopping you from using der for them. We Dutch have been doing that for centuries! ;)
Join #eurofurs on anthrochat.net! Everyone is welcome!

TheSonicGod

Quote from: Onkel Kage on 19.09.2007, 21:14:21
Why is it that when you send a gift in English, you are trying to make someone happy...

...but when you send a gift in German you are trying to make someone dead?

When I, an Anglophone, say to Nightfox, a DeutschGrammophone, "Nightfox, I have sent you a gift," should he be excited or frightened?


It is one of those "unfriendly" words that got mixed up in translations. I believe that a present (to give someone a gift) is "Geschenk." Correct me if I am wrong.

Similar to how "Who" and "Where" got mixed up in translation:

Who = Wer
Where = Wo

Okami

In case you missed my sketch on Stage Fever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ2hWeI_u60

I fucking love the english language.
If you hear a wolf howl, you can guess which pain he feels.

Arwooo~!

TheSonicGod

Bleah... English is like... gumbo soup. You mix just about everything that you think tastes good and you just get something that's mediocre.

German is like a show of fireworks. Beautiful and powerful. Sounds cool, too! ^^

K9Primate

#35
Well you know what they say; the grass always looks greener on the neighbor's lawn.
Both languages have their peculiarities methinks.
Personally I prefer English, but German is a cool language nonetheless. ;)

Something in between Dutch and English: ;D

Rot Young

A terrible infant, called Peter
sprinkled his bed with a gheter.
His father got woost
took hold of a cnoost
and gave him a pack on his meter.
Furcode: FCM3df A--- C+ D H+ M- P+ R+ T+ W--- Z Sm RLAT a++ c e f- h* i+ j* p- sm+

CodeCat

Ah yes, John O' Mill...  ;D
Join #eurofurs on anthrochat.net! Everyone is welcome!

TheSonicGod

Dutch and German have common ground in the Afrikaans language, I believe...

English may be Germanic, but in English's history, it's even related to Danish and Icelandic.

o'wolf

Quote from: TheSonicGod on 09.10.2007, 06:11:13
Dutch and German have common ground in the Afrikaans language, I believe...

Only Dutch. Before anyone gets hurt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaans

Is it that things really change? Or does the outside rearrange?
Is perception genuine? Or does truth lie deep beneath the skin?
— Alexander James Adams, Blood and Passion

CodeCat

Quote from: TheSonicGod on 09.10.2007, 06:11:13English may be Germanic, but in English's history, it's even related to Danish and Icelandic.
And those are Germanic too, so it still fits. :P
Join #eurofurs on anthrochat.net! Everyone is welcome!

Nightfox

Now i know why people frome the us sometimes ask if germany is near brasil   ;D

K9Primate

Apparently it's not quite clear where these languages originate from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanic_languages
But it looks like they're all somewhat related. :)
Furcode: FCM3df A--- C+ D H+ M- P+ R+ T+ W--- Z Sm RLAT a++ c e f- h* i+ j* p- sm+

TheSonicGod

Well, something simple. The Scandinavian word for "I" is "Jeg," or "Jag," which curiously sounds very similar. (The G is silent, a trait of Scandinavian and the English languages.)

In Old English, the word for "I" is "Ic." (pronounced "itch".) "Ich," the German word for I, sounds similar, and is also orthographically similar.

The word for "You" in German, in its informal form, is "du," however, is much closer to the word "thou" in certain cases. "Thou" is obsolete in today's modern English.