eulisch - mea sog i ned

Standard German taste of Marriage

"Standard German was created mainly for economical and religious purposes." Allowing this statement to be worth a thought, one gets a simple reason for many crazy, funny, unbelievable or naughty misunderstandings within the use of this language.


There is - for example - this poem which Julie Katharina von Hausmann wrote in 1862 to illustrate her devotedness to the Lord. It later was set into music by Friedrich Silcher, who composed quite a number of still well-known German songs, some orchestral and chamber music and motets.


The poem goes like this:

So nimm denn meine Hände

Und führe mich

Bis an mein selig Ende

Und ewiglich!

Ich mag allein nicht gehen,

Nicht einen Schritt;

Wo du wirst geh'n und stehen,

Da nimm mich mit.

In dein Erbarmen Hülle

Mein schwaches Herz

Und mach es gänzlich stille

In Freud und Schmerz.

Laß ruhn zu deinen Füßen

Dein armes Kind;

Es will die Augen schließen

Und glauben blind.

Wenn ich auch gleich nicht fühle

Von deiner Macht,

Du bringst mich doch zum Ziele,

Auch durch die Nacht.

So nimm denn meine Hände

Und führe mich

Bis an mein selig Ende

Und ewiglich!

We see Miss von Hausmann was a deeply feeling, religious woman. Reading her biography you may learn that she must have had a silent, serious and caring nature, valuing as much as suffering solicitude, cheering up and strengthening herself by contemplation and praying.


From nowadays perspective the style of the poem as well as the expressed humility might appear a bit weird. Back in her times she touched the hearts of people and especially with this poem and the musical realisation by Silcher even became famous beyond the German speaking regions. A North-American gentleman, ordinated and with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Hermann Heinrich (Henry) Moritz (Maurice) Brueckner, found it worth to be translated into English. Obviously he understood the original intention of the Baltic-German lady very well. With his translation he offers us the correct interpretation I am sure:

O take my hand, dear Father, and lead Thou me,

Till at my journey's ending I dwell with Thee.

Alone I cannot wander one single day,

So do Thou guide my footsteps on life's rough way.

O cover with Thy mercy my poor, weak heart,

Lest I in joy or sorrow from Thee depart.

Permit Thy child to linger here at Thy feet,

Thy goodness blindly trusting with faith complete.

Though oft Thy power but faintly may stir my soul,

With Thee, my Light in darkness, I reach the goal.

Take then my hand, dear Father, and lead Thou me,

Till at my journey's ending I dwell with Thee.

Understood like that the song became appropriate and often used at funerals even by and for less emotional disposed fellows. But now let us enjoy the truly weird German component of it. While the meaning was rather clear for the translator into English and so he did not hesitate the addressing of "dear Father" whenever he found it useful for the meter, in the German text you have to know what it is talking about. The German only says "Du" - "you", and this "you" can be anyone - no? Members of many German folks tend to interpret what they hear according to their own needs and perceptions. And as quite some of them were (are?) using a created Standard language besides their idiom, they make anything in the Standard language an abstract of what they would have liked to be expressed.


My dear mother nearly hated this song, because she did not come to know with it as an uplifting hymne during the sad hours of a funeral, but as the fixation of her status in marriage during her wedding. Let's see what happens if you try to translate the poem literally:

So well, take my hands

and lead me

until I reach my blessed end

and eternally!

I don't want to go alone,

not one single step;

wherever you will walk and stand

take me with you.

Cover with your mercy

my weak heart

make it completely silent

in joy and pain.

Let rest at your feet

your poor child;

it wants to close its eyes

blindly believing.

Even if I do not feel at once

your power,

you lead me to the goal

even through the night.

So well, take my hands

and lead me

until I reach my blessed end

and eternally!

You see? As a romantic German groom with a knowledge about how your future wife has to behave to be happy according to her nature you will immediately understand that this "you" is yourself and the bride is singing for "you". Of course you could never tell her that in your idiom, because she might not favor submissiveness as much as you do, but with a Standard German poem you will impress her and show that you are an educated man. And she will love that. 

Feel free to follow your own thoughts from here on ...

illiteracy and other lacks we deeply care about

While coming to know with this social campaign people in German countries found many more lacks they have and started other campaigns by themselves:

















After so much grief and compassion we can only worry altogether about the following:

experiment III

Diese Geschichte beginnt mit einer Hochzeit. Sie wurde in einer Stadt im Süden gefeiert, an einem heißen Sommertag, an dem die Luft am frühen Morgen schon schwer war vom Duft der Rosen, stark und voluminös wie von einem orientalischen Parfum; und die auftauchenden Wolkenfetzen am Himmel verrieten, dass spätestens am Abend ein Gewitter zu erwarten wäre.

Es war eine erstaunliche Eheschließung. Und sie erregte die Gemüter vieler. Nur die beiden Hauptbeteiligten schienen von all dem aufgeregten Treiben um sie herum gänzlich unberührt zu bleiben. Was nicht bedeutet, dass sie nur mit sich selbst zu tun gehabt hätten, nur noch Augen und Ohren füreinander, wie man es in romantischer Verklärung aus späterer Zeit erzählt. Damals wurden Ehen noch arrangiert und man hatte es nicht für nötig befunden, hatte sogar alle Sorgfalt darauf verwandt, sie bis zu ihrer Vereinigung vor dem Priester einander und den Gästen nicht vorzustellen. Und gerade aus diesem Grunde erregte ihre Bereitwilligkeit sich mit den Gegebenheiten abzufinden - oder sollte man es gar für Teilnahmslosigkeit halten? - Verwunderung.

Vom Bräutigam durfte man es freilich nicht anders erwarten. Schon seit man ihn kannte, und das waren mittlerweile eine ganze Reihe von Jahren, nachdem er ursprünglich wie aus dem Nichts aufgetaucht war, hatte sein Verhalten stets Anlaß zu der Vermutung gegeben, er sei des Empfindens überhaupt nicht fähig. Weder in Aktionen noch in Reaktionen konnte man ihn allgemeine Erwartungen der Gesellschaft erfüllen sehen; statt dessen oftmals in einer Art und Weise agieren, als sei er außerstande, einzelne Erfordernisse zu erkennen, anzuerkennen und nachzuvollziehen. Hier einmal erschien er fügsam. Die junge und, wie man als Selbstverständlichkeit unterstellte, schöne Braut, obgleich sie vielen gänzlich und einigen noch sehr fremd war, konnte und wollte man nicht in dieses Urteil mit einschließen. Die Unbekümmertheit, die man an ihr beobachtete, mochte man als Naivität oder Durchtriebenheit auslegen. Kurios erschien sie allemal.

Es kursierten die unterschiedlichsten Gerüchte, warum man ausgerechnet sie für diese Ehe erwählt hatte. Und die, die diese Wahl getroffen hatte, hielt sich wohlweislich bedeckt. Soviel wußte man aber: Von ihm konnte das Motiv hierzu nicht ausgehen, denn ...

"when Chattis chat" or "wenn Chatten chatten"

The Chattis were an ancient Germanic tribe. During times of the barbarian migration they came from the nowhere suddenly deciding to settle in the middle of somewhere. As Tacitus tells us they gave troubles to the Romans and some Celtic tribes. And obviously they liked the place because their progeny still is living there. And that one can only also say about the Frisians.


During centuries the region was occupied, segmented, re-assembled ... until 1946 when they decided for being the German federal state "Hessen".  The development of the name from "Chatten" to "Hessen" did not need as long, we already find it in the medieval times. 


Now the Chattis certainly had a kind of own language. Though as there are no written documents from them we cannot say what it was like. Nowadays besides Standard German there is to be said a hessian dialect. Local radio and tv programs make use of it. To me it seems more like a Standard German with a local touch. That does not mean that the origin of the idioms in Hessen got completely lost. More that there are more than one idiom and many local differences. 


Enjoy:






..

By the way: the correct term nowadays would be "wenn de Hesse babbele". :)

Linklist for learning Standard German

There may be many good sites on the internet which help you to learn Standard German. Here are my personal favorites from inside Austria, Germany and Switzerland for you:

Online Lessons

http://www.book2.de/

book2 contains 100 lessons that provide beginners with a basic vocabulary. With no prior knowledge, you will learn to fluently speak short sentences in real-world situations in no time. The book2 method successfully combines audio and text for effective language learning.

book2 corresponds to the Common European Framework levels A1 and A2 and is therefore suitable for all types of schools and students. The audio files can also be effectively used as a supplement in language schools and language courses. Adults who have learned a language in school can refresh their knowledge using book2.

book2 is available in over 40 languages and in approximately 1600 language combinations, e.g. German to English, English to Spanish, Spanish to Chinese etc.

The 100 lessons help you to quickly learn and use a foreign language in various situations (e.g. in a hotel or restaurant, on a vacation, small talk, getting to know people, shopping, at the doctor, at the bank etc.). You can download the audio files to your mp3-player and listen to them anywhere – at a bus stop or a train station, in the car, and during a lunch break! To get the most out of book2, learn one lesson a day and regularly repeat what you have already learned in previous lessons. 

The goal of the free audio-project book2 is to encourage people all over the world to learn foreign languages and to increase understanding between countries and cultures. You can support the project by downloading the audio files and sharing them with children, friends, and colleagues! 

http://www.curso-de-aleman.de/
Manual de alemán para hispanohablantes. Con este manual puede aprender el alemán en linea.
La gramática alemana completa con cantidad de ejemplos de voz. Claramente explicada con una navegación fácil. 


http://www.german-grammar.de/
Manual of German language for English speakers. With this manual you can learn German online and for free. The complete German grammar with lots of sound examples. Explained in a clear manner easy to understand with an easy navigation. 


http://www.allemand-online.de/
Manuel d' allemand pour les francophones. Avec ce manuel vous pouvez apprendre l' allemand en ligne. Toute la grammaire allemande avec 6000 exemples de voix. Clairement expliquée avec une navégation simple. 


http://www.tedesco-online.de/
Manuale dalla lingua tedesca per italofoni. Con questo manuale lei púo imparare il tedesco online. La grammatica tedesca completa con tanti esempi di voce e esercici. Chiaramente spiegata con una navegazione semplice.


http://www.busuu.com/enc
Fun way learning of several languages. Learning the language you would like to speak, helping others with your native language.  


http://www.deutschalsfremdsprache.ch/
free handouts for classroom teaching

Dictionaries and Grammar

http://www.canoo.net/index_en.html (English)
http://www.dict.cc/ (several languages)
http://rio.paukerin.com/pauker/DE_DE//wb/ (several languages)
http://dict.leo.org/ (several languages)
http://www.myjmk.com/ (Español)

for your own writing and reading fun

http://www.e-stories.de/
Hier findest Du über 100.000 Kurzgeschichten, Gedichte, Geschichten und Romane aus allen Kategorien und verschiedenen Sprachen.
z.B. Liebesgeschichten und -gedichte, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Märchen, Krimis, Belletristik und vieles mehr!

http://es.e-stories.org/

Aquí encontrarás la posibilidad de leer relatos cortos y disfrutar con las palabras de los poemas. Simplemente siéntate y relájate.
e-Stories.org no es simplemente un nuevo portal de poesía. Nosotros publicamos en distintas lenguas (español, inglés, italiano, francés, alemán, portugués y holandés). Aprende nuevas lenguas y haz amigos en todo el mundo.
¿Has escrito algún relato corto o algún poema? Entonces estás en el lugar perfecto.
Debido a la popularidad de e-stories, te ofrecemos la posibilidad de enviar relatos cortos en muchos idiomas, así como poemas. Aquí encontrarás diversas categorías, como fantasía, horror, humor... y mucho más.



http://en.e-stories.org/

Here you’ll find the opportunity to read short stories and enjoy the words of poems. Just sit back and relax.

e-Stories.org is not just another new poetry-site. We publish in several languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch). Learn new languages and make friends all over the world!

You have written a short story or a poem? Then you’re at the right place.

Due to the popularity of e-stories we offer now the possibility to submit short stories as well as poems in many languages. Here you will find many categories like fantasy, horror, humor, and much more.

http://fr.e-stories.org/

Ici tu as l'occasion de lire des nouvelles et de savourer les mots poétiques. Tout bonnement, installe-toi confortablement et détends-toi.

e-stories.org n'est pas simplement un nouveau site de poésie. Nous publions dans plusieurs langues (français, anglais, allemand, espagnol, italien, portugais et hollandais). Tu peux ainsi découvrir de nouvelles langues et te faire des amis à travers le monde entier.
Tu as écrit une nouvelle ou un poème? Alors tu es au bon endroit.
Grâce à la popularité de e-stories, nous t'offrons la possibilité de nous soumettre des nouvelles ou/et des poèmes dans beaucoup de langues.




http://nl.e-stories.org//
Hier vind jij de mogelijkheid verhaaltjes te lezen en de intrigerende woorden van gedichten te genieten. Zit eventjes lekker en relax.

e-Stories.org is niet zomaar en nieuwe gedichten-site. Wij publiceren in verscheidene taalen (Nederlands, Engels, Frans, Duits, Spaans, Italiaans, Portugees). Leer nieuwe taalen en vrienden in het heele wereld kennen.
Jij heb een verhaaltje of een gedicht geschrijven? Dan ben jij hier op het juiste site.
Op e-stories heb jij de mogelijkheid jouw werken een grote publiek toegankelijk te maken. Daarvoor bestaan er enkele domeinen: fantasy, horror, humor en nog veel meer.


http://it.e-stories.org/

Qua hai la possibilità di leggere racconti e storie e goderti le parole di poesie. Siediti e rilassati!
e-Stories.org non è un sito nuovo soltando una pubblicazione in tante lingue (Italiano, Inglese, Francese, Tedesco, Spagnolo, Portoghese, Olandese).
Insegna lingue nuove e fai nuove amicizie.
Hai scritto dei racconti o delle poesie? Allora ti trovi nel posto giusto.
Qua hai la possibilità di trovare storie di categorie diverse come fantasia, orrore, umorismo e tante altre.




http://pt.e-stories.org/ 
Aqui você terá a oportunidade de ler pequenas histórias e apreciar as palavras de vários poemas.Só se sente novamente confortável e relaxante.

e-Stories.org não é como outro novo site de poesias. Nós publicamos em várias línguas (Português, Inglês, Francês, Espanhol, Aléman, Italiano e Holandês). Aprenda novas línguas e faça amigos por todo o mundo!
Você já escreveu uma pequena história ou até mesmo um poema? Bem, você está no lugar certo!!!
Devido a popularidade do e-stories nós oferecemos à você a possibilidade de submeter suas histórias,assim como poemas em nossa página. Aqui você encontrará muitas categorias como : Horror, fantasia, humor e muito mais!

Johannes Bobrowski

One of the poets I like is Johannes Bobrowski for words like these:

Sprache

Der Baum
größer als die Nacht
mit dem Atem der Talseen
mit dem Geflüster über
der Stille

Die Steine
unter dem Fuß
die leuchtenden Adern
lange im Staub
für ewig

Sprache
abgehetzt
mit dem müden Mund
auf dem endlosen Weg

zum Hause des Nachbarn

His writing breathes baltic and slavic influences. His way to describe is inimitable. You will see the landscape  and the way of life in the region that surrounded him formed with words.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Bobrowski

OmU

I find it a very nice idea to make linguistical and cultural peculiarities accessible for non-adepts via subtitles ... lol.

Experience I

On a skiing holiday in the Gasteinertal I got separated from my family. My father had given me a wink to jump into the next gondola, they would follow with one of the next. In the cabin were parents with a boy a bit younger than me. I was 13, he might have been 11. As soon as we started to go uphill the boy asked his father about cable cars and got to hear a lot of interesting details. Besides that I was interested in the matter as much as the boy I found the "dialect" of father and son very interesting. By their friendly interaction I felt encouraged to add one or two own questions and though the boy stared at me I got my answer extended and interupted by "verstehst du?" after some sentences. The "verstehst du?" was added in Standard German while the rest was spoken in their "dialect". I thought they might be surprised about a girl with interest in technics. When we had reached the upper end of the cable I thanked the father and wished both of them a nice day. While leaving the cabin I heared the boy whispering: "What did she say?" And the father told him: "Well, she is speaking German and she wished us a nice day." The boy asked: "But did she understand what we were speaking?" I turned round and said: "Sure. It's great you know so much about cable cars." I had to jump out and there the conversation ended.


When my family finally came I told them about it imitating the words of the father. It gave them much fun when I said I had discovered a dialect I had never heard before. By my vague performance they had learnt it was no dialect at all. "That's Dutch, girl." laughed my father. "Nonsense," I responded, "if it was a different language I would not have understood what they said."


Well, it was Dutch and of course it is a different language. With honest respect for all Dutch people nobody would say they were talking some kind of German. Still for people who have their language roots in some other Germanic idiom Dutch might be rather simple to learn. And if this blog was not only about Germanic languages in Central Europe - because these are the ones I know a bit about - I could add Danish, Swedish, Norwegian ... are great to discover, too.  


English of course is no exception. In Europe as in many other places of the world it is omnipresent as a second language - which does not mean that anyone would speak it correctly besides the native speakers. My last English teacher used to tell us that foreigners get along very well with their kind of English if they talk to other foreigners. The confusion starts when one single English native speaker enters their group and they have to find out that what they talk is no English at all. :) 


Years later I had a similar experience working as a receptionist at a hotel. A guest required some information and while answering in English I realized he would talk in a different language. After a while he laughed and said: "Hey, it is really fun to talk like this. I understand English quite well, but I prefer to speak my own language." I agreed it was nice, but I could not make out what it was. "You do not speak Dutch, do you?" "Very close," he said. "It's Afrikaans. But I can talk in some languages you will have no access to." And so it was when he let me hear some sentences in Xhosa.

What Goscinny reached and Goethe did not

When you ask around which author is known beyond the borders of Germany you still hear the name Goethe, though not many people really have read pieces of his work. And when you ask about The Netherlands you hear nothing at all which is very injust. Hopefully I will have enough time to introduce some of their very fine writers to you.

For the today's entry we may state that Goethe's books are translated into many languages, but not into many Germanic idioms. This is something a writer with a very different style reached effortlessly: Albert Goscinny together with his congenial partner René Uderzo. Not only that the famous "Asterix" comics were translated into about 80 languages, they are partly also available in a big number of regional idioms. For the speakers of a Germanic language in central Europe beyond Dutch, Flemish and German those are:

Alemannisch
Badisch
Bayrisch
Berlinerisch
Düsseldorferisch
Fränkisch
Frysk
Hamburgisch
Hessisch
Hunsrücker Platt
Kärntnerisch
Kölsch
Lëtzebuergesch
Limburgs
Mainzerisch
Moselfränkisch
Münchnerisch
Ostfriesisch
Pfälzisch
Plattdeutsch
Ruhrdeutsch
Saarländisch
Sächsisch
Schwäbisch
Schyzerdütsch
Steirisch
Südtirolerisch
Thüringisch
Tirolerisch
Unterfränkisch
Westfälisch
Wienerisch

And you may listen yourself:

"n e i derländisch" is not always a typo ...

... you see. There are lost languages and Neiderländisch is one of them. It belongs to the Germanic* Silesian language group, nowadays only spoken by some people who still know it from their childhood - but the very most living apart from the original region. 


Quite a number of Germanic idioms are in the danger of getting extinct these days like species of animals and plants are getting extinct - or are in danger to. And with any of them our planet is loosing part of its variety. Neiderländisch is almost lost already. It was more or less erased and with it the specific culture of the district wau's reiber und neiber eiber de Auder geiht (on both sides of the river Oder). Humans may experience that as personal destiny - ethnic groups as a loss of identity. While the Neiderländer were not asked about their future wishes when they where asked to leave their home region after WWII, people nowadays have an option to decide for or against the regional idiom. 


*The Silesian language of nowadays is a Slavic language spoken mainly in a region of Poland. It is similar to Polish in grammar, but the vocabulary is influenced by German and Czech.

Raod veur't Limburgs

Now that we all have standard languages so that we finally understand each other and at least get a chance to use what even a scientist would consider a language correctly with all its patterns of orthography and grammar, there are some people who hold on to the opinion that we should not forget what we call "dialects" nowadays. In some German regions there is a real "dialect-renaissance" emotionally discussed by strong supporters and strict opponents - and neglected by a mayority of indifferents. The actively involved use scientific categories, heritage, social aspects to argument for the one or the other. And anyone of them must have a profound reason to do so.


As I said in the beginning, my approach is not scientific - it is creative. I love varieties. I value the richness of all of these "old" idioms and I am most curious about the new ones. There are people who might be happy to eat mama's guglhupf every Sunday and some of them might give you a lesson that everything needed for a cake is in this recipe: flour, milk, butter, sugar, eggs - so why try anything else made from the same ingredients. I love to taste the difference. It enriches me, it provides insight, it supports development. And if a cake is traditional in only one house you might be sure that I am interested to taste it.


So for me even in regions where only around 10% of the inhabitants still speak the former local idiom actively these 10% are most valuable inhabitants with a special approach to life in their language. Any language has certain expressions to describe common situations. And from these expressions you can learn how serious - or with how much humor - daily occurrencies are perceived and dealt with. 


"Dialects" in De Nederlands are as repelled by the standard language as in most of the German regions. Now Dutch is a very lovely  and down-to-earth language and the inhabitants of De Nederlands seem to be quite happy with it. Still the older regional varieties are in the minds of some people who want to support their continuing existence. A bigger group of dialects originally spoken in the South of De Nederlands, but also in the North-East part of  België and a small region in Germany is named "Limburgs" after the Dutch province Limburg.


It shows similarities with the Dutch, with German varieties and has its own special expressions. Fortunately there is someone taking care of this treasure. The "Raod veur't Limburgs" has a wonderful site with bunches of interesting informations on it. Try http://www.limburgsedialecten.nl/sjablonen/dialecten/index.asp?subsite=176 and let yourself inspire by the richness of these varieties and about how anyone can support ones own language with use of the internet.

Orthography

‎"Orthographie ist das Haxl, bei dem die Schullehrer das Schreiben erwischt zu haben meinen, und es also da festhalten; es hinkt dann freilich bei ihnen auf den drei übrigen Beinchen. Dudens deutsche Rechtschreibung ist das dümmste deutsche Buch; und es gibt ihrer viel dumme. Ich würde nie einen Duden in meiner Bibliothek dulden."

Heimito von Doderer

Pronunciation of Standard German

Learning a language one might want to know how to pronounce it correctly. With Standard German one has not much difficulties as it is widely pronounced as written. But as it is a constructed languaged with basics from only one German region the pronunciation gets coloured by different accents. To get deeper into this matter by examples you may inform yourself here: http://www.german-grammar.de/grammar/content/grammar_1_5.htm#chapter2

About the pronunciation of the single vocals and consonants the very perfectionate Germans love to dispute about which one would be the correct one. There is an orderly standardised pronunciation catalogue of course. But in some regions it seems not very practical, although the people might not use a dialect but only allowing themselves an accent. So for anyone from outside I would like to suggest: Just pronounce the single letters as you do in your native language. There will undoubtedly exist a region in which it is pronounced like you do. Should you just stay in a different area you can always honestly confess you would be "not from here". That is what peaceful Germans do, too. You need not get caught in the crossfire about correct pronunciation. 

There are people who pronounce "ch" in the depth of their throats, while others bring it up to their tongue. You may also hear it as "tsch", "sch" or "k". 

There are also people who dare to pronunce -ig on the end of a word as -ig and not as -ich. And for the German "r" I would like to present you the following example as the whole world knows that the Germans cannot pronounce it at all:

experiment II

wanst a ware schnaid hosd
ko's sa doß de de afschnaida schnain
oba de fadrugdn wean de ned druga kena.

playing with language

even with standard languages one can play:

Lëtzebuergesch

Considering that the language we use adds to defining our social identity my distinct interest is in regions and people that have preserved their idiom. A very fine example the inhabitants of the Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg show us. Though Lëtzebuergesch is not considered a language linguistically they hold on to it as one of three official languages (besides French and Standard German). Mainly used as a spoken language it is present in every day life. And if you want to write it - no problem! An official writing was invented in 1946 und has undergone two up-dates. (http://www.al.lu/yuppi/index.htm)


There are influences from the French and German of course, as like in many other regional languages nobody took care of creating new words for new inventions. It also is not only reduced strictly to the Groussherzogtum, but  spoken in the Belgian, French and German regions around.  To get a taste of it you may visit Paul's site: http://www.letzlearn.org/. 

experiment I

zaidlang

lang is ma d'zaid lang fiakema.
so lang wiari denga ko
hob i zaidlang ghobd,
hod's mi namalos gschmeazd
wia da schbade aisreng de kiaschblia -
eiglosd und zrukghoidn
as hoaße drama fom woama foia lem.

easd wia du einagscheind hosd
mi'm woama glanz vo deine aung
wia du mi ogriad hosd
mid deina foia schdim
hods zaidlang an nom griagd: dein
und saidem dram i fo dia.

another metrolect

Something similar to Berlin happened more Western in the town area of Köln. While surrounded by Ripuarian the inhabitants of the famous city are proud of their own idiom "Kölsch". Like Berlinerisch it is absolutely valued as a spoken language and thus in everyday use. We find texts written in Kölsch and musicians who prefer it to other languages.




As a foundation of the Kölner Stadtsparkasse the Akademie för uns kölsche Sproch provides research information, examples and news on http://www.koelsch-akademie.de/.

A "capital dialect"

It is said that the purest Standard German is spoken in the region of Hannover. May it be so. And maybe it's a historical curiosity that the standard language of the German State does not have its source in the language of its capital. But no, Berlin has developed its very own, distinct way to express itself - easily to be recognized in any other part of the Germanic language area. Originally the Berlin district, which long ago was an area with little towns and villages and only slowly grew together during centuries, would belong to a part in which Low German (also named Low Saxon) varieties are spoken. While during times of the Hanseatic League the written language was Latin, after it Berlin adopted Meißnisch as the officialese due to commercial relationships with Meißen, Dresden and Leipzig. In the 17th century when Huguenots and Jews settled in the area of the town they brought their language influence, which was little by little integrated. So the mixture of that all forms the "metrolect" Berlinerisch - nowadays pepped up by some Turkish and other non-germanic influences.

The Awful German Language

The author who wrote an essay with this title was the famous Mr. Marc Twain. You may read the delicious original at this site:

http://www.bergerwerbung.at/files/Potpourri/The_Awful_German_Language_by_Mark_Twain.pdf 


He is talking about written German of course, which he tried to master. Perceiving it as a single and unique language with some dialects, which still is the leading opinion.


Though using English is always something that places myself at the mercy of someone who really speaks it I never thought it awful. Though the nice Brazilian lady in the bakery puts words with and without endings together in a very personal creative way I never thought she would not master German or the local variety. She masters being understood and that's the important thing. Though my favorite German writing author is Heimito von Doderer not only because of his very special talent to describe human relationships and interdependences, societies, locations and the whole scenery and athmosphere that is in the background but also explicitly because of his outstanding perfect use of Standard German involving the specific diction of members of most different groups of society I would never blame anyone for not doing the same. Thus it seems to be the approach again, that makes something more delightful than distressing or vice versa. If you really want to learn a language for some personal reason enjoy learning it as much as possible. Be curious, find characteristics, allow yourself to be not perfect. Well, if you still want to be you may write an essay similar to the magnificent one of Marc Twain ;)