Wednesday 15 December 2010
German Communication Styles
I just came across an illuminating web page explaining German communication styles (and the proverbial/alleged lack of humour). You can find it here.
Sunday 31 October 2010
"Was meint eigentlich Halloween" / Bambi-Lüge
Irgendwie habe ich das Gefühl, dass ich auch Opfer der sogenannten Bambi-Lüge war. Näheres in einem bereits etwas älteren aber durchaus aktuellen und wie üblich sehr unterhaltsamen Zwiebelfisch-Artikel.
Tuesday 14 September 2010
"Judgement" or "Judgment"?
I always assumed that "judgement" is the correct spelling, but when my Word 2003 spellchecker complained about it (with the language flavour set to US English) I looked it up in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (I have an electronic version, of course) and found this interesting entry:
"In British English the normal spelling in general contexts is judgement. However, the spelling judgment is conventional in legal contexts, and in North American English".
"In British English the normal spelling in general contexts is judgement. However, the spelling judgment is conventional in legal contexts, and in North American English".
Monday 23 August 2010
Schnaps or Schnapps?
The German spelling is Schnaps. It's a mystery to me how the second 'p' ended up in the apparently correct (or at least frequently encountered) English schnapps spelling, although the entry in the Duden Herkunftswörterbuch (see below) may give some clues.
Interestingly, the OED lists both version as correct and has this to say on the matter:
"An ardent spirit resembling Hollands gin. 1818 Blackw. Mag. III. 403 Enjoy your schnaps, give sorrow to the wind. 1823 BYRON Juan X. lxxi, Not like slow Germany wherein they muddle Along the road,..and also pause besides, to fuddle, With ‘schnapps’. a1848 O. W. HOLMES On Lend. Punch-bowl 16 He went to Leyden, where he found conventicles and schnaps. 1885 C. LOWE Bismarck II. 488 A General, talking of drinks, had laid down the principle: ‘Red wine for children, Champagne for men, Schnaps for Generals’".
This is what the Duden Herkunftswörterbuch has to say on the matter:
Schnaps: Das ursprünglich nordd. Wort (niederd. Snap[p]s) bezeichnet seit dem 18. Jh. den Branntwein, ursprünglich aber einen Mund voll oder einen schnellen Schluck, wie er gerade beim Branntweintrinken üblich ist. Es ist eine Substantivbildung zu schnappen. Abl.: schnapsen ugs. für »Schnaps trinken« (im 18. Jh. niederd. snappsen). Zus.: Schnapsidee »unsinniger, seltsamer Einfall« (20. Jh.; ein derartiger Einfall kann nur durch zu reichlichen Alkoholgenuss bedingt sein); Schnapszahl »Zahl, die aus mehreren gleichen Ziffern besteht« (20. Jh.; wohl nach der Vorstellung, dass ein Betrunkener beim Lesen einfache Ziffern doppelt oder mehrfach sieht). Duden - Das Herkunftswörterbuch, 3. Aufl. Mannheim 2001 [CD-ROM]
Interestingly, the OED lists both version as correct and has this to say on the matter:
"An ardent spirit resembling Hollands gin. 1818 Blackw. Mag. III. 403 Enjoy your schnaps, give sorrow to the wind. 1823 BYRON Juan X. lxxi, Not like slow Germany wherein they muddle Along the road,..and also pause besides, to fuddle, With ‘schnapps’. a1848 O. W. HOLMES On Lend. Punch-bowl 16 He went to Leyden, where he found conventicles and schnaps. 1885 C. LOWE Bismarck II. 488 A General, talking of drinks, had laid down the principle: ‘Red wine for children, Champagne for men, Schnaps for Generals’".
This is what the Duden Herkunftswörterbuch has to say on the matter:
Schnaps: Das ursprünglich nordd. Wort (niederd. Snap[p]s) bezeichnet seit dem 18. Jh. den Branntwein, ursprünglich aber einen Mund voll oder einen schnellen Schluck, wie er gerade beim Branntweintrinken üblich ist. Es ist eine Substantivbildung zu schnappen. Abl.: schnapsen ugs. für »Schnaps trinken« (im 18. Jh. niederd. snappsen). Zus.: Schnapsidee »unsinniger, seltsamer Einfall« (20. Jh.; ein derartiger Einfall kann nur durch zu reichlichen Alkoholgenuss bedingt sein); Schnapszahl »Zahl, die aus mehreren gleichen Ziffern besteht« (20. Jh.; wohl nach der Vorstellung, dass ein Betrunkener beim Lesen einfache Ziffern doppelt oder mehrfach sieht). Duden - Das Herkunftswörterbuch, 3. Aufl. Mannheim 2001 [CD-ROM]
Sunday 4 July 2010
Babylon currency converter saga
See below for transcript of live chat with Babylon support (as reported earlier today at the IT Help Desk for Translators) for your entertainment.
I have since received an e-mail saying "After talking with my supervisor we reached the conclusion that you cannot change manually the converter" - AAAARRGGGGHHHHH!
********************************************
The following is a record of your online chat.
General Info
Chat start time Jul 4, 2010 7:43:03 AM EST
Chat end time Jul 4, 2010 8:16:01 AM EST
Duration (actual chatting time) 00:32:58
Operator babylon
Chat Transcript
info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.
info: You are now chatting with 'babylon'
babylon: Welcome to Babylon Support , How can I help you?
you: Thanks for your quick reply. Give me a minute to compose my question please
babylon: Ok!
you: I have several Babylon licences (3 I think). On my old Windows 2000 PC I still have Babylon 7 (Version 7.0.0 r13). I just noticed that it doesn't update the currency information from the currency server. If I try and do it manually by clicking "Update rates now" it connects to the server and says the update was successful but the date is 30 August 2009!
babylon: Can I have your order number please?
you: I have had Babylon for years - I can try an find the order number - do you mean my licence number? You should be able to find me on your database if you look for my surname
babylon: Ok, what is your surname?
you: Sorry - I assumed you would see it in the correspondence - my name is Herbert Eppel
babylon: Ok, I found you.
you: That's good :-)
babylon: Unfortunately at this moment this tool is anavaliable, we are still checking and trying to fix...
babylon: :)
you: Is this a problem in Version 7 or in Version 8 too?
babylon: I believe in both of them.
babylon: Its an actual problem
you: Is it possible to enter a currency conversion rate manually?
babylon: I guess it would make much difference
you: Using date from August last year is very misleading in some cases!
babylon: Give me your e-mail address, I will ask my supervisor about it and I will come back to you asap
you: Babylon currently uses 1 EUR = 0.879 GBP (which is from August last year) - the actual value is more like 0.800, so the conversion is useless as it stands.
you: My e-mail address is ...
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to ... at the end of your chat.
babylon: I think if you download the trial version of the website which is an actual version than yours
babylon: it could work
you: I'm not sure what you mean. I don't need/want a trial version. As I said, I already have 3 licences!
babylon: Yes but then you enter your codes
babylon: And make it yours
babylon: Just for the sake of having a new version
you: I don't want to complicate matters, I just want my existing version 7 to work on this Windows 2000 PC
babylon: Babylon 7 doesnt work in the windows 2000
you: Yes it does. I have it here. I gave you my exact version number earlier. I think you mean Babylon 8?
babylon: I checked again with my supervisor.
you: And?
babylon: Its not compatible.
you: What exactly is not compatible?
babylon: B7 = Win2000
you: Your information is incorrect.Babylon 7 definitely works under Windows 2000, as I said.
babylon: Ok, I will write you asap as we have any news regarding currency convertor
babylon: ok?
you: When do you think I can expect an answer?
babylon: I`m not sure when
you: Can you give me a rough idea, i.e. next week, next month, next year?
babylon: I cannot, I`m sorry. We are working on it
you: Can you let me know whether I can enter a currency conversion rate manually? As I said, the converter is useless as it stands.
babylon: I will check with my supervisor and I will try to return to you asap
you: Thanks - will you respond by e-mail or should we leave this chat session open for now?
babylon: By email
you: OK, thank you.
I have since received an e-mail saying "After talking with my supervisor we reached the conclusion that you cannot change manually the converter" - AAAARRGGGGHHHHH!
********************************************
The following is a record of your online chat.
General Info
Chat start time Jul 4, 2010 7:43:03 AM EST
Chat end time Jul 4, 2010 8:16:01 AM EST
Duration (actual chatting time) 00:32:58
Operator babylon
Chat Transcript
info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.
info: You are now chatting with 'babylon'
babylon: Welcome to Babylon Support , How can I help you?
you: Thanks for your quick reply. Give me a minute to compose my question please
babylon: Ok!
you: I have several Babylon licences (3 I think). On my old Windows 2000 PC I still have Babylon 7 (Version 7.0.0 r13). I just noticed that it doesn't update the currency information from the currency server. If I try and do it manually by clicking "Update rates now" it connects to the server and says the update was successful but the date is 30 August 2009!
babylon: Can I have your order number please?
you: I have had Babylon for years - I can try an find the order number - do you mean my licence number? You should be able to find me on your database if you look for my surname
babylon: Ok, what is your surname?
you: Sorry - I assumed you would see it in the correspondence - my name is Herbert Eppel
babylon: Ok, I found you.
you: That's good :-)
babylon: Unfortunately at this moment this tool is anavaliable, we are still checking and trying to fix...
babylon: :)
you: Is this a problem in Version 7 or in Version 8 too?
babylon: I believe in both of them.
babylon: Its an actual problem
you: Is it possible to enter a currency conversion rate manually?
babylon: I guess it would make much difference
you: Using date from August last year is very misleading in some cases!
babylon: Give me your e-mail address, I will ask my supervisor about it and I will come back to you asap
you: Babylon currently uses 1 EUR = 0.879 GBP (which is from August last year) - the actual value is more like 0.800, so the conversion is useless as it stands.
you: My e-mail address is ...
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to ... at the end of your chat.
babylon: I think if you download the trial version of the website which is an actual version than yours
babylon: it could work
you: I'm not sure what you mean. I don't need/want a trial version. As I said, I already have 3 licences!
babylon: Yes but then you enter your codes
babylon: And make it yours
babylon: Just for the sake of having a new version
you: I don't want to complicate matters, I just want my existing version 7 to work on this Windows 2000 PC
babylon: Babylon 7 doesnt work in the windows 2000
you: Yes it does. I have it here. I gave you my exact version number earlier. I think you mean Babylon 8?
babylon: I checked again with my supervisor.
you: And?
babylon: Its not compatible.
you: What exactly is not compatible?
babylon: B7 = Win2000
you: Your information is incorrect.Babylon 7 definitely works under Windows 2000, as I said.
babylon: Ok, I will write you asap as we have any news regarding currency convertor
babylon: ok?
you: When do you think I can expect an answer?
babylon: I`m not sure when
you: Can you give me a rough idea, i.e. next week, next month, next year?
babylon: I cannot, I`m sorry. We are working on it
you: Can you let me know whether I can enter a currency conversion rate manually? As I said, the converter is useless as it stands.
babylon: I will check with my supervisor and I will try to return to you asap
you: Thanks - will you respond by e-mail or should we leave this chat session open for now?
babylon: By email
you: OK, thank you.
Wednesday 14 April 2010
Schildbürger
Some time ago I was asked what attracted me to come back (after my six-month placement with Arup in London in 1984/85) and live in the UK. One of the things I said in response was:
"I was glad to leave behind the proverbial German bureaucracy, although somewhat alarmingly I sometimes feel that Britain is well on the way of overtaking Germany in this respect, and the attractive concept of ‘reasonableness’ seems to have been lost in many cases."
A current silly argument relating to the replacement of traffic signs with more modern versions (in some cases it appears to be a case of "spot the difference") restores my 'faith' in German bureaucracy.
"I was glad to leave behind the proverbial German bureaucracy, although somewhat alarmingly I sometimes feel that Britain is well on the way of overtaking Germany in this respect, and the attractive concept of ‘reasonableness’ seems to have been lost in many cases."
A current silly argument relating to the replacement of traffic signs with more modern versions (in some cases it appears to be a case of "spot the difference") restores my 'faith' in German bureaucracy.
Zehn gute Gründe, Deutsch zu lernen
Die Kulturwächter schlagen Alarm: Das weltweite Interesse an der deutschen Sprache geht zurück! Und nicht erst, seit Guido Westerwelle Außenminister ist. 2005 lernten noch 17 Millionen Menschen Deutsch als Fremdsprache, heute sind es zwei Millionen weniger. Dabei gibt es viele gute Gründe für Deutsch.
Spiegel Zwiebelfisch, 14.4.2010
Spiegel Zwiebelfisch, 14.4.2010
Tuesday 13 April 2010
Der Diplom-Ingenieur: Eine Marke mit international anerkannter Qualität
Die deutsche Ingenieurausbildung genieße auch zehn Jahre nach Einführung der Hochschulreform hohes Ansehen. Im Titel werde dies aber nicht deutlich, beklagt VDI-Präsident Bruno O. Braun im Gespräch mit den VDI nachrichten. Der VDI fordert daher, den „Dipl.-Ing.“ im Zeugnis zu berücksichtigen. „Wir wollen die Abschlüsse im internationalen Vergleich durch das Renommee des Diplom-Ingenieurs aufwerten.“
VDI nachrichten, Düsseldorf, 19. 3. 10
VDI nachrichten, Düsseldorf, 19. 3. 10
VDI fordert Erhalt der Marke „Diplom-Ingenieur“
Der VDI fordert die Kultusministerkonferenz auf, die Marke Ingenieur neben den neuen Abschlüssen Bachelor und Master kenntlich zu machen. Dies sei wichtig, damit die international anerkannte Marke Diplom- Ingenieur nicht verloren gehe.
VDI nachrichten, Düsseldorf, 19. 3. 10
VDI nachrichten, Düsseldorf, 19. 3. 10
Großbritannien: „Ingenieur“ soll geschützt werden
Berufsschutz: In Großbritannien dürfen sich auch Heizungstechniker Ingenieur nennen. Konzerne wie der Rüstungskonzern British Aerospace wollen jetzt, dass sich das ändert.
VDI nachrichten, London, 12. 3. 10
VDI nachrichten, London, 12. 3. 10
Thursday 18 March 2010
Der denglische Patient
Der denglische Patient
von Ageliki Ikonomidis
Die Anglomanie ist eine Krankheit. Einst kam sie über den großen Teich, unter anderem eingeschleppt von ITlern und Global Playern. Seitdem verbreiten sich fremdländische Erreger bevorzugt dort, wo unsere Abwehr geschwächt und die Anfälligkeit hoch ist, zum Beispiel in Branchen mit entsprechender Disposition. Die Anglomanie ist polymorph, weshalb sie oft unerkannt bleibt, was wiederum die Therapie erschwert. Sie begnügt sich nicht mit englischen Infiltraten, sondern äußert sich auch in pathologischen Einzelsymptomen und Begleiterscheinungen, die im Deutschen zuweilen schwere Störungen hervorrufen. Über erste Anzeichen, mittelgradige Beeinträchtigungen und den manifesten Morbus Denglisch berichtet dieser Beitrag.
von Ageliki Ikonomidis
Die Anglomanie ist eine Krankheit. Einst kam sie über den großen Teich, unter anderem eingeschleppt von ITlern und Global Playern. Seitdem verbreiten sich fremdländische Erreger bevorzugt dort, wo unsere Abwehr geschwächt und die Anfälligkeit hoch ist, zum Beispiel in Branchen mit entsprechender Disposition. Die Anglomanie ist polymorph, weshalb sie oft unerkannt bleibt, was wiederum die Therapie erschwert. Sie begnügt sich nicht mit englischen Infiltraten, sondern äußert sich auch in pathologischen Einzelsymptomen und Begleiterscheinungen, die im Deutschen zuweilen schwere Störungen hervorrufen. Über erste Anzeichen, mittelgradige Beeinträchtigungen und den manifesten Morbus Denglisch berichtet dieser Beitrag.
Wednesday 24 February 2010
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