If anyone needs brain exercise…

[Scarlet Shocker]

Warum zum Teufel hast du dich für Deutsch entschieden? Fast jede andere Sprache wäre vorzuziehen, auch mit geschlechtsspezifischen Pronomen. Bist du eine Art kranker Masochist? Du hättest Französisch, Spanisch oder vielleicht sogar Esperanto wählen können, nur zum Spaß und zum Gekicher. Aber nein, Sie haben eine Sprache gewählt, die so verdammt komplex ist, dass kein anderer Idiot auf der Welt sie sprechen möchte! Vorsichtsmaßnahme: Ich musste Google Translate verwenden, um dies zu schreiben, da ich im Gegensatz zu Snarky seit 50 Jahren kein Deutsch mehr gesprochen habe und daher etwas mehr als ein bisschen eingerostet bin!

[High_Beam]

23 hours ago, Mr. Apocalypse said:

I worked for a Japanese company for about 10 years. I am fluent in broken English now. I know 3 or 4 words and phrases in Japanese, but I am able to eavesdrop on their conversations and figure out basics by their tone and gestures.  You are correct the same phrase can be said multiple ways and only one be correct for the situation and not offend!

Honto nei.

[Mr. Apocalypse]

yes, really

[Luminara]

3 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Warum zum Teufel hast du dich für Deutsch entschieden? Fast jede andere Sprache wäre vorzuziehen, auch mit geschlechtsspezifischen Pronomen. Bist du eine Art kranker Masochist? Du hättest Französisch, Spanisch oder vielleicht sogar Esperanto wählen können, nur zum Spaß und zum Gekicher. Aber nein, Sie haben eine Sprache gewählt, die so verdammt komplex ist, dass kein anderer Idiot auf der Welt sie sprechen möchte! Vorsichtsmaßnahme: Ich musste Google Translate verwenden, um dies zu schreiben, da ich im Gegensatz zu Snarky seit 50 Jahren kein Deutsch mehr gesprochen habe und daher etwas mehr als ein bisschen eingerostet bin!

 

Which literally translates to, "I don't bargain, pumpkin fucker."

[PeregrineFalcon]

4 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Warum zum Teufel hast du dich für Deutsch entschieden? Fast jede andere Sprache wäre vorzuziehen, auch mit geschlechtsspezifischen Pronomen. Bist du eine Art kranker Masochist? Du hättest Französisch, Spanisch oder vielleicht sogar Esperanto wählen können, nur zum Spaß und zum Gekicher. Aber nein, Sie haben eine Sprache gewählt, die so verdammt komplex ist, dass kein anderer Idiot auf der Welt sie sprechen möchte! Vorsichtsmaßnahme: Ich musste Google Translate verwenden, um dies zu schreiben, da ich im Gegensatz zu Snarky seit 50 Jahren kein Deutsch mehr gesprochen habe und daher etwas mehr als ein bisschen eingerostet bin!

Yikes! Even with my rusty German I can spot a few problems with this. I mean, I understand what you're trying to say, but there's a reason that Google translate is still considered beta.

 

And from what I understand, both Japanese and Mandarin, are more complex than German. I know, I find it hard to believe too, but I've been assured repeatedly, by people who speak those languages, that it is in fact the case.

[Snarky]

4 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Warum zum Teufel hast du dich für Deutsch entschieden? Fast jede andere Sprache wäre vorzuziehen, auch mit geschlechtsspezifischen Pronomen. Bist du eine Art kranker Masochist? Du hättest Französisch, Spanisch oder vielleicht sogar Esperanto wählen können, nur zum Spaß und zum Gekicher. Aber nein, Sie haben eine Sprache gewählt, die so verdammt komplex ist, dass kein anderer Idiot auf der Welt sie sprechen möchte! Vorsichtsmaßnahme: Ich musste Google Translate verwenden, um dies zu schreiben, da ich im Gegensatz zu Snarky seit 50 Jahren kein Deutsch mehr gesprochen habe und daher etwas mehr als ein bisschen eingerostet bin!

Well.  I am a stubborn old vamp. I had to look up about three words in that wall of Deutsch and guess a few by context.  But yeah, I understood lol.  Now, if it had been spoken at me spitfire Berlin style?  Heh. No. 
 

The honest truth?  I thought it would be cool and Nosferatu was a German film.  The whole dirty secret comes out.  
 

Fing great brain exercises though.  I may never be fluent but I have an endless Rubiks cube of a language to play with

[Snarky]

40 minutes ago, Luminara said:

 

Which literally translates to, "I don't bargain, pumpkin fucker."

In german it us correctly said “ i dont bargain largeorangesquashfruitpredatorsexfetishistagent

[Snarky]

36 minutes ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

Yikes! Even with my rusty German I can spot a few problems with this. I mean, I understand what you're trying to say, but there's a reason that Google translate is still considered beta.

 

And from what I understand, both Japanese and Mandarin, are more complex than German. I know, I find it hard to believe too, but I've been assured repeatedly, by people who speak those languages, that it is in fact the case.

Its the tones.  Unless you grew up with them or are a practiced singer with perfect pitch your chances are not good.  I am getting a lot better with the three German Umlauts, changes to a o u.  Except Apfel.  One sound is single apple and the second is plural apple.  I swear to the dark lord of undeath I have yet to hear a difference in anyone who has said both.  

Edited November 24, 2023 by Snarky

[Luminara]

43 minutes ago, Snarky said:

In german it us correctly said “ i dont bargain largeorangesquashfruitpredatorsexfetishistagent

 

Bitch, that's your stripper name.  Why you lyin'?

[MrAxe]

I want to learn german as I'm a Rammstein fan but I'm far too lazy.

[Snarky]

1 minute ago, MrAxe said:

I want to learn german as I'm a Rammstein fan but I'm far too lazy.

smarter than me

[Shred Monkey]

True story... Yesterday (Thanksgiving) my familiy started talking about German and the German language at the dinner table briefly, and how they can "make" wildly specific words by making compound words and prefix/postfix/whatever stuff... (none of us actually know German, so that's probably false or inaccurate... but also not my point). 

 

After lunch I sit on the couch, there's a gap between the first and 2nd football game, so I pull up YouTube, and there's a Video #2 in my suggestions about German words the English Language should steal. 

 

I've never been so sure that Google is spying on us.

 

Also.... I'm a big fan of Duolingo.  I'm (currently in the Diamond Tournamant with 124 Day Streak going.)

 

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Shred Monkey

[Techwright]

10 hours ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

And from what I understand, both Japanese and Mandarin, are more complex than German. I know, I find it hard to believe too, but I've been assured repeatedly, by people who speak those languages, that it is in fact the case.

 

I'm not surprised, just start by looking at the written alphabets.  Modern Mandarin has around 3,500 essential alphabetical character (and can go thousands higher), and modern Japanese has 3 different alphabets with a minimum of 46 characters each (with Kanji having heaps more).  For English writers using a 26-character alphabet, German words formed by the alphabet of the same 26 characters and 4 special characters, would seem far easier to learn.

 

Of course, I say that a language using mostly the same characters as my native language is easier, but then I see Icelandic.  Despite it using mostly the same alphabet, I'm still trying to figure out the name of that volcano that interrupted international travel back in 2010, and that is but a single word. 

[Snarky]

5 hours ago, Techwright said:

 

I'm not surprised, just start by looking at the written alphabets.  Modern Mandarin has around 3,500 essential alphabetical character (and can go thousands higher), and modern Japanese has 3 different alphabets with a minimum of 46 characters each (with Kanji having heaps more).  For English writers using a 26-character alphabet, German words formed by the alphabet of the same 26 characters and 4 special characters, would seem far easier to learn.

 

Of course, I say that a language using mostly the same characters as my native language is easier, but then I see Icelandic.  Despite it using mostly the same alphabet, I'm still trying to figure out the name of that volcano that interrupted international travel back in 2010, and that is but a single word. 

There is a way to “trick” your mind into understanding Icelandic.  Take a large container of ice and sit on it naked.  When your butt gets cold enough it will all start to make sense.

[Bionic_Flea]

Schauen Sie sich den bissigen Vampir in der Nacht an!

[blackhand]

On 11/23/2023 at 10:14 PM, Snarky said:

Its the tones.  Unless you grew up with them or are a practiced singer with perfect pitch your chances are not good.  I am getting a lot better with the three German Umlauts, changes to a o u.  Except Apfel.  One sound is single apple and the second is plural apple.  I swear to the dark lord of undeath I have yet to hear a difference in anyone who has said both.  

Interestingly, when I took Mandarin, the teacher said he would be able to tell who the practiced musicians were in a week or two…Little game he liked to play. He was indeed about 75% correct when he guessed. 

[Snarky]

19 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:

Schauen Sie sich den bissigen Vampir in der Nacht an!

I love the thought.  I am struggling to figure out if this is the right way to say this however.  And my grammar is elementary.  The “an” at the end would be part of a separable verb.  But anbissig?   Also, it seems like the en declension on bissig seems wrong, but I am unsure.  Yes, Vampir is a male noun and in the accusative would receive an en….  I am just starting to study declensions and am still very confused lol

 

I need to practice so much more.  I do love the thought!

 

edit:  i get the Anschauen part now.  i realized my error and checked notes.  
 

for anyone curious, and lazy, the expression means “Check out the snarky vampire in the night.”

Edited November 25, 2023 by Snarky

[Captain Fabulous]

All the German I know is from Nightcrawler, Golden Age comics, and Hogan's Heroes. Ach nein! Gott in Himmel! Liebchen! Schnell!

[Luminara]

Scheisse.

 

Learned that from The Bourne Identity.

 

[srmalloy]

2 hours ago, Luminara said:

Scheisse.

Backpfeifengesicht. Much more evocative.

[Luminara]

1 hour ago, srmalloy said:

Backpfeifengesicht. Much more evocative.

 

That's not a word, that's the sound old people make when they sneeze so hard their dentures fly out of their mouths.

[Snarky]

1 hour ago, srmalloy said:

Backpfeifengesicht. Much more evocative.

Germans have a word for everything!

[Luminara]

2 minutes ago, Snarky said:

Germans have a word for everything!

 

Wouldn't be much of a language if they didn't have a word for everything (alles).

 

[PeregrineFalcon]

25 minutes ago, Luminara said:

Wouldn't be much of a language if they didn't have a word for everything (alles).

It doesn't really work that way. Here's just one example: Schadenfreude. Taking a gloating satisfaction in the misery and/or pain of others. English doesn't have a word for this. Most languages don't have a word for this. German does.

 

Inuit doesn't have words for submarine or airplane, or sand, but they have a bunch of different words for snow.

 

It's quite common that languages don't have a word for everything. German has a formalized system that allows one to make new words. So German either already has a word for something or you can make a new word with that system and everyone will automatically understand what that word means.

[Luminara]

4 minutes ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

It doesn't really work that way. Here's just one example: Schadenfreude. Taking a gloating satisfaction in the misery and/or pain of others. English doesn't have a word for this. Most languages don't have a word for this. German does.

 

Inuit doesn't have words for submarine or airplane, or sand, but they have a bunch of different words for snow.

 

It's quite common that languages don't have a word for everything. German has a formalized system that allows one to make new words. So German either already has a word for something or you can make a new word with that system and everyone will automatically understand what that word means.

 

Everything.

 

Alles.

 

Is the light bulb flickering yet?