An excellent About.com article by Hyde Flippo, Denglisch: When Languages Collide, made me think about how all our languages are constantly evolving.
As we look into our European past, we obviously have to note first the tremendous influence that Latin had, not only on forming the Romance languages but by impacting the Germanic languages as well.
Norman French + Middle English = Modern English
Modern English, in fact, was greatly affected by William the Conqueror's victory in 1066 and the Normans' rule for several hundred years.
Many language changes were initiated by edicts and policies of the ruling class, others evolved over hundreds of years. (See also our 2012 blog post The “French Connection” of 1066.)
Deutsch + English = Denglisch
What is different from the above example is not only our short time horizon, but also the fact that incorporating English words into the German language does not presently occur under English-speaking occupation or governance.
Rather, Germans use English words because they see them as practical and/or “cool.” Hyde Flippo describes five different definitions of Denglisch, which capture well how and where they occur.
He then describes in some detail the various aspects of how English influences the German language; he also notes that “there are several small language organizations in Germany that see themselves as guardians of the German language and try to wage war against English — with little success to date.”
The article should be of interest to German expats and German language learners alike: Both will find English expressions they can use while still being understood when speaking German.
History will tell whether the numerous changes described in the about.com article will be permanent and taken over into the “Duden,” the authoritative German language dictionary.
And, if the comments on various language forums are any indication, German is not the only language which experiences English “intrusions”: All Romance languages are affected (although the French may be more resistant than others), as are the Nordic, and other European languages.
One can bemoan, as some do, the changes to one's native language. However, as long as such changes are not forced, but occur “naturally” by common consent or use, they seem to me to be part of the evolution of a language.
Let's also not forget that what's "cool" today, may not be so tomorrow, but what's practical may indeed endure.
Calling a waiter or waitress to your table can often be done by gestures such as raising your hand or – if you want to pay – by scribbling with one finger into the other hand.
And such gestures are quite international and work in most foreign countries as well. It is useful, however, to also know how to call a waiter or waitress in the local language. We therefore teach these expressions in our four language courses (French, German, Italian, and Spanish).
The German Way
When we started developing our German course, I thought of using the form of address I had heard when growing up in Germany: "Herr Ober" (actually an abbreviation for “Oberkellner” or headwaiter).
However, our native speaker reminded me that you don't use this term any longer - except maybe in very upscale restaurants. I was aware that you no longer call a waitress to your table with "Fräulein".
So we settled on "Entschuldigung!" (Excuse me.), which seems to be used in most of the German speaking countries for calling a waiter or waitress. Then, if you want to pay, you would say, “Bitte zahlen!” or more politely: “Ich möchte bitte zahlen! (I would like to pay, please.) In more upscale restaurants where you do have an “Ober,” you might say “Die Rechnung, bitte!” (The check, please.)
With this German Quick Game you can practice: "Bitte, ich möchte zahlen!"
The French Way
During a recent visit to Paris, we occasionally heard people asking for the waiter by calling “Garçon.” More often, though, we heard “Monsieur” or “Madame” when someone called a waiter or waitress to the table.
We're told that nowadays you'll hear the term “garçon” more likely from older customers, who may also add it to the usual call for the check: “L'addition, s'il vous plaît.”
In Italy, it is still quite common to call for the waiter simply with “Cameriere!” but we have also heard “Per favore!” (Please), as a way of getting the attention of the server. And, to call the waiter because you want to pay, you would say: “Il conto, per favore” (The check, please). A waitress would be called “cameriera,” but in Italy you'll find more male than female waiters.
In Spain, we heard “¡Camarero!” quite often, but as in Italy, people also just use “¡Por favor!” (please) to call the waiter to their table. When you're ready to pay, both of the following do very nicely: “Me gustaría pagar, por favor” (I'd like to pay”) or “La cuenta, por favor” (The check, please). A waitress would be called “camarera,” and, as in Italy, male waiters seem to be in the majority in Spain.
You can practice “Me gustaría pagar, por favor” with our Spanish Quick Game.
We invite any comments and observations regarding regional differences or customs for calling a waiter or waitress in German-, French-, Italian-, and Spanish-speaking countries.
In our travels we have always been interested in learning about the ways languages have influenced the history of a region or country. South Tyrol is an example that good things indeed can happen.
And while separatist movements are typically caused by economic inequities, power struggles, religion, etc. they can be further fueled by language differences – even if the language differences don't seem to be significant to a foreigner.
It's well understood that language unites the members of a family, tribe, community, state, nation etc. You can feel it yourself when you encounter someone in a foreign country who speaks your language: there is an immediate connection with that person, and the language is the link.
So it is no wonder that conquerors and kings, dictators, and victors in wars have tried to impose their language on the acquired regions. But generally, a NEW foreign language cannot be forced on populations without causing anger, resistance, and often bloodshed. There are many examples in history where such attempts were not successful.
A Brief Background
South Tyrol had been awarded to Italy after World War 1. By 1923, Italian became the mandatory language at all levels of local, provincial, and local government, and by 1928, the only language of instruction in schools.
Mussolini accelerated the Italianization by settling many Italians in a region which, in 1919, was 90% German speaking. When the region remained with Italy after World War 2 - with many of the pre-World War laws remaining - the German majority was not happy.
I visited South Tyrol in 1965 as part a graduating class trip, and my class mates and I experienced first hand the friction between the German and Italian speaking population (which, at that time, still involved violence and bombings).
The article notes that the German-speaking population in South Tyrol is still the majority, albeit with 61.5% vs. 23.1% Italian, based on the 2011 census. About 4% speak “Ladin,” a language quite close to the Swiss “Romansh,” and 11.4% speak a variety of other languages. (See also: The Other Swiss Languages: Italian and Romansh)
It also appears that among the key ingredients that allowed South Tyrol to overcome its separatist past are both a willingness to compromise, embrace bi-lingualism and cultural diversity, as well as Rome's concessions on “home rule,” (i.e. strong local governance and retaining 90% of the tax revenues).
It's quite likely that it takes ALL of these “ingredients” to achieve success and continued efforts to maintain it. Let's hope that the lessons learned in South Tyrol can be shared with and applied in many other parts of the world.
In view of Russia “encouraging” Crimea's vote to separate from Ukraine just recently, possible plebiscites looming in Catalonia and Scotland, attempts by the Veneto region to separate from Italy - South Tyrol's recent history is a good reminder what it takes to overcome separatist movements.
On the other hand, Norway's peaceful separation from Sweden in 1905 was quite extraordinary both for its deliberate process and adherence to the law. It makes great reading for history buffs and has also some interesting language implications which we described in our 2013 post A Cruise and Norwegian language Politics
Recently a post reminded me how important it is to maintain and improve my foreign languages.
Native Language vs. Languages Learned Years Ago
My native language is German, but I've been living in the US for many years. Without reading German newspapers almost daily, I would not stay current with the changes in the German language.
And, while I rarely have to look up any words and I'm not afraid of forgetting my German (I still speak it at home every day), I know that keeping up my French is more of a challenge.
I learned French as a young man when I lived in (French-speaking) Switzerland. I now read it quite regularly online, have conversations, and e-mail with French speaking friends and family members.
But with French, I am more aware of the need to constantly maintain it. If I don't have an opportunity to speak it in a while, I find that it takes me some time to recall vocabulary and to get comfortable again with my pronunciation and sentence structures.
New Language Improvements
Having started to learn Italian and Spanish only a few years ago, I am still working on improving both my proficiency and fluency. I can read both languages quite well now and my fluency is improving.
However, I am very aware of the fact that my vocabulary has to increase. I regularly play our own Italian 1 and Spanish 1 games and have recently started to use Lingohut to help me grow my vocabulary, especially in Spanish.
(I loved to practice with the browser extension Lingua.ly, not only get the translation of words I don't know, but also to practice & recall those words later. However, Lingua.ly had to close its doors and disappeared.)
We're planning to do a more detailed review of Lingohut later, when we have gained more experience with it. But for now, I'll just enjoy maintaining and improving "old" and "new" languages! Postscript: In March 2017, Ulrike did a review of Lingohut Portuguese.
On our hike down from the village of Schönried to the picturesque resort town of Gstaad, we enjoyed our friend Ursel's Swiss German Language Lessons. She also told us about the surprising revival of Swiss German in written form through SMS/Texting and Social Media.
Ursel is from Bern, and it was fun to practice with her some Swiss German words in the her dialect of Bärndütsch. [see also our previous blog post: Language Lessons in Gstaad (1)]
Once in Gstaad, we do a little window shopping and people ogling, on the pedestrian way called Promenade.
From there we also have a great view of the famous Palace Hotel (picture). And, walking towards the ice rink (which, in the spring, converts back to tennis courts for the Gstaad Open in June each year), we end up at Charly's Gstaad, a "Konditorei and Confiseri" for coffee and delicious pastries.
While observing the young and old skaters as they make their rounds, we learn and practice in Berndeutsch, various greetings, the words excuse me and thanks, as well as the terms for meal times and snack breaks.
1. Greetings, Excuse Me, Thanks
• Grüessdi (Grüß dich - informal Hello, singular) • Grüessech (Grüß euch - informal Hello, plural) • Grüessi mitenand (Hello - all of you) • Exgüsee (Entschuldigung - excuse me) • Uf Widerluege (Auf Wiedersehen - Good-bye) • Adiemerssi (Danke und auf Wiedersehen - Thanks and good-bye, said by shopkeepers)
2. Meal and Snack Times
The Swiss day is nicely organized around meal times and snack breaks: • Zmorge (Frühstück - breakfast) • Znüni (Imbiss am Vormittag - midmorning snack, usually around 9 a.m.) • Zmittag (Mittagessen - lunch) • Zvieri (Imbiss am Nachmittag - mid-afternoon snack, usually around 4 p.m.) • Znacht (Abendessen - dinner, supper)
Kindergardners bring their mid-morning snack to school, it's called "Znünitaschl" (nine o'clock bag). They also bring along "Finken" (slippers) to wear inside.
Even though we're always on the lookout, we did not recognize any famous people on our visit to Gstaadt this time. But we certainly had fun learning about Bärndütsch expressions and pronunciation from Ursel, a native of Bern.
(Updated February 2, 2017) During our recent stay in Fribourg, Switzerland, we were again amazed by the mixture of languages we heard spoken in this small Swiss town of about 40,000.
Upper Town And Lower Town
Fribourg, (in German, called “Freiburg im Uechtland” to distinguish it from its German Black Forest cousin “Freiburg im Breisgau“) is the capital of the Canton Fribourg and located on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland. (see above picture of upper and lower town)
In the past, the language lines were drawn rather clearly: In the lower town, people spoke mostly a Swiss German dialect, in the upper town mostly French.
And while German was the prevailing language until around 1800, French gradually became more influential. By the year 2000 nearly 64% spoke French, only 21% German as their first language (Italian was third with about 4%).
An Impression: More Bilingual German Than French Speakers
In restaurants, cafes, and shops, etc. you hear a mixture of French, Swiss German, “Schriftdeutsch” (see also our previous blog post: Language Lessons in Gstaad), and other languages.
Swiss German children start to learn “Schriftdeutsch” in first grade, and French a couple of years later. That's about the same time that French children learn “Schriftdeutsch” as a second language. (We also understand that in many schools English is taught already in fourth grade.)
From discussions with acquaintances, friends, and relatives in Fribourg, we've gained the impression that there are more German speakers who are fluent in French, than French speakers who are also fluent in German.
This is due to the fact that French speakers are now the majority in Fribourg, or whether learning French as a third language (after “Schriftdeutsch) is “easier” for Swiss German speakers, or whether Swiss Germans feel a more personal or economic need to be bilingual than their French speaking compatriots, we just don't know.
A visit of the local market provided a (not representative) sample, as most of the Swiss German speaking farmers did easily switch to French, while the French speaking bakers and butchers had more difficulty in speaking German (see picture above).
Language still a divisive issue
While the casual observer may be pleasantly surprised by the the city's apparent bilingualism, language in Fribourg - as in other Swiss cities and towns that are located on a language and cultural fault line - is often still a divisive issue.
Not much has changed since swissinfo.ch covered this issue in in 2004, citing both Biel (where French speakers are the minority of the population, with 28 %) and Fribourg as examples. Family connections, social status, school locations, etc. all influence parents' decisions which language path their children should pursue.
It certainly seems that in a small country like Switzerland (about 8 million inhabitants) being bilingual, or at least fluent, in two of the major languages, German and French, should have great professional and personal benefits.
Postscript
Just as we were leaving Fribourg, the local Newspaper, La Liberté, reported that local film makers had adapted Pharrell Williams' song "Happy" from the movie "Despicable Me 2" to Fribourg, similar to what other Swiss cities have done. You can watch the YouTube video which shows many images of Fribourg.
Brilliant mountain weather in the Berner Oberland. It's a perfect day for Swiss German Language Lessons while on a 50-minute hike down from the village of Schönried to the town of Gstaad.
Our teacher is our Swiss German friend, Ursel, who comes from the city of Bern.
The "Wanderweg" (hiking path) takes us over snow-covered fields, past chalets of many famous folks, and alongside farm houses.
At a small stand along the way, we serve ourselves some hot cider. You can also purchase local cheese and sausage -"Bio" (organic), of course, and all on the honor system.
We chat about this and that, in "Schriftdütsch" (Standard German). "Bärndütsch" (Berndeutsch) is the Swiss German dialect spoken in the Swiss capital city of Bern and in some of the surrounding Canton Bern. Ursel translates a few words I ask her about.
It has always struck me as curious that Swiss Germans would ask me: "Redä Si Schriftdütsch?" (Do you speak written German?) to find out whether I can also understand "Dialäkt" (dialect).
Ursel points out that Swiss German does not have an official written form. Newspapers and books are done in Standard German, as well as all formal and most informal writing.
However, dialect dictionaries are popping up on the Internet, and SMS/Texting and Social Media are popularizing various forms or written dialect, as this Newly Swissed blog explains.
Ursel says that, typically, Bärndütsch loves to shorten verbs. Here are a few examples.
2. Verbs in Berndeutsch
• ga (gehen - to go) • ha (haben - to have) • la (lassen - to let) • gä (geben - to give) • nä (nehmen - to take) • sy ( sind/sein - (are/to be)
Some of the words in Berndeutsch overlap with those of other Swiss German dialects, and some are distinct for the region of Bern.
But, in any case, each region has a distinct sound system and accent. Most Swiss Germans can usually pinpoint what region an accent is from.
To get a sense of the sound of Bärndütsch, here's a short YouTube video ad for alcohol-free Feldschlösschen beer. How much can you understand or guess?
In an earlier blog post Heidelberg & Mark Twain, I speculated why Mark Twain had liked the name “Heidelberg,” the city where he stayed with his family for several months in 1878.
This topic had offered itself, as our German 1 traveler during his visit to Heidelberg learns the English translation of the city's name and its relevance to Mark Twain.
Twain's love-hate relationship with The Awful German Language, published as an Appendix to his “A Tramp Abroad,” makes for amusing reading for anyone grappling with the German language – and is especially hilarious to a native German speaker as he looks at German though Twain's eyes!
A Few of His Observations
"Declining a noun" may be the crabgrass on the lawn of many who are learning German. Twain uses “rain” as an example and has some funny explanations for when “der Regen” (nominative) changes to “den Regen” (accusative), “dem Regen” (dative), or “des Regens” (genitive).
If you add adjectives, it gets even worse and Twain is at his satirical best when he notes:
“When a German gets his hands on an adjective, he declines it, and keeps on declining it until the common sense is all declined out of it. It is as bad as Latin." He says, for instance:
Singular
Nominative -- Mein guter Freund, my good friend. Genitive -- Meines guten Freundes, of my good friend. Dative -- Meinem guten Freund, to my good friend. Accusative -- Meinen guten Freund, my good friend.
PLURAL
Nominative -- Meine guten Freunde, my good friends. Genitive -- Meiner guten Freunde, of my good friends. Dative -- Meinen guten Freunden, to my good friends. Accusative -- Meine guten Freunde, my good friends
"Now let the candidate for the asylum try to memorize those variations, and see how soon he will be elected.”
Twain also notes, correctly, that “the same sound, SIE, means YOU, and it means SHE, and it means HER, and it means IT, and it means THEY, and it means THEM.”
Ah, yes, the only way to discover the right meaning is to understand the context in which they are used.
There are a lot more funny and perceptive passages about the German way to create word-monsters, assign genders, separate verbs, etc. (Note also that there are some spelling and grammar changes that have occurred since 1876 e.g. to let, lease, hire is now spelled “vermieten” - not “vermiethen.”)
If you are learning German, his essay - as well as his 4th of July speech at the Banquet of the Anglo-American Club of Students - might amuse you.
And perhaps it also encourages you to keep practicing. Even though German has its tricky moments, it definitely can be learned!
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Quick German: Do you know the meaning of "Berliner"?
Actually there are two meanings:
(1) A man from Berlin, the German capital (A woman from Berlin is a "Berlinerin")
(2) A Berliner Pfannkuchen (in short called Berliner) is a traditional North German pastry similar to a doughnut (without a central hole) made from sweet yeast dough...
John F. Kennedy declared in his famous speech in Berlin on June 26, 1963:
"Ich bin ein Berliner!"
It caused German speakers (especially young teenagers, like me!) to chuckle slightly - not because they did not understand the point Kennedy was making, but because in German indefinite articles are not used in front of a person's place of origin/birth, nationality, profession, occupation, etc., e.g. "ich bin Hamburgerin"; "ich bin Deutscher"; "ich bin Arzt"; "ich bin Studentin." (Note, however, that you do use "ein/eine", when you add an adjective, e.g. "ich bin ein guter Arzt".)
(You might also chuckle, if a German were to tell you: "I'm a Hamburger", meaning that he is from Hamburg.)
Someone reminded us, however, that we should point out the following: In the context of Kennedy's speech, the use of "ein" was quite appropriate as he did not mean to define his origin, but rather his being "Berliner-like", i.e. he used "Berliner" as a predicate adjective, as in "Ich bin ein Berliner Mann".
Let us know any comments or questions you have and - keep learning.
There's nothing wrong with Flashcards, I love them for practicing vocabulary and we use them in our games as well.
But learning only with traditional flashcards - or sticking only to list learning, for that matter - is bound to keep you in the rank of beginner.
To bust through the beginner ceiling, you have to learn to use phrases and sentences as part of communication. That's where context learning comes in. Here are three simple reasons for learning German in context.
Pronouns
German consistently uses pronouns with specific verb forms (as opposed to Italian or Spanish, for example). But because some of the German pronouns are multi-functional or are part of an idiom, you need the context to understand what's going on.
A perfect example is “sie/Sie”: • Wann kommt sie? - When is she coming? [she - subject] • Wann kommen sie? - When are they coming? [they - subject] • Und kommen Sie auch? - And are you also coming? [you(formal) - subject] • Ich kann Sie nicht sehen. - I can't see you. [you(formal) - direct object] • Ich kenne sie nicht. - I don't know her/them. [her/them - direct object]
The word "sie" can also refer to a "feminine gender" object or animal: • Die Hütte dort, siehst du sie? - The hut over there, do you see it? [it(f) - direct object] • Die Katze dort, sie wartet auf ihre Milch. - The cat over there, it's waiting for its milk. [it(f) - subject]
And the German “ihr/Ihr” could mean in English: “you” [plural familiar], “her” [indirect object], “their” [possessive pronoun], “your” [formal] or also “to her” in various German idioms.
When learning the various uses of “sie/Sie” or “ihr/Ihr,” it is useful to have specific phrases or sentences in mind.
Articles and Cases
In German, articles and noun cases are matched – often in mysterious ways for beginners: • “der” is not only the masculine article, as in : [der See] Der See ist .... - The lake is .... [m – subject), • "der" can also can precede a feminine noun, as in: • [die Frau] Ich gebe der Frau ... - I give (to) the woman ... [f, indirect object] • [die Kirche] Das Tor der Kirche ist .... - The door of the church .... [f , possessive] • [die Stimme] Die Anzahl der Stimmen ... - The number of votes ... [f pl, possessive]
Similarly, “die” is not only the feminine article, "die" is also the plural form for all nouns that are a subject or a direct object, as in: • [das Haus] Die Häuser sind ... - The houses are ... [neuter, pl subject] • [der Baum] Die Bäume sind ... - The trees are ... [m, pl subject] • [die Straße] Die Straßen sind ... - The streets are ... [f, pl subject] • Ich sehe die Häuser, die Bäume, und die Straßen. - I see the houses, the trees, and the streets. [direct objects]
Idiomatic meanings
Some words change their meaning, depending on the context. For example (as shown by a post circulating on Facebook), the word “Bitte" has multiple meanings.
As a simple statement, “Bitte” basically means “Please”. But it can also mean “Go ahead.”; or “I don't mind”; or “You're welcome.”; or “Here you are.”; or “Not at all.” In addition, the question “Bitte?” is often used as “Pardon me?”
While “Danke” simply means “Thank you,” in a specific context, it can mean: “Yes, thank you.” or “No, thank you.”
And, the much-used word “gut” (good) can change its meaning in idioms such as: • “Gut, das machen wir.” - Okay, we'll do that. • “Mir geht's gut.” - I'm feeling great. • “Mir ist nicht gut.” - I'm not feeling well. • “Jetzt ist es aber gut.” - That'll do. • “Schon gut.” - That's enough.
Learning vocabulary is clearly necessary – and Flashcards are a great tool for that – but simply knowing groups of words is not enough to really understand and speak German. It's best to learn those words in the context of a topic that interests you.
You will better remember the words when you recall them as part of meaningful phrases and sentences. Moreover, when you use them in new sentence combinations, applying the grammar rules will be much easier.
And we certainly agree with author Andy Hunt (co-author of “Pragmatic Thinking and Learning”) whom we had quoted in My Rosetta Stone Blog - 3: “Always Consider the Context ... because it is important for understanding the world around us."
An excellent About.com article by Hyde Flippo, Denglisch: When Languages Collide, made me think about how all our languages are constantly evolving. 
