Saturday, May 31, 2014
Hier ein geheimer Heiratsantrag mit Revolverheld
Mehr als 1 Minute geht es um das Paar und die Taxi-Fahrt. Dann beginnt die schöne Musik, wo die Gänsehaut wachsen darf.
Die Geschichte finde ich schön, die Party echt, und die Musik einfach klasse.
Nur das Lied:
Bunter Sommer -- nur mit dir
Ein Sommer nur mit DIR von Fayzen
Songtext ... (Was verstehst Du? )
Erdbeeren, Festival, Blüten, Rückenwind,
Freiheit, Zuneigung, Sommerregen, Sonnenkind,
Hamburg, Meer, Venen, Liebe, Kirschen spucken, Klapprad,
Blumenwiese, Picknick, Mucke hören, Stadtpark,
Action, Gitarrenklang, Open Air, Flip Flop,
Seifenblasen, farbenfroh, Elektro, Hip Hop,
Alles wie in einem Film, Löw, Löw, Fröhlichkeit,
Nachtwandern, Hängematte, Wirrwarr, Unendlichkeit,
Morgenrot, große Liebe, Sonnentanz, Regenluft,
Luftballons, bunte Fetzen, Fallschirm, Sommerluft,
Lampions, Erinnerung, unbeschwert, mein Meer,
Sandstrand, barfuß, Urlaub, Heimkehr,
Yeah, ein Sommer nur mit dir.
Es ist ein bunter Sommer,
Ein bunter Sommer,
Ein bunter Sommer,
Ist mein Sommer nur mit dir,
Ein bunter Sommer,
Ein bunter Sommer,
Yeah, mein Sommer kommt!
Schlaraffenland, Mangos, Sternstunde, voller Bauch,
Sommerwind, Sommernacht, langsam, Morgengrauen,
Der Endorphinentanz, Wassereis, Zuckerschub,
17305 mal lächelst du,
Larifari, Jamsession, einzigartig, Vielfalt,
Pandabär, Marienkäfer, zeitlos, Shisha,
Wahnsinn, Freibad, Nord, Ost, Süd, West,
Elbe, Fernweh, raus aus dem Nest,
Insel, Sonne, grün, chillen, Pilze, Euphorie,
Festessen, knutschen, Touristen, Allergie,
Schmetterlinge, Poesie, träumen, Baggersee,
Weggefährten, Schattenspiele, fröhlich sein, Abschied nehmen.
Mein Sommer nur mit dir…
Songtext ... (Was verstehst Du? )
Erdbeeren, Festival, Blüten, Rückenwind,
Freiheit, Zuneigung, Sommerregen, Sonnenkind,
Hamburg, Meer, Venen, Liebe, Kirschen spucken, Klapprad,
Blumenwiese, Picknick, Mucke hören, Stadtpark,
Action, Gitarrenklang, Open Air, Flip Flop,
Seifenblasen, farbenfroh, Elektro, Hip Hop,
Alles wie in einem Film, Löw, Löw, Fröhlichkeit,
Nachtwandern, Hängematte, Wirrwarr, Unendlichkeit,
Morgenrot, große Liebe, Sonnentanz, Regenluft,
Luftballons, bunte Fetzen, Fallschirm, Sommerluft,
Lampions, Erinnerung, unbeschwert, mein Meer,
Sandstrand, barfuß, Urlaub, Heimkehr,
Yeah, ein Sommer nur mit dir.
Es ist ein bunter Sommer,
Ein bunter Sommer,
Ein bunter Sommer,
Ist mein Sommer nur mit dir,
Ein bunter Sommer,
Ein bunter Sommer,
Yeah, mein Sommer kommt!
Schlaraffenland, Mangos, Sternstunde, voller Bauch,
Sommerwind, Sommernacht, langsam, Morgengrauen,
Der Endorphinentanz, Wassereis, Zuckerschub,
17305 mal lächelst du,
Larifari, Jamsession, einzigartig, Vielfalt,
Pandabär, Marienkäfer, zeitlos, Shisha,
Wahnsinn, Freibad, Nord, Ost, Süd, West,
Elbe, Fernweh, raus aus dem Nest,
Insel, Sonne, grün, chillen, Pilze, Euphorie,
Festessen, knutschen, Touristen, Allergie,
Schmetterlinge, Poesie, träumen, Baggersee,
Weggefährten, Schattenspiele, fröhlich sein, Abschied nehmen.
Mein Sommer nur mit dir…
Folding Boat - and We Do Mean Folding
From Latitude 38 Publishing Co
September 26, 2007 – Elbe River, GermanyGerman artist Frank Boelter was fooling around with a milk carton at breakfast one morning when all of a sudden (so the report goes) it occurred to him that you could build a boat out of this stuff. So he did. Using an 1,800-square-foot piece of Tetrabrik - a paper product which is used, among other things, for making milk cartons - Boelter spent just two hours bending and folding to come up with Bis Ans Ende der Welt ("Until the end of the world"), a 30-ft, 55-pound 'boat' that cost all of $217. Boelter says the craft will survive a biblical 40 days and nights before it disintegrates into a soggy blob.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Wie heißt das Tier?
Was für ein Schwein -Pferd -Tier ist das? Eine Kröte?
--Danke Stephanie!
But why does German rely on such an elaborate process to name things as simple as squirrels? When broken down into their separate components, the names of familiar animals mutate into bizarre new creatures.
Eichhörnchen:
Keep an eye on this spot for an upcoming post where we’ll delve deeper into the animal kingdom: branching out to birds, insects, reptiles, fishes and any other mammals we find crawling around.
--Danke Stephanie!
Ocean Piglets, Shield Toads and Naked Snails (found at Babbel Language Learning Online)
Funny and bizarre German animal names
The German language is famous for some really long nouns (Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän comes to mind). This is because German nouns, verbs, prepositions and adjectives are like lego bricks; you can stick them together in almost any way to create new words that encapsulate new concepts. This gives the language a special ability to name just about anything. You could call it the German language’s lego brick-like quality, or Legosteineigenschaft (see what I just did there?).But why does German rely on such an elaborate process to name things as simple as squirrels? When broken down into their separate components, the names of familiar animals mutate into bizarre new creatures.
The Uncanny X-Tiere
Comics are full of heroes with names like super, wonder, iron, ultra, bat or cat followed by -man, -woman, -girl or -boy. A lot of German animal names work the same way, where Tier – the word for animal – is preceded by a word describing that animal’s “super power”.-
Stinktier – stink animal (skunk)
-
Faultier – lazy animal (sloth)
-
Gürteltier – belt animal (armadillo)
-
Murmeltier – mumbling animal (groundhog)
-
Schnabeltier – beak animal (platypus)
-
Maultier – mouth animal (mule)
-
Trampeltier – trampling animal (bactrian camel).
The verb trampeln means to trample or tread upon, whereas the noun Trampel is a clumsy oaf.
-
Schildkröte – shield toad (tortoise)
-
Waschbär – wash bear (raccoon)
-
Nacktschnecke – naked snail (slug)
-
Fledermaus – flutter mouse (bat)
-
Seehund – sea dog (seal)
-
Tintenfisch – ink fish (squid)
-
Truthahn – threatening chicken (turkey).
Trut is onomatopoeic for the
trut-trut-trut cluck of a turkey, but it’s also been hypothesized that
the name comes from the Middle German droten which means “to threaten”.
No, I’m Pretty Sure That’s A Pig
Swine seem to be a popular yardstick in German animal taxonomy.-
Schweinswal – pig whale (porpoise)
-
Seeschwein – sea pig (dugong).
Not to be confused with the Seekuh, or sea cow, known in English as a manatee.
-
Stachelschwein – spike pig (porcupine).
The English word is actually just as literal; porcupine sounds a lot like “pork spine”.
-
Wasserschwein – water pig (capybara)
-
Meerschweinchen – ocean piglet (guinea pig).
The ending -chen denotes something small. Add it to the end of Schwein and you get a little pig, or piglet. Since the stems Meer and Wasser are often interchangeable, it’s most likely that Meerschweinchen actually means little capybara.
Just Plain Weird
I’d like to end this list by giving one animal a category all to itself: the humble squirrel.Eichhörnchen:
- little oak horn: Eiche (oak tree) + Horn (horn) + -chen (little)
- oak croissant: Eiche (oak tree) + Hörnchen (croissant)
- Eichkätzchen (regional name) and Eichkatzerl (Austria) – oak kitten
Keep an eye on this spot for an upcoming post where we’ll delve deeper into the animal kingdom: branching out to birds, insects, reptiles, fishes and any other mammals we find crawling around.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Das Musikal: Karl (Karl des Große = Charlemagne)
Die Konzert-Premiere findet am 24. Juni 2014 auf dem Aachener Katschhof statt.
Sie werden Zeuge (witness) einer musikalischen Zeitreise in das frühe Mittelalter und lernen Karl den Großen als Menschen, Ehemann und Familienvater mit seinen Stärken und Schwächen kennen.
Bei einer Open Air Aufführung auf dem Katschhof am Originalschauplatz vor der historischen Kulisse des Aachener Doms werden Karl Frenzel, Nicole Malangré, Karim Khawatmi und Dietmar Ziegler den Staats- und Gottesmann mit all seinen ideologischen und theologischen Facetten in einer wunderbaren, ersten Aufführung präsentieren.
Katschhof Aachen | Open Air | Eintritt frei (Danke für die Infos, Kir!)
Kaiser wider Willen
Ein Puppenspiel (auf Sand gebaut)
Du hast einen Platz
Christian Klinkenberg -
Friday, May 23, 2014
US Dollar? Gold? Russian Ruble?
WARNING from Max Keiser on IN THE NOW (program)
-- Once the US Dollar loses it's value, our energy costs will triple.
-- US fracking industry has been overestimated by 96%..
-- US oil policy has been to BOMB ... to secure the world's oil supply.
What's the US recourse? "Nothing." We'll just have to "pass the baton." "We're done."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC, from OpEdNews Op Eds
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after approving a joint declaration.
(image by The Presidential Press and Information Office)
http://rt.com rt.com is Russian television, which actually does a great job reporting on US news too.
PR: I would think so. I mean all countries need energy and all countries are getting tired of Western bullying. Western machinations, the air of superiority over the world that Washington has. It was not long ago that President Obama declared that the US was the exceptional country. That means we come first, you are second. Other people do not like thinking of themselves as second class, so I think that this is the beginning of transformation that has been long implicit in the organization known as BRICS. That is starting to form up and be a real thing.
RT: Do you think there's genuine concern from the West over growing ties between Russia and China?
PR: Yes, there is very much concern. The American foreign policy doctrine calls Washington to prevent the rise of other global powers. So now it is confronted not just with two rising global powers, but these two powers have a mutual alliance and both understand that Washington is surrounding them with military bases. Washington has land bases in the Baltics, in the Eastern Europe; possibly they are going to be in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine. And China is confronted with new American naval and air bases positioned to control the flow of ships through the South China sea. So both countries see that Washington has in mind hemming them in, preventing their rise and they are forming a strategic alliance because the two are stronger together than independently. And this worries Washington very much.
I think it has overreached, it should have accepted the Russian cooperation, it should not have seen the rise of China as some kind of the threat. But it made mistake in demonizing both countries and it is trying to operate in the ways that prevent or slow the rise of these two countries. So this is a very serious situation for the world because it has the implication of a serious war.
-- Once the US Dollar loses it's value, our energy costs will triple.
-- US fracking industry has been overestimated by 96%..
-- US oil policy has been to BOMB ... to secure the world's oil supply.
What's the US recourse? "Nothing." We'll just have to "pass the baton." "We're done."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC, from OpEdNews Op Eds
"World moving away from American financial hegemony"
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after approving a joint declaration.
(image by The Presidential Press and Information Office)
With
the China-Russia deal conducted outside the dollar system we see the
beginning of the de-dollarization and de-Americanization of the world,
former assistant Secretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts told RT.
RT: A number of Western businesspeople have boycotted the St. Petersburg economic forum. Are they going to lose out?
Paul Craig Roberts: I think it is just a symbolic way of accommodating Washington. I don't think it means anything, I do not think the firms in Germany, for example, want to harm the relationships with Russia, nor do they want it in France. So I do not think it means much. What is much more significant is that the number of Asian countries that are coming to this forum, and energy deal signed by Russia and China, is an indication that the world will be moving away from American financial hegemony.
This large energy deal will be conducted outside the dollar system, so here is the beginning of the de-dollarization, the beginning of the de-Americanization. This is an indication that the two large countries, Russia and China, are forming a strategic alliance because they are tired of being harassed and cut out of the Western mechanisms, they are tired of the threats. So they are moving in a new direction, and they will take much of the world with them. I do not think the European countries that have strong economic relations with Russia will want to lose those.
This is a beginning of a turn from Russia toward the East. Previously Russia was focused on being accepted by the West, being accepted by the Americans. It waited for years to be allowed to join the WTO. I think this was a mistake on Russia's part because the West is not the rising part of the world. The rising part of the world is the East.
RT: Pressure from Washington may account for some business figures not going to the forum, but are there other reasons too?
PR: They have made it for that reason, if there are
opportunities that they could have made there, if they are not present
they cannot make the deals. In that sense it is a bad decision. I do not
know how many countries actually decided not to come. I think in a way
the American credit card companies were hurt by the sanctions that
Washington kept talking about because this has now forced Russia to
develop its own credit card companies, which it should have done a long
time ago.
It has always been a mystery to me that economically stable countries continue to operate within the American financial system. They are dependent on American credit card companies, for example. They are dependent on American internet companies, which simply allows the NSA to spy on them better. Why do they accept such dependence on American economic institutions? I have never understood. I think in a sense these developments are good for Russia because it means it is now developing its own infrastructure and will not be dependent on Washington's infrastructure for communications, for finance, for credit. So this development is good for Russia, it is not good for Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping (not pictured), attends a ceremony to open the Chinese-Russian joint naval drills in Shanghai May 20, 2014.
(image by Reuters)
RT: A lot of people are expected to come from Asia for the forum. Can we expect any major trade deals between Russia and that part of the world?
Paul Craig Roberts: I think it is just a symbolic way of accommodating Washington. I don't think it means anything, I do not think the firms in Germany, for example, want to harm the relationships with Russia, nor do they want it in France. So I do not think it means much. What is much more significant is that the number of Asian countries that are coming to this forum, and energy deal signed by Russia and China, is an indication that the world will be moving away from American financial hegemony.
This large energy deal will be conducted outside the dollar system, so here is the beginning of the de-dollarization, the beginning of the de-Americanization. This is an indication that the two large countries, Russia and China, are forming a strategic alliance because they are tired of being harassed and cut out of the Western mechanisms, they are tired of the threats. So they are moving in a new direction, and they will take much of the world with them. I do not think the European countries that have strong economic relations with Russia will want to lose those.
This is a beginning of a turn from Russia toward the East. Previously Russia was focused on being accepted by the West, being accepted by the Americans. It waited for years to be allowed to join the WTO. I think this was a mistake on Russia's part because the West is not the rising part of the world. The rising part of the world is the East.
RT: Pressure from Washington may account for some business figures not going to the forum, but are there other reasons too?
It has always been a mystery to me that economically stable countries continue to operate within the American financial system. They are dependent on American credit card companies, for example. They are dependent on American internet companies, which simply allows the NSA to spy on them better. Why do they accept such dependence on American economic institutions? I have never understood. I think in a sense these developments are good for Russia because it means it is now developing its own infrastructure and will not be dependent on Washington's infrastructure for communications, for finance, for credit. So this development is good for Russia, it is not good for Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping (not pictured), attends a ceremony to open the Chinese-Russian joint naval drills in Shanghai May 20, 2014.
(image by Reuters)
RT: A lot of people are expected to come from Asia for the forum. Can we expect any major trade deals between Russia and that part of the world?
PR: I would think so. I mean all countries need energy and all countries are getting tired of Western bullying. Western machinations, the air of superiority over the world that Washington has. It was not long ago that President Obama declared that the US was the exceptional country. That means we come first, you are second. Other people do not like thinking of themselves as second class, so I think that this is the beginning of transformation that has been long implicit in the organization known as BRICS. That is starting to form up and be a real thing.
RT: Do you think there's genuine concern from the West over growing ties between Russia and China?
PR: Yes, there is very much concern. The American foreign policy doctrine calls Washington to prevent the rise of other global powers. So now it is confronted not just with two rising global powers, but these two powers have a mutual alliance and both understand that Washington is surrounding them with military bases. Washington has land bases in the Baltics, in the Eastern Europe; possibly they are going to be in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine. And China is confronted with new American naval and air bases positioned to control the flow of ships through the South China sea. So both countries see that Washington has in mind hemming them in, preventing their rise and they are forming a strategic alliance because the two are stronger together than independently. And this worries Washington very much.
I think it has overreached, it should have accepted the Russian cooperation, it should not have seen the rise of China as some kind of the threat. But it made mistake in demonizing both countries and it is trying to operate in the ways that prevent or slow the rise of these two countries. So this is a very serious situation for the world because it has the implication of a serious war.
„Der sprachliche Provinzialismus gefährdet das Denken“
(Language Provincialism Endangers the Though Process)Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)
Meeting oder Sitzung? Low Performer oder Versager? Was hat es eigentlich für Auswirkungen, wenn auf deutschen Bürofluren nur noch das Englische dominiert?
Ein Interview mit den Sprachwissenschaftler Jürgen Trabant.
© ANDREAS PEIN / F.A.Z.Jürgen Trabant, 71, war Professor für Romanische Philologie in Berlin. Zuletzt erschien von ihm „Globalesisch oder was? Ein Plädoyer für Europas Sprachen“.
Herr Trabant, was unterscheidet ein Meeting von einer Sitzung?
An der Sitzung nehmen der Herr Professor und die Frau Direktorin teil. Beim Meeting sitzen John, Peter und Wolfgang am Tisch. Hierarchien gibt es trotzdem. Da täuschen sich viele, die nach Amerika gehen. Sie denken, das ist mein Freund John. Dabei ist er natürlich der Boss, und jeder weiß das. Darin liegt eine Gefahr.
Ist der Low Performer etwas anderes als der Versager?
Er ist jedenfalls etwas anderes als der Pechvogel, der sagt: Mir war auf dieser Welt das Glück nicht hold, ich wandre in die Berge - wie es in Gustav Mahlers Lied von der Erde heißt. Das ist die europäische Sicht. Der Amerikaner bezieht die Schuld auf sich selbst.
Darf sich ein Finanzkonzern noch Deutsche Bank nennen, wenn der Vorstandschef nur Englisch spricht?
Das müssen die Aktionäre beurteilen, ob sie auf der Hauptversammlung Auskünfte in der Landessprache verlangen. Ich selbst fand es jedenfalls befremdlich.
Ist eine Firma, die Englisch als Umgangssprache einführt, noch dieselbe wie vorher?
Natürlich ändern sich damit das ganze Denken und das ganze Verhalten. Solange es um normierte Abläufe geht, ist das nicht gravierend. Aber zumindest die Führungskräfte übernehmen mit der Sprache auch einen ganzen Lebensstil. Sie schicken ihre Kinder auf eine englischsprachige Kita, Schule, Universität. Da muss sich eine Gesellschaft die Frage stellen, ob sie ihre ökonomischen Eliten einfach auswandern lässt. Es ist schon ein Problem, wenn sich eine ganze Gruppe von Menschen in eine andere sprachliche und kulturelle Welt flüchtet - wie die Aristokratie des 18. Jahrhunderts ins Französische.
Eben: Im Mittelalter kommunizierten die europäischen Eliten auf Latein, im 18. Jahrhundert auf Französisch, heute halt auf Englisch. Wo ist das Problem?
Damals gab es noch keine Demokratie, und es gab riesige Klassenunterschiede. Mit dem Bürgertum ist das Deutsche dann aufgestiegen. Und die Landessprache begünstigte das Entstehen von Demokratie, so war es in den meisten europäischen Ländern. Für eine Gesellschaft ist es gut, wenn sie sich in einer gemeinsamen Sprache verständigen kann. Was nicht bedeutet, dass die Eliten nicht mehrsprachig sein sollen. In Deutschland waren sie es immer. Und es ist auch gut, wenn viele Menschen mehrsprachig sind.
Wie kann eine vielsprachige Demokratie in Europa funktionieren?
Ich habe nichts dagegen, dass die Parlamentarier und die Eurokraten in Brüssel untereinander Englisch sprechen. Hauptsache, die Verwaltung funktioniert. Aber mit den einzelnen Ländern muss das Zentrum in der Landessprache kommunizieren. Wenn ich als lettischer Bürger einen Brief nach Brüssel schreibe, habe ich den Anspruch auf eine lettischsprachige Antwort. Das läuft im Moment nicht so gut, wie es laufen sollte.
Mehr zum Thema
Muss die gemeinsame Sprache das Englische sein?
Mir als Romanisten wäre natürlich das Französische lieber gewesen. Ich war damals auf der Seite von Charles de Gaulle, der sich auch deswegen gegen die Aufnahme Großbritanniens gestemmt hat. Er hat genau gesehen: Wenn England nicht dabei wäre, hätten wir heute Französisch als Sprache Europas.
Und das Deutsche?
Es war vielleicht ganz weise, nicht auf unserer Sprache zu bestehen. Nach dem Krieg gab es so etwas wie eine deutsche Sprach-Scham. Wir wollten im Ausland nicht die Sprache benutzen, in der kurz zuvor so schrecklich gebrüllt wurde. Auch heute ist die Zurückhaltung ein Gebot der politischen Klugheit, wir sind nun mal das große Land in der Mitte Europas. Im eigenen Land könnten wir die Schönheit unserer Sprache allerdings mehr betonen.
Das passiert doch, wenigstens zum Teil: Die Bahn sagt wieder „WC“ statt „McClean“. Die Parfümerie Douglas hat ihren Slogan „Come in and find out“ eingestampft, weil ihn niemand verstand.
Ist das so? An jeder Boutique steht „Closed“, und der Schlussverkauf heißt „Sale“. Manche Exzesse wurden zurückgenommen, das stimmt. Die Telekom verschickt ihre Rechnungen wieder auf Deutsch. Eine Zeitlang stand dort „City Call“ statt Ortsgespräch, und kein Mensch wusste, was er da überhaupt bezahlt. Stellen Sie sich mal vor, in Amerika würden Telefonrechnungen auf Deutsch oder Russisch verschickt!
Das Englische ist doch ungemein praktisch: Anders als noch vor zwanzig Jahren komme ich damit überall in Europa durch.
Wenn ich mich damit nur verständlich machen will, ist das ja völlig in Ordnung. Um in Helsinki eine Pizza zu bestellen, muss ich nicht Finnisch lernen. Aber das bleibt eindimensional: Mit meinem praktischen Englisch will ich vor allem meinen Wunsch kommunizieren, ich will gar nicht wissen, was du mir sagst. Das führt dazu, dass man immer nur sich selbst ausdrückt, statt sich in den anderen hineinzuhören. Wenn ich mich mit Finnen oder Griechen wirklich befreunden möchte, sollte ich besser deren Sprache lernen. Ich bin sicher: Viele der Probleme mit Griechenland wären gar nicht erst aufgetreten, wenn mehr Leute in Berlin und Brüssel Griechisch könnten.
Viele Amerikaner fordern auch in Europa ganz selbstverständlich ein, dass man Englisch mit ihnen spricht.
Fremdsprachen sind an den öffentlichen Schulen in Amerika und England so gut wie abgeschafft. Sie haben mit ihrer Sprache gesiegt und glauben, sie kommen damit durch. Dieser sprachliche Provinzialismus gefährdet das Denken. Als die Amerikaner aus dem Irak abzogen, sagte Präsident George W. Bush: Dann schicken wir die Übersetzer nach Afghanistan. Er wusste offensichtlich nicht, dass in Afghanistan kein Arabisch gesprochen wird! So etwas hat natürlich politische Folgen. Für die Vorherrschaft der Amerikaner in der Welt wäre es besser, wenn sie den Umgang mit dem anderen lernten.
Auch in Amerika haben sich die intellektuellen Eliten über Bush lustig gemacht.
Was die Sprache betrifft, sind sie aber keinen Deut besser. Die letzten fünf Jahre habe ich an einer englischsprachigen Hochschule in Deutschland unterrichtet. Da merkte ich: Alles, was ich in meinem Forscherleben getan habe, kommt in der abgeschlossenen Anglo-Welt nicht vor. Aus anderen Sprachen wird nichts wahrgenommen und nur wenig ins Englische übersetzt, und wenn, dann müssen es die anderen selbst bezahlen. Ganze Bibliotheken von Wissen verschwinden auf Nimmerwiedersehen in der exklusiven Anglophonie.
Ein Wettbewerbsvorteil ist das Englische für die Amerikaner schon - die ganzen Internetfirmen säßen kaum in Amerika, wenn Englisch nicht die Weltsprache wäre?
Klar, die Vorherrschaft des Englischen ist ein unglaublicher Wirtschaftsfaktor. In England gehen, glaube ich, bis zu 20 Prozent der Wirtschaftsleistung auf den Englischunterricht für Ausländer zurück. Der belgische Sozialphilosoph Philipp Van Parijs hat ausgerechnet, dass die nichtanglophone Menschheit jedes Jahr 300 Milliarden Euro allein fürs Englischlernen ausgibt. Es wäre doch schön, wenn die Briten dafür ein bisschen Geld aufs Festland überweisen könnten - als eine Art Finanzausgleich.
Wenn es stimmt, dass man sich durchs Sprachenlernen besser in andere Kulturen hineinversetzen kann: Dann wäre das doch für die Amerikaner ein großes Handicap?
So ist es ja auch. Der deutsche Exporterfolg hat auch damit zu tun, dass wir uns ganz gut auf die anderen einstellen können. Der schwäbische Mittelständler schickt nach Polen eben einen Mitarbeiter, der auch Polnisch spricht oder sich zumindest darum bemüht. Die Amerikaner wissen oft gar nicht, was es heißt, in anderen Sprachen zu kommunizieren. Sie nehmen keine Rücksicht und reden drauflos, als seien sie in Tennessee. Unter meinen Studenten waren sie die Einzigen, die man nicht verstehen konnte.
Dann müssen wir uns um die Zukunft des Deutschen keine Sorgen machen?
Aussterben wird es nicht. Aber die Gefahr ist, dass es zu einer zweitrangigen Sprache für den Hausgebrauch herabsinkt. Hinter dieser Befürchtung steht die französische Erfahrung. Bis zur Revolution war Frankreich ein vielsprachiges Land. Die Revolution hat dann die französische Sprache durchgesetzt, das Bretonische und das Okzitanische sind ins Haus zurückgewandert. So könnte es den europäischen Sprachen ergehen, wenn sich das Englische in der offiziellen Sphäre weiter durchsetzt.
Gibt es positive Vorbilder? (Are there positive examples / models?)
Das alte Österreich hat eine sehr kluge Sprachpolitik gemacht. Die habsburgischen Beamten mussten mindestens drei Sprachen können. Wer nach Ruthenien versetzt wurde, der musste eben Ruthenisch lernen. Heute rate ich (I advise) : Jeder Europäer sollte neben seiner Muttersprache und dem Englischen mindestens noch eine dritte Sprache lernen ( -- after your own mother tongue and English, learn to speak at least a third language).
Wonach soll ich mich dabei richten?
Nach der Stimme des Herzens. Nicht nach ökonomischen Kriterien, dafür gibt es ja schon das Englische. In der Schule habe ich mich schrecklich gequält, ob ich als dritte Sprache Französisch oder Russisch lernen soll. Dann sagte ein Lehrer: Nach Russland kommst du schlecht hin, Frankreich liegt uns näher. Als ich dann zum ersten Mal Französisch hörte, dachte ich: Das ist die Sprache, die in meinem Herzen schon immer geklungen hat.
Das Gespräch führte Ralph Bollmann.
U.S. 23-man roster is youthful, but inexperienced
Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports10:52 p.m. EDT May 22, 2014
Looking beyond the stunning news about (eliminating) Landon Donovan, the U.S.'s 23-player roster is long on youth (and German-Americans) and short on World Cup experience.
Five German-Americans earned a spot, including 18-year-old Julian Green. The son of a U.S. serviceman who was born in Florida and raised in Germany has played just one game in a U.S. jersey. John Brooks, 21, has made just three appearances with the Americans. Timmy Chandler, Jermaine Jones and Fabian Johnson were the other dual-national picks.
Five of Jurgen Klinsmann's final seven cuts were MLS players. Though there are 10 MLS players on the team, a few more were expected. Even so, compared to the 2010 roster which included just four MLS players, the number is significant.
Defender DeAndre Yedlin, 20, has played in just two national team games and earned his spot through his solid MLS play. His Seattle Sounders teammate, Brad Evans, a regular during World Cup qualifying at right back, did not.
Six players on the final roster have been on previous World Cup teams, including five with playing experience, the lowest number since 1990 when the US returned to the World Cup after a 40-year drought. Four years ago in South Africa, then coach Bob Bradley brought six Americans with World Cup playing experience.
The roster wasn't all about youth. MLS veteran Chris Wondolowski, 31, who has a knack for poaching goals, earned a spot after being repeatedly praised by Klinsmann for giving "a 1,000 percent." Midfielder Kyle Beckerman, 32, will also make his World Cup debut, earning praise when paired alongside Michael Bradley, enabling the U.S. star to push forward.
Then there's DeMarcus Beasley who will become the first American to play in four World Cups. (Claudio Reyna and Kasey Keller were each on four World Cup rosters but did not play in all four.) Beasley, who turns 32 on Saturday, is the only defender with World Cup experience but in those three tournaments, he played midfield.
Conchita delights fans with free concert
From AUSTRIA's THE LOCAL
"Austria's News in English"
"Austria's News in English"
Conchita Wurst singing at Ballhausplatz. Photo: APA
Published: 19 May 2014 10:05 GMT+02:00
Ten thousand admiring fans crammed into central Vienna's Ballhausplatz on Sunday afternoon to hear Conchita Wurst's first public performance since her Eurovision win in Copenhagen last weekend.
- Conchita receives invites and death threats (15 May 14)
- Conchita: Poster girl for a more liberal Austria (12 May 14)
An eclectic crowd - young and old, straight and gay – many wearing fake beards, cheered and waved rainbow and Austrian flags as Conchita took to the stage.
Humbled by the attention, Wurst opened and closed the show with her winning ballad, Rise Like a Phoenix, as well as a stirring rendition of Cher's hit, Believe and her 2012 Eurovision entry, That's What I Am.
Fans enthusiastically sang along to a karaoke version of Phoenix, following the English text from a giant video screen.
"It was only a week ago. This is unbelievable. It means so much to me that I am not alone. It's beautiful to believe in a future without discrimination and hate, and I'm honoured that next year the Song Contest will come to Austria," Conchita told her enraptured audience.
Humbled by the attention, Wurst opened and closed the show with her winning ballad, Rise Like a Phoenix, as well as a stirring rendition of Cher's hit, Believe and her 2012 Eurovision entry, That's What I Am.
Fans enthusiastically sang along to a karaoke version of Phoenix, following the English text from a giant video screen.
"It was only a week ago. This is unbelievable. It means so much to me that I am not alone. It's beautiful to believe in a future without discrimination and hate, and I'm honoured that next year the Song Contest will come to Austria," Conchita told her enraptured audience.
Ukrainian students, Katya and Valeria. Photo: Kim Traill
Longtime supporter, Christina Pichler, travelled from Burgenland with her mother for the spectacle, which was broadcast live on ORF. "It's absolutely incredible. She is really uniting everyone. By creating this figure of Conchita, she is showing there is major rethinking and change going on in Europe and all over the world, including in countries where this topic is so negative," Pichler told The Local.
Ukrainian students, Katya and Valeria, were equally awed. "We think she's great. We were unsure about her at first, but now we're used to her." But they don't expect their friends in Ukraine to understand their enthusiasm for Austria's new heroine. "We know when we post pictures on Facebook and people back home see we were here, they will say 'Ugh, how could you?'"
Ukrainian students, Katya and Valeria, were equally awed. "We think she's great. We were unsure about her at first, but now we're used to her." But they don't expect their friends in Ukraine to understand their enthusiasm for Austria's new heroine. "We know when we post pictures on Facebook and people back home see we were here, they will say 'Ugh, how could you?'"
Prior to her performance, the newly crowned Queen of Austria met with Chancellor Werner Faymann and Minister of Culture, Josef Ostermayer, at an official reception at the Federal Chancellery. "You have made Austrians very proud by what you have achieved at the Song Contest," an impressed Faymann told Conchita.
"Conchita stands for openness and freedom, and I wish that all of Europe will have such an image," he added.
Wurst, wearing a figure-hugging white dress, appeared overwhelmed by the media attention, as she clutched her Eurovision trophy. "I feel a freedom that means more to me than winning the Song Contest. Thank you, thank you, each and every one of you," she said. "Austria has sent a signal to the world. This is overwhelming."
"Conchita stands for openness and freedom, and I wish that all of Europe will have such an image," he added.
Wurst, wearing a figure-hugging white dress, appeared overwhelmed by the media attention, as she clutched her Eurovision trophy. "I feel a freedom that means more to me than winning the Song Contest. Thank you, thank you, each and every one of you," she said. "Austria has sent a signal to the world. This is overwhelming."
German satellites capture Earth in hi-def 3D
Rudiger findet noch mehr und schreibt: Just another testimony towards German engineering.. That's why I own a Volkswagen ! Danke, Rudiger! --rsb
THE LOCAL "Germany's News, in English"
Alex Evans | 22 May 2014, 08:17
Two German satellites have been orbiting Earth for the last four years mapping the planet's surface to a level 30 times more accurate than anything seen before.
The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) has released the first elevation scans from the project, which has already attracted over 800 scientists from 31 countries to sign up to use the final data when it is released next year.
The two satellites, TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, have scanned every inch of the Earth's surface more than twice each, travelling over 800 million kilometres at a height of 514 kilometres above our planet in the first ever precise formation flight between two satellites.
Both satellites mapped the height of points on the Earth's surface by measuring the time it took for radar signals to travel to the ground and back. They are accurate to within one billionth of a second.
Alongside constant radar elevation scans, they captured over 350 smaller initial Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), each covering a patch of 30 by 50 kilometres, totalling over 2500 terabytes of data.
And, since the end of 2013, scientists at the DLR have been weaving these pieces together to form a "new topography of Earth," Alberto Moreira, the project's scientific head and director of the DLR's Microwaves and Radar Institute said.
"Due to the significant improvements in accuracy, I am convinced the elevation model… will represent a new reference for a variety of applications," he said.
Researchers started by scanning the "simpler" regions, mostly large flat continental expanses - which need no more than two passes of the satellite to get a 3D image - before moving on to the "difficult" areas like the Alps and Himalayas.
The last phase of scanning data is now being put together, with the project's complete results due to be released in 2015.
And the DLR are considering a follow-up mission which would launch two satellites to scan the Earth's entire surface twice a week - 100 times faster than TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X – in order to "record the dynamic processes unfolding across Earth". Such live imaging data would make "an essential contribution to environmental and climate research," according to Moreira.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Bavarian butcher turns Weißwurst green - The Local
Bavarian butcher turns Weißwurst green - The Local
Their invention, made by mixing a Japanese green tea powder called
Matcha into the traditional white veal sausage meat, is the result of a
"crazy idea" by lecturer Werner Gropp, 55, made a reality by his friend,
27-year-old butcher Markus Hinterberger.
The unusual invention has raised some controversy among the sausage-eating Bavarian public in their village of Oberholzhausen, near the Austrian border.
"Some people said it was disgusting and were very negative," Hinterberger told The Local on Thursday. "But we also got positive comments. Some people said it was a great thing – a new discovery."
And ex-marketing manager Gropp is already in talks with companies in Europe and Japan, hoping to sell the rights to manufacture the green Weißwurst around the world.
But the luminous banger only came about thanks to a chance, crazy idea, Gropp explained.
He had travelled to Japan for work, discovered the tea at a traditional ceremony on his trip and brought a supply home with him.
"He's a passionate tea-drinker," Hinterberger said. "And at some point he came upon this idea to combine the drink with our Bavarian cult sausage – in a way, to unite two different worlds."
Gropp told The Local he had somehow been inspired to cross together two centuries-old culinary traditions from opposite ends of the globe.
When he first approached his friend with the plan for green Weißwurst, Hinterberger did not take to it immediately, according to Gropp.
"At first he thought I was crazy, he just thought 'My God, Weißwurst is sacrosanct, we can't touch it'," he said.
But after tasting the first prototype, the pair knew they were on to a winner, and with the demand they experienced after releasing the new sausage to the public they decided to patent the recipe. The flavour, like the colour scheme, is said to be a departure from the Bavarian sausage norm.
"Matcha has a slightly tart note to it," Hinterberger said. "But it's about the mixture of flavours between the Weißwurst and the Matcha. You just have to try it."
NOTE: Weißwurst is typically eaten for the main meal (Mittagessen) the very same day it is prepared, within hours. Therefore, we are unlikely to ever taste it -- outside of Bavaria, although there are butchers outside Bavaria who have their own recipes, generally with a longer shelf-life (in other words, not the same animal). -rsb
Bavarian butcher turns Weißwurst green
Alex Evans | 22 May 2014, 15:51
A
hobby butcher and a lecturer from Bavaria have shaken up the sausage
world by creating a bright green, tea-flavoured variety of the southern
state's famous white sausage - the Weißwurst.
The unusual invention has raised some controversy among the sausage-eating Bavarian public in their village of Oberholzhausen, near the Austrian border.
"Some people said it was disgusting and were very negative," Hinterberger told The Local on Thursday. "But we also got positive comments. Some people said it was a great thing – a new discovery."
And ex-marketing manager Gropp is already in talks with companies in Europe and Japan, hoping to sell the rights to manufacture the green Weißwurst around the world.
But the luminous banger only came about thanks to a chance, crazy idea, Gropp explained.
He had travelled to Japan for work, discovered the tea at a traditional ceremony on his trip and brought a supply home with him.
"He's a passionate tea-drinker," Hinterberger said. "And at some point he came upon this idea to combine the drink with our Bavarian cult sausage – in a way, to unite two different worlds."
Gropp told The Local he had somehow been inspired to cross together two centuries-old culinary traditions from opposite ends of the globe.
When he first approached his friend with the plan for green Weißwurst, Hinterberger did not take to it immediately, according to Gropp.
"At first he thought I was crazy, he just thought 'My God, Weißwurst is sacrosanct, we can't touch it'," he said.
But after tasting the first prototype, the pair knew they were on to a winner, and with the demand they experienced after releasing the new sausage to the public they decided to patent the recipe. The flavour, like the colour scheme, is said to be a departure from the Bavarian sausage norm.
"Matcha has a slightly tart note to it," Hinterberger said. "But it's about the mixture of flavours between the Weißwurst and the Matcha. You just have to try it."
NOTE: Weißwurst is typically eaten for the main meal (Mittagessen) the very same day it is prepared, within hours. Therefore, we are unlikely to ever taste it -- outside of Bavaria, although there are butchers outside Bavaria who have their own recipes, generally with a longer shelf-life (in other words, not the same animal). -rsb
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
German Compound Nouns
From The Guardian
-- Germany, The Accidental Empire
Danke, Kai!
The Germans have a word for it – and it's a very long one
The editor of the Accidental Empire series muses on another thing the Germans do extremely well
It was the first thing I found strangely fascinating about German: a word that went on and on until you ran out of breath or got totally lost in the middle. Invariably it had to be hyphenated on to the row below. Geschwindigkeitsbeschränkungen, all 30 letters of it: a very big word for a fairly simple idea (it means speed limits).
To people who disparage German and praise the Latin-based languages as more creative, easier to learn and more likely to be useful, I simply reply: ah yes, but how many words of 30 letters or more do they have? Can they render complex ideas, such as a person who wears gloves to throw snowballs (Handschuhschneeballwerfer) or a man who pees sitting down (Sitzpinkler) in one deliciously singular word? Several editions of the Guinness Book of Records list Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhaupt-betriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft, (why, the association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services, of course) as the longest compound in the German language, even if there's no evidence that such an association ever existed in real life.
Shops get in on the act too, and I'm indebted to @andrea_wulf for this Fussbodenschleifmaschinenverleih, I'm reliably informed, is the place to turn to if you need your wooden floors sanded down. See – I needed 13 English words to say what the Germans can say in one.
German compound nouns are just about the best thing about any European languages. Sometimes they can result in three of the same letter butting up against each other (Schifffahrt, journey on a ship, which looks so wrong but isn't, and seeerfahren, skilled at navigating, which is what you'll need to be on a Schifffahrt, or else you might bump into a Seeelephant or, if you're very unlucky a Schneeeule).
Sometimes they can be pure poetry, a far better way of saying things that their English equivalent (Schnellschrauber = power drill). Sometimes they can help you understand other languages and the nature of matter itself (Sauerstoff = oxygen = bitter thing).
So this post is a celebration of the best of German – and an appeal for your favourite compound noun. Neologisms welcome. Don't forget to spell it correctly and let us know what it means, or there'll be a Leserkommentarspaltenhöllenlärm (all hell breaking loose in the comment thread) ...
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Besuchen wir München!
Danke, Videotours.
Ich habe gern, das was hier im Film gezeigt wird.
Aber...
Wo ist der Englische Garten? Dort am Fluß wird es gesurft....
Wo sind die vielen Museen?
Wo ist der Victualienmarkt?
Wo ist die Alianz Arena und der Olympiaturm?
Und am Abend, wo ist die Flaniermeile an der Leopoldstraße?
-- Im nächsten Video, vielleicht?
Es gibt in München sehr viel zu sehen, und sehr viel zu tun.
Wo möchtest du hin?
Ich habe gern, das was hier im Film gezeigt wird.
Aber...
Wo ist der Englische Garten? Dort am Fluß wird es gesurft....
Wo sind die vielen Museen?
Wo ist der Victualienmarkt?
Wo ist die Alianz Arena und der Olympiaturm?
Und am Abend, wo ist die Flaniermeile an der Leopoldstraße?
-- Im nächsten Video, vielleicht?
Es gibt in München sehr viel zu sehen, und sehr viel zu tun.
Wo möchtest du hin?
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Wir helfen zu Hause ... getanzt! Ventures (Walk, Don't Run)
Intro: Wir wollen Fern sehen. Aber zuerst müssen wir helfen.
--Na gut, wir helfen hier zu Hause!
A Was machen wir zuerst? Was können wir tun?
B Wo fangen wir an? Draußen! Jetzt geht's los!
C. Wir mähen den Rasen Wir mähen den Rasen (Brumm, brumm! )
Wir mähen den Rasen Wir mähen den Rasen (Brumm, brumm!)
D. Dann gießen wir die Blumen Dann gießen wir die Blumen (Plantsch, plantsch!)
Dann gießen wir die Blumen Dann gießen wir die Blumen (Plantsch, plantsch!)
Refr: Jetzt zur Garage: Wir polieren das Auto!
Wir polieren das Auto! Wir polieren das Auto! Ja, so geht das, wir polieren das Auto!
Ja, so geht das, wir polieren das Auto -- Wir wollen ein schönes Auto.
E. Aber die Garage ist auch schmutzig!
Räumen wir die Garage auf!
Wir räumen, räumen, räumen die Garage auf!
Brücke: Nun geht's in die Wohnung.
Ach! Der Waschbecken ist voll!
Der Waschbecken ist voll, und wir brauchen das Geschirr.
Wir brauchen das Geschirr. -- Wir spülen das Geschirr.
E. Den Tisch müssen wir decken. Decken wir den Tisch!
Den Tisch müssen wir decken. Decken wir den Tisch!
F. Zum Schlafzimmer? Das Bett ist nicht gemacht? Ach ja.
Wir machen das Bett, Wir machen das Bett. Wir machen das Bett.
Refr: Der Staub! Er liegt herum. Saugen wir diesen Staub weg!
Wir saugen, saugen, saugen den Staub. Der Staub muss weg.
Wir saugen den Staub.
ENDE: Schau mal! Das Haus ist aufgeräumt.
Juchhe! Schön fleißig sind wir.
Endlich dürfen wir Fern sehen! -- Zuerst kommt Abendbrot.