The German language

Zahn = tooth, Zahnfleisch = gums [i.e. tooth meat]

Textilfrei = nude.

Frei Körper Kultur = going nude.

FKK is a lot more than that. It's a Weltanschauung.

Nipple = Brustwarze ('breast wart').

I was once told that the literal translation of 'imagination' is 'picture making power'.

xpost: The bolted-on conceptualism is why I love it! Das ist so typisch Deutsch.

Same thing goes, markedly less lovavbly, for Wohngemeinschaft: literally "living community", but actually "flatshare". (But then again, so very much more than "flatshare"...)

That thing about cell phone being "handy" is kind of symptomatic, every other word spoken on german tv these days is a poorly adapted english word. "Jetzt wird das team richtig stark fighten", was the last one I caught.

For some reason the Germans also use the English word "slip" for "undies". My German friend was kinda surprised when I told her that English speakers don't actually use that word for undies.

Then again, I've never understood why the term "WC" is used for toilets in many countries except the English speaking countries, even though it comes from the English words "water closet".

It's a privilege of the English to export these words, and then immediately change them for a lark. All those Americanisms like 'fall' and 'pants' and 'gotten', I think they were ditched here just so we could act all snooty.

gotten?

Americans still say "gotten", don't they?

Yes, but so do English people, nicht wahr?

We most certainly do not!

I do

The past participle of 'got' is 'got' in British English.

I've picked up some American syntax in the last couple of years because I work with Americans and Europeans all day long, but I'm pretty sure I've always said "gotten". Maybe it's a Northern thing?

slip

This is the French word too, which is I'd guess where the Germans borrowed it from. It had never crossed my mind that the French was an English loan-word, since we never use it like that (any more?), but I guess it isn't the most French-looking word.

Getting kind of bummed to be going from a supremely disorganised 10-week German course which was all over the place in terms of level to a year-long beginners' course. I had a quick look at the book used for Level 2 and thought my grasp of some grammatical basics was too weak for it, but now I'm worried that after a year I still won't be any further on.

i have nearly finished level 3 of pimsleur (i guess that's 45 hours of tapes), and picking up some stuff from reading adverts on the u-bahn, cereal boxes, etc., but i definitely need some lessons.

45 hours sounds a lot! Impressive.

ILX German speakers, how big a deal is the difference between "du" and "Sie"?

In my first course (taught by English guy who'd lived in Germany for years) we were all calling each other "du" and using it for a lot of example sentences, etc. In my new course (taught by native German speaker) she was explaining to us that calling someone "du" would be a very big close-buddies-forever sort of deal and that people could talk to each other for years and not use it, which makes me think that as a non-German I am basically never going to get to use it unless someone introduces me to their kids. Is this right? Is it regional or age-dependent?

I'm not the biggest expert on German, but I think that might bit of an exaggeration. I've never heard young people who know each other call each other "Sie". "Sie" is something you use when talking to an elderly person, or when a sales clerk talks to a customer. I.e. it's used when you want show respect for the other person, or when you don't know the other person. I guess it's possible for people to know each other for years and still use "Sie", but then they'd have to be business associates or something like that, i.e. their relationship is formal. If you know someone more informally, I don't think there's nothing wrong with "du", even if you're not bosom buddies or anything.

"You can say you to me" is the bad joke Germans tell in English on this subject.

It's dependent on a LOT of age, social, and regional factors, and is a bit of a trap for the unwary. What you have understood your teacher to say, however, is not true -- so either you misunderstood her or she's at least 50.

It is a question of formality more than familiarity, and you do get a feel for it -- at this point my main problem is recognizing when it would be appropriate for me to offer the "du", but I doubt that this has caused me problems.

Don't duz a German cop, though.

You call people Herr X or Frau Y for far longer in a business relationship than you would do in the UK, I think. E.g. friends of mine set me up with their bank manager to open an account and warned me to call her Frau Schneider, so I was expecting some terrifyingly formal woman, but she was just a regular person. They just use the title more.

Yes, new tutor is probably in her 50s, older than my previous tutor, and definitely a LOT more formal about everything - dresses smartly for classes, very precise and posh English accent, even more so than other Germans I've spoken to of similar age.

Also probably some exaggeration to scare us out of saying "du" to the boss or the mother-in-law on our first day, should we get a job over there or have a German partner, and this latter reason is apparently why about a quarter of the class is there.

These things are good to know, thanks everyone.

I found out yesterday that the German for a non-competitive friendly (football) match is Testspiel. I like that.

This thread ist der Hammer.

The German for pregnancy is Schwangerschaft.

i am making progress

relative pronouns are giving me jokes at the moment though

Schönes Wochenende!

Stinktier = stinky animal (otherwise known as a skunk).

Rollgabelschlüssel = "rolling-fork spanner" = adjustable wrench

Stinktier is excellent.

As we discovered last week on http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?action=showall&boardid=77&threadid=90864, the German for sloth is Faultier = lazy animal!

Ooh, I thought it was "faul" because they were smelly!

faul means both rotten and lazy.

Seem to remember in the early days of reunification the East Germans saying "Wir sind nicht faul" but maybe I am making that up.

When I visited Germany in the mid 90s, I visited Berlin with some friends of mine from North Rhein-Westphalia. The girl we stayed with was from a West Berlin family, and she apparently referred to our East German cabbie as "smelly" (in German), like, in the car with him.

I lol'ed:

http://chzmemebase.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/internet-memes-schmetterlinggggg1.jpg

LOL tho schmetterling is a nice word

Yeah! I lold too but as far as German words go it's really not bad. Also, good to know it should be butterfly and not bowtie pasta. I had no idea.

lol, "motyl" is Polish for butterfly ... which is a lot duller than Schmetterling.

'butterfly' can sounds just as harsh and absurd if you drop the associations you have in your head w/ the word and a beautiful colorful creature

can sounds = english not my first language clearly

my favourite word in German is Büstenhalter

Mein deutsches Lieblingswort ist Straßenbahnhaltestelle.

in sheffield that is Superstraßenbahnhaltestelle

Wait what on Earth is it . . . street car stop?

Büstenhalter is a great word. Continuing with the boob theme so is Brustwarze - Nipples - Breast warts!

Wait what on Earth is it . . . street car stop?

yes or tram stop

lol 1980s brit punk rockers using a German word for their song title (and oblivious to the fact that Vikings were Scandinavian not German)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qj5AHm6u80&list=LLn-htGveAWBClerD_TzXNyg&index=1&feature=plpp_video

I suppose the German equivalent of a marauding force of warlike invaders would be a little too controversial

in Germany now, & I lol each time I see "einfahrt"

True story: When we were stationed in Germany, my grandmother came over to visit for a few weeks. She had been there a few days, and we were driving down the Autobahn, when she remarked, "That 'Ausfahrt' place must be huge, you can get there from anywhere.'"