German-question

[Sozialliberal]

Native speaker here.

Norden & Süden = North & South (to indicate a broader region)
Nördlich & Südlich = Northern & Southern (direction)
Nord & Süd = mostly used in geographical context such as Nordkalifornien (Northern California) to combine a region or state or ocean.

Sailors and weather forecasters use "Nord" and "Süd" as nouns. For example, they say: "Der Wind kommt heute aus Nord." (The wind is coming from the north today.)

which Germanic language (besides German itself anyway) would say Low German is closest to?

Ina Müller is a TV presenter, musician and comedian who grew up speaking Low German. In one of her shows, she said Low German seems like a mix of German, Dutch and English.

Some examples of Low German being closer to English than Standard German:

English: the clock
Standard German: die Uhr
Low German: de Klock

English: the plant
Standard German: die Pflanze
Low German: de Plant

English: little (in the sense of "small")
Standard German: klein
Low German: lütt

If a German orders a cake at an Austrian restaurant and the waitress asks: „Do you also want Schlag on top ?“ the German will be puzzled ... 🧐🤔

„Schlag“ on top of my apple strudel ? What’s that ?

Waitress: „Sahne“. Do you want Sahne for your Strudel ?“

Guest: „Yes, please. I want cream for my Strudel.“

A woman I knew once told me about her vacation in Austria. She wanted to drink a mixture of carbonated water and apple juice, which is quite a popular drink here, especially in the summertime. In most of Germany, this beverage is known as "Apfelschorle". Austrians call it "G'spritzter". So she went to that restaurant in Vienna and ordered a "Schorle". To her surprise, the waiter served her a fried fish instead: A plaice, which is known as "Scholle" in both Germany and Austria.

[Sozialliberal]

Question for the native German-speakers:

Do you call a Topfenstrudel Topfenstrudel or Quarkstrudel ?

Oh, I love Strudel, but it's not a traditional pastry in my home region. We consider Strudel an Austrian/Bavarian speciality. To answer your question, we'd call it Quarkstrudel because nobody says Topfen here.

[Sozialliberal]

is it true Jagen means hunter?

jagen ("juh-gen", soft g) = to hunt

der Jäger ("yay-guh") = the hunter

herein lies the importance of the umlaut.
Isn't the case that Muller is pronounced simple moo-ler but Muller (u with umlaut) it becomes Myu-ler?

Umlauts like ü, ö, ä are very tough to learn for English speakers because their sound is so alien to them.

What is the rule generally when it comes to umlauts? Add a trace of a 'y' sound?

There's no general rule. You simply have to know the pronunciation for each Umlaut. To make things even more complicated, there are two pronunciation variants for each vowel (including Umlaute): a short one and a long one. The consonants after the vowel often indicate the length of the vowel. The ü in "Müller" is pronounced short because it's followed by a double l. On the other hand, the ü in "Mühle" (mill) is long because it's followed by an h.

Well, there is no English equivalent for the ü sound in Müller. Just as some English sounds don't exist in German (e.g. the w in "world"), some German sounds don't exist in English (e.g. the ü in Müller); but if you follow these instructions, your pronunciation should be about right: Pronounce "Müller" like "Miller", but pucker your lips a little when you pronounce the ü.

As said before, the long ü (in words such as "Mühle" or "über") is pronounced differently. I'd say it's somewhere between the "oo" in "book" and the "ea" in "beak". Knowing French would be an advantage because it sounds like the u in the French word "sud" (south).

is it true Jagen means hunter?

jagen ("juh-gen", soft g) = to hunt

der Jäger ("yay-guh") = the hunter

herein lies the importance of the umlaut.
Isn't the case that Muller is pronounced simple moo-ler but Muller (u with umlaut) it becomes Myu-ler?

Umlauts like ü, ö, ä are very tough to learn for English speakers because their sound is so alien to them.

Isn't ä pretty much the vowel in American English "bed"?

Yes, a short ä is pronounced like the e in "bed".

Is Wald the German word for forest?

Yes.

Germans pronounce it "Wuh-ld".

We pronounce it "Woid" or as the English term "Void".

All the translations and songs I've heard pronounce it as "Vahlt".

When Austrians and Bavarians speak in their dialect, they pronounce "Wald" like the English word "void". An Austrian newscaster, however, would pronounce this word as their colleague in northern Germany would.

[Sozialliberal]

Challenge for Germans.

Please try to translate this Pinzgauerisch-German dialect sentence into Standard German:

OK, I'll take up this challenge. But first of all, I'd like to say I'm more familiar with Wienerisch, the Viennese dialect. That's because I listen to music in that dialect. For example, Marianne Mendt is an artist I really like. I think she deserved more recognition, especially here in Germany.

This 1972 song is quite moving. It's a dramatic, bittersweet love song about a woman in an unhappy relationship who still loves that person too much to leave them. As Mendt sings in the chorus: "I'm at home in you, like in a bad dream." You might notice the instrumentation sounds a bit jazzy. Well, that's not a coincidence. Marianne Mendt's big passion is jazz music. She's the founder and artistic director of a yearly jazz festival in Austria, and she also hosts a monthly radio show, in which she plays jazz music. In her career, she often sang pop songs that have little or nothing to do with jazz, but she's a big fan of that genre.

Here's another Marianne Mendt song. This performance is apparently from a TV show in 1971. The song is much calmer than the first one. Some would call it schmaltzy, but I don't agree. It's about a woman who is in love with someone who understands her as well as she understands him. The connection between the two of them is so deep that she doesn't even have to say anything or ask anything because he knows it anyway. Even though this kind of love might seem old-fashioned to other people, she'd like to grow older with him. She knows that she is his and he will forever be "der Meinige" (the one who is mine).

Some context, so it won’t be that hard ...

A father talking with his older daughter:

„Kust ma heit tschnochts bittsche as Buzzaö kinzn, I muas no huseg wos hoön foon.“

I have already given one hint on this thread: Buzzaö (baby, infant)

Now back to your question: It's helpful that you've explained the meaning of "Buzzaö" because I've never heard or read that word before.

My translation attempt:
„Kust ma heit tschnochts bittsche as Buzzaö kinzn, I muas no huseg wos hoön foon.“ -> „Kannst du heute Nacht bitte auf das Baby aufpassen? Ich muss noch etwas holen fahren.“ -> "Can you please look after the baby tonight? I have to drive out and get something."
(I have no clue what "huseg" means, though.)

what are the funniest cases of false friends in German and English?

When we were learning English as kids, we laughed when we learned that the room where you prepare food is called "kitchen" in English. In German, "Kittchen" (pronounced slightly differently) is a colloquialism for prison.

what is German comedy like in general? Loads of wordplay?

Wordplay is an important part of German comedy, but I've always had the impression it's more popular in Britain. Brits love their puns.

Since this is a political forum, I thought I'm gonna share some political comedy with you. "Extra 3" is not the most popular political comedy show on German TV, but it's the only one I like. Because of the restrictions due to the coronavirus, the more recent episodes are not as good, though. One of the best segments on the show are the fake interviews. Christian Ehring, the show's host, "interviews" a politician, who is played by Max Giermann, a very talented impersonator. Most of those fake interviews are with German politicians, but they also did some with Donald Trump. I think they made an exception for Trump because he's such a tempting target. This video is from January 2017, when Trump assumed office.

Even if you don't speak German, you should get the humor in this sketch because it's bilingual. Kirstin Warnke, an Extra 3 cast member, is introduced to the audience as "the only German-born member in Trump's team". Warnke is interpreting for Trump. At first, she's deliberately mistranslating what Trump is saying to make him more likeable to the German audience. During the interview, she's getting more and more annoyed with Trump. At the end, she translates Trump's answers as "blah blah blah".

Some jokes that you wouldn't understand if you don't speak German:
When Ehring asks how it's possible that "10 billions" are at Trump's side, Warnke says: "Oh, it mounts up. His Secretary of Treasury has three billions, his Secretary of Commerce has five billions and his Secretary of Education has six billions."
When Trump says he will create millions of new jobs, Ehring asks how that is supposed to work. Warnke answers: "I guess he simply included his blowjobs in that calculation."

I've been trying to be a good boy and avoid asking this question, but does anyone have a final solution to the German question?

I don't know. The current state of affairs is that more and more people in the east and the west are wondering if the reunification was such a good idea after all. Maybe, there will be two Germanys again soon.

From a German quiz show:



What is the correct answer ?

B, of course! It was in the German media, too. Van der Bellen also said he would be looking for a job tomorrow.

What characteristics of German would you say are the MOST divergent from English?

A big difference is that English has a much larger share of loanwords.

Some examples:

English: important (borrowed from medieval Latin)
German: wichtig (derived from "Gewicht", the German word for weight)

English: beautiful ("beauty" was borrowed from Old French)
German: schön (related to the German word "schauen", which means "to look")

English: to invite (borrowed from Old French or Latin)
German: einladen

English: to promise (borrowed from Latin)
German: versprechen

English: the dictionary (of words) (borrowed from Latin)
German: das Wörterbuch (literally: "the book of words")

English: the vacuum cleaner ("vacuum" was borrowed from Latin)
German: der Staubsauger (literally: "the dust sucker")
(I remember an interview with a British actor who's living and working in Germany. He said "Staubsauger" (dust sucker), the German word for vacuum cleaner, is one of his favorite German words. That name seemed very apt to him because it's exactly what this gadget does: It sucks dust.)