Have you ever had a German/Austrian/Swiss apparently get angry at you because he did not understand something you said, and then act like he was surprised when you (naturally) got on the defensive?
Well, it might all be a (widespread) translation mistake. Continue reading
After almost 20 years in the German-speaking world, I am still amazed by the German language. As many expats living in Germany, I sympathize with Mark Twain’s impressions and fully support his recommendations, as getting rid of the useless Dative or moving the verb forward in the sentence (here is an updated critique). But what really gets me is word pronunciation. In the German language, one is expected to pronounce incredibly long strings of consonants in the middle of perfectly normal, daily-use words. For instance, Continue reading
Carlos' Ramblings 