Now, we have the salad*… The beauty of the German language
Guten Morgen allerseits! 🇩🇪
Wie geht’s, wie steht’s?
Happy Monday to all of you - may you all bloom in the month of June! 🤗
For us in Goa, pre-monsoon showers have started in perfect synchronicity with the begin of the sixth month of 2020, and that just means one thing for me: More time to read! 📚
Rainy season = Reading season.
There is no better place in the world than your own bed, alongside a hot cup of hot coffee, a snoozing cat, a cute hubby, a pile of books, and a nice, cool breeze that gently flows through the open windows and doors of your room while it is raining cats and dogs outside. #yeahyeahyeah
Thanks to the many visitors from the German ‘Heimat’ who came to see us last season, a few books written in my native language have made their way to our house. I often miss speaking and reading in German, so I have save these literary goodies for a ‘rainy day‘ - and in Goa that means NOW! Hello monsoon magic! 💃
The German language has a peculiar charm - and a truly unique sound.
Known as the language of ‘poets and thinkers’ (oh, just think of Goethe and Rilke, Schiller, Nietzsche, Kant, Marx, Freud, Jung or Humboldt 🤩), and spoken by approximately 100 million people, German is not only the most widely spoken mother lingo in the EU, but also an official language in 4 countries. Among many funny proverbs and untranslatable words, my language has three unique characteristics:
1. Our longest word has 79 letters. Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft means “association of subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services”. Great for every dull party: Have a few schnaps shots, and say it three times in a row. 🥂
2. Time is counted with respect to the next hour, rather than the previous one. If one of us Germans tells you that it is halb drei (“half three”), you might assume that it’s 3:30. However, you’d be wrong: in German, you report time by counting the minutes to the next hour, so “half three” means that it’s half an hour until three: in other words, it’s 2:30. Oh, the amount of times we asked our non-native speaking friends “Where are you?!”…
3. Don’t take it personally: German always sounds like someone yells at you - even when we say the nicest things.
Press play, and take a good look for yourself! 😂
Dienst ist Dienst und Schnaps ist Schnaps**.
You just got into zeee Tscherman-groove? Then check out this hilarious list of 17 German words that have no English translation. In case you feel upset about the fact that is is Monday again, just scream them at someone as loud as you can - and you will experience the cathartic effect of speaking German instantly. 🤗
New on the blog: Made in Germany!
For all the German speakers, who look for reading inspiration in the language of the ‘Fatherland’, I compiled a small list of reviews here. Keep on checking - this is just the start! 📚
Have a great start into the week! Never forget: Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei.***
With love from Goa,
Isabelle 🌿
*The phrase literally means “that's a fine mess”, the idea being that a salad, when tossed, is all mixed up and a bit of a mess.
**Literal translation: “Work is work and liquor is liquor.”
***Literal translation: “Everything has an end. Only the sausage has two.” If you’re going to say that all good things must end, you might as well do it with style. And who can argue with the logic? If you really want to feel this proverb’s meaning, check out this famous song from 1987, presented in a truly bizarre video. It’s a sausage fest indeed! 🌭🌭🌭🌭
