Ragging on the German language is hip. Though it has been hip for several hundred years (looking at you Mark Twain). It is not lyrical or even friendly in its tone and can come off very harsh almost rude. Many of the linguistic constructs seem to make little to no sense, especially to English speakers. […]
Kündigungsfrist – This German monstrosity of a word essentially just means “notice period before quitting/cancelation.” Where do you find it? It comes up in work contracts. In that sense it implies that a certain amount of notice must be given (usually by both sides) for you to leave your job. I have seen it in […]
The German culture is known for order and efficiency. The stereotypes of well run train systems and high engineering pervade. But does this mean that the creativity and whimsy is gone from the Germanic culture completely?
When you ask someone to list the most appealing languages, German is quite unlikely to be in that list. This is unfortunate. Perhaps it is not flowy and melodic like the romance languages nor as flexible as English, but there is an elegance in the perceived perversity.
Here are some more insights into the oddity of the German Language. The last “Fun with Translation” was indeed so much fun that I decided to do some more. German is often quite descriptive in naming things. The idea of smushing words together to describe something quite exactly is a germanlanguagetrait. This gives some interesting translations of animal names when you go directly into English.
If you spend long enough in a different language, the two begin to blend and mix in different ways in your head. I sometimes find odd connections that come up when trying to understand a new phrase. Usually if I don’t know a phrase I think about the literal translation in English and often get a laugh. Here are some of my favorites.
So you have decided to spend an extended time in Germany? I commend you. One of the things that you will probably want to have is a “Handy”, which is German for cellphone (or mobile phone if you are British). This is the prime way to contact your new friends and call ahead to make hotel reservations.
Even if you bring your phone with you, you will still want to get a SIM card to avoid large roaming charges. The German mobile system is quite unlike the one I remember in the U.S. when I left. Here is a short guide to help pick a plan.
This isn’t a review of any specific carrier and I don’t recommend any one over any other. This is just a few things would have saved me time in research.