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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Gedankenzüge - Poems moving underground


in German

in English

Culture in the underground U41, Dortmund, 2011
 The underground has a cultural projekt "Gedankenzüge: Dialog between cultures". Poems instead of advertising.

My ABC Wednesday is German, my mother language. And I know a very hard language to learn if you don't learn it from the cradle.

Some quotes from Mark Twain from "A Tramp Abroad, Appendix D, The Awful German Language"


•"Some German words are so long that they have a perspective."

• "I went often to look at the collection of curiosities in Heidelberg Castle, and one day I surprised the keeper of it with my German. I spoke entirely in that language. He was greatly interested; and after I had talked a while he said my German was very rare, possibly a »unique«; and wanted to add it to his museum."

Sometimes I try to imagine how would it be to have English as my first language. Or better be bilingual.

What do you think about? Do you speak another language? And is there any need for?


6 comments:

Roger Owen Green said...

I'm TERRIBLE at French, which I took in high school.
German words, such as treppenwitz, DO have a whole narrative.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

photowannabe said...

Love the poems instead of advertising.
I "speak" some fractured High School Spanish, and I actually fracture my Mother Tongue of English too.

Myrna R. said...

I speak Spanish. Lived in Germany for several years but only learned enough to order food. Survival obviously drove my language skills.

Carola said...

Yes Treppenwitz is great.

Halcyon said...

I speak German and French, (or at least I try with the German). :)
Es gibt auch sowas auf der U-Bahn in Berlin. Sicher ist das mehr interessant als Werbung.

The Poet said...

Hello.
I grew up in a family that spoke 2 languages, but I never learned anything but English. My wife, who's English can speak & understand a little French & some Spanish.
Thanks for sharing.

Garden Of Life