September 08, 2004

Watch your language!

This afternoon I went for a short walk to the park, sitting in the sun like a thirtysomething who has been addressed with "Sie" for the first time by someone who was not Dan Hartman. Since I don't want to take a typical Mig-turn here I am going to tell you right away that I was pondering about a conversation M. and I had last week: Language. When going back to our countries it's like having been defrosted after a few decades.

I am not talking about the difference between German German and Austrian German. It's the difference between the German German I used to speak and the German German I still speak. In fact it's pretty much the same.

I moved to another country and with me I took my German German from the last millennium. How do they speak now? What are the "In"-words, what's "kiff" (popular word for "really cool" in South Africa in 1990) and what's "awesome" (does anybody still use this juvenile piece of vocabulary in Canada?) "Tremendous" was on the verge of being described as "ancient for ..." in Canadian dictionaries when Dan Hartman and I were hitting the beach in pink Converse Chucks - what if I used it today because I don't know what's appropriate now? Go home and push Dan's wheel-chair?

Don't tell me to watch German television. I can't.

Posted by novala at September 8, 2004 06:53 PM
Comments

I feel like six feet of petrified 1980's American English sometimes.

Posted by: mig at September 10, 2004 01:35 PM

Carrara marble, I assume.

Posted by: novala at September 11, 2004 05:26 PM

At least a few years ago, "geil" was en vogue in Berlin as being "kiff" or "really cool."

Posted by: tom at September 12, 2004 04:48 PM

Some colleagues of mine love saying "Das ist ja echt knorke" (= "This is really cool") with a German German accent. My toe nails take 90 degree turns when I hear them saying it. So I asked: "Why do you use 'knorke'?"
"Because you say that in Germany."
"No, WE don't. I think they used to say this in Berlin. 20 years ago ..."

Also typical, but a little off topic:
Austrian: "Haha, the Germans say XXX for YYY."
Novala: *?* "Never heard it before."

Austrian: "Haha, the Germans say Krapfen for Donut."
Novala: "No. Only in Southern Germany. In the North we say Berliner, in Berlin they say Pfannkuchen (whereas a Pfannkuchen - an pancake - is called Eierkuchen - eggcake - in Berlin) and in the Southwest they say Kräppl."

Posted by: novala at September 12, 2004 08:37 PM