A language learners’ forum

MaggieMae wrote:The more common loan words are das Velo (das Fahrrad), das Trottoir (der Bürgersteig), das Poulet (das Hähnchen), das Portemonnaie (die Brieftasche), parkieren (parken), and grillieren (grillen).

Portemonnaie is also used in Germany, mostly by somewhat older speakers. However, even Germans who don't actively use this word, usually know what it means.

MaggieMae wrote:The more common loan words are das Velo (das Fahrrad), das Trottoir (der Bürgersteig), das Poulet (das Hähnchen), das Portemonnaie (die Brieftasche), parkieren (parken), and grillieren (grillen).

If someone says "Hast du das Poulet gesehen?" is it understood that it's an actual chicken or is the same ambiguity [slang] present as in French?

Hast du das Poulet auf einem Velo auf dem Trottoir gesehen?
Und er hat mir einen PV gegeben!?

Doitsujin wrote:

MaggieMae wrote:The more common loan words are das Velo (das Fahrrad), das Trottoir (der Bürgersteig), das Poulet (das Hähnchen), das Portemonnaie (die Brieftasche), parkieren (parken), and grillieren (grillen).

Portemonnaie is also used in Germany, mostly by somewhat older speakers. However, even Germans who don't actively use this word, usually know what it means.

Also Portmonee, ee pronounced as in See.

zenmonkey wrote:If someone says "Hast du das Poulet gesehen?" is it understood that it's an actual chicken or is the same ambiguity [slang] present as in French?

Hast du das Poulet auf einem Velo auf dem Trottoir gesehen?
Und er hat mir einen PV gegeben!?

Sorry, I should specify, das Poulet is the chicken that has been already slaughtered and is ready for cooking or eating.

Kraut wrote:Also Portmonee, ee pronounced as in See.

Both spellings are allowed here, the French and the German. *shrug* My husband prefers the French spelling, and he's a native, so I just go with that. It's pronounced the same, in any case.

'Portemonnee' also here in the Netherlands. Unlike German the 'e' is on porte and you can hear it. The 'ee' is like 'ay'. Trottoit exists too, but barely anyone uses it. It's a relic of Napoleonic times.

I notice that people always used to say Krimi (een krimi) because German detective shows were popular from the 90s onwards. Then when British ones became popular it changed to 'detectives'. Just that word as a noun to mean the detective show. For 'krimi' now you'd expect misdaadfilm, which exists, but the English word 'thriller' is used. Annoys me a bit because it's inaccurate.

Überhaupt is also a common word here.

MaggieMae wrote:

Kraut wrote:Also Portmonee, ee pronounced as in See.

Both spellings are allowed here, the French and the German. *shrug* My husband prefers the French spelling, and he's a native, so I just go with that. It's pronounced the same, in any case.

"Portmonee" was only added to the official word list in 1996 during the ill-fated German spelling reform, but it has never caught on, and even the Duden is now recommending "Portemonnaie." (During the spelling reform period, the Duden was known for its "anticipatory obedience" policy and tended to promote new spelling variants.)

Le Baron wrote:Überhaupt is also a common word here.

Interesting. I haven't been to the Netherlands in a while. Is "überhaupt" used as a synonym to "helemaal?" Or is it only used in certain phrases?

Doitsujin wrote:Interesting. I haven't been to the Netherlands in a while. Is "überhaupt" used as a synonym to "helemaal?" Or is it only used in certain phrases?

I only noticed it when I initially came here since it stuck out to me as a German word, but now I probably just don't pay attention. I still hear it though (a friend said it recently). It actually tends to be used more in the negative as 'überhaupt niet' though sometimes even the 'niet' is dropped and the negative implication still stands.

As you say people could just use helemaal/helemaal niet, but interpolating trendy foreign words is an international pastime/malady. Employing them with altered forms and meanings seems to be standard.

I'm currently reading a biograhy of Jane Austen, Darling Jane.

In chapter three the author says that the German upper classes in Miss Austen's time used to speak French among themselves rather than German:

Dies größere gesellschaftliche Harmonie hängt auch damit zusammen, dass sich alle Schichten im Alltag derselben Sprache bedienten, während sich ja der deutsche Adel durch die Verwendung des Französischen von den niederen Schichten entfremdete.

Chapter 3, page 85.

tractor wrote:

DaveAgain wrote:After reading the Teach Yourself books - old generation (text only) thread I looked into the German options, there appear to be three:

Teach Yourself German by Adams
Teach Yourself More German by Wells
Teach Yourself German Reader by Stringer

Teach Yourself German Grammar by Wilson

I had a look inside the dust cover on my TY German Grammar. It says the following:

With this book, and its
companion volumes

GERMAN
MORE GERMAN
GERMAN PHRASE BOOK
GERMAN READER
ENGLISH–GERMAN DICTIONARY

and with the accompanying
Teach Yourself Tape Books:

GERMAN PRONUNCIATION
and
GERMAN EXCERCISES
(for use with Teach Yourself German)

GERMAN GRAMMAR
and
MORE GERMAN GRAMMAR
(for use with Teach Yourself
German Grammar)

you have all you need to make
yourself a competent German
scholar.

I had no idea about the "tape books".

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