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@Joefour
Do you, as I suspect, have a background in linguistics?
People who know languages have much more insight into their neighbours on the planet, I think. So what do you reckon the Germans make of the British and U.S. male's habit of seeming to be able to regard them only in the context of the war? It's often not a negative context, either: when we make models, the most popular tables at shows always seem to be the ones covered in German stuff. And when we were kids playing War, everyone wanted to be the Germans. And one of the most popular comedians over here is a German, because he makes us roar with his own references to the war. I feel sad and rather guilty as a Brit now when I hear young Germans saying they feel bad about the war, because they weren't there, but it doesn't seem to stop us picking away at this, because we still make shows like 'Allo 'Allo (do you know it?) |
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Never heard of 'Allo, 'Allo. To answer your question, yes. I suppose you could call me an amateur linguist. Ever since my german teacher in high school, Herr Peerenboom got me interested. I could never understand english grammar until I had studied german. One thing that I find fascinating is word origins, such as curfew-from old french "couvrir le feu", cover the fire, or companion- "with bread", the person you break bread with. As far as how young germans feel about the war, I'm not going down that rabbit hole publicly. |
My Dictionary of English Etymology is always close by.
If you've never heard of 'Allo 'Allo then you've missed a treat. It's a rather pantomimic comedy series set in occupied France, with an extremely vulgar take on things as you might expect from us, though without any bad language. In the same style of the "Carry On" films, if you know what I mean. Or how about "Dad's Army", then, a comedy series about the Home Guard? If you've never seen that then you've missed absolute Comedy Gold: the best thing ever made for TV by anyone. |
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Yes, quite agree; got all the Jeremy Brett SH in a boxed set.
I remember from my one and only trip to the US that PBS or what I think you call the "Education Channel" are the only options. All I can say is you don't know what you've missed. Couldn't you perhaps Google these shows to get a flavour? |
THERE'S THAT MAN AGAIN!!!
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PS/ "It's That Man Again" is a quote from another great British comedy tradition on the radio, abbreviated to ITMA. This was a wartime morale-booster. |
Just watched it... never tire! "I have za crabs! I have za crabs!"
Magic! I've got them all too! You're on blistering form today, Helmut! |
My Dad's shed...
My Dad's shed (another UK man thing, the shed) had, until it fell down recently, a floor constructed entirely from boards salvaged from an old PoW camp not too far from where we lived in Kent. It was for Italian PoWs, apparently.
I've just been called by wifey for my tea now, so I can't finish this or she'll have me in the cooler... Speak to you later. |
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I got sick and tired of "The Muppets' Pirate Adventure", though. |
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So you have never heard of Sesame Street or you have never heard of it being banned? |
Oh I got sick and tired of Sesame Street when my SISTER was a kid. I'm sure it hasn't been banned here, quite sure. Literacy was the whole point of Sesame Street anyway, wasn't it? I'm sure that can't be true... the Government isn't ALLOWED to ban anything in this country.
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I guess I had some bad intelligence on that subject. I too can't stand the damn thing. I've got a grandson whose 1st birthday is coming up in a few weeks. I plan on talking to him in german so he'll pick it up. Get 'em while they are young and haven't formed their speech ingrams in hard copy yet. Little kids pick up language much more easily than adults. Maybe read Grimm's Fairy Tales to him in the original (big maybe-that's some gruesome stuff). If he wants to study some other language in school later he will already have german under his belt. It's his heritage on his daddy's side. (son-in-law) |
Here's a WW2 POW escape movie that you can watch online for free
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEAy7kd0OlM The Wooden Horse 1950 starring Leo Genn http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ilmPoster.jpeg |
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THE WOODEN HORSE
Nice one, August. This post of yours has brought things full-circle to my original question: the quote I mentioned came from this very movie, and was asked of Anthony Steel by Leo Genn. It's a must-have in the PoW genre.
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I still think you'll turn out to be a professor of linguistics or something. |
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Oh, He's not german himself, but he looks and thinks like one. His grandfather's family was ukrainian german who had to get the hell out when the Bolsheviks took over. I understand the old man used to forget his english and start ranting in german when he got upset. My mother's stepmother's family were also ukrainian german (although mennonites). That's an interesting corner of history in itself. The germans in THE Ukraine go all the way back to Catherine the Great when she invited them to come to the Ukraine and gave them free or cheap land. They fulfilled her intention-they turned the Ukraine into what was proverbially called the Breadbasket that fed "all the Russias". |
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