Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3221 to 3225 (16 - 20 May 2016)
Storel:
There does not need to be any umlaut in Brun's name to explain Clinton's mispronunciation of "Broon". When pronounced with the German u, "Brun" is fairly close to English's "Broon". The difference is that the vowel sound "oo" in Broon is a little too long. Instead of the "oo" sound from, say, "broom" or "boot", it should actually be the "oo" sound from "book" or "took".
--- Quote from: Case on 20 May 2016, 11:22 ---Your dumping on Americans' difficulties with German pronunciation would have a lot more gravitas if you stopped messing up German grammar ...
Just sayin'
(The plural of "Umlaut" is "Umlaute", not "Umlauts" - Germans might use the latter deliberately, in order to mock uneducated people ... Soooooh, actually, to a native speaker, you sound like you 'got hoisted by your own petard', but: I know, I know, your Head & it's cannon ...)
--- End quote ---
The German plural of "umlaut" is "umlaute", yes, but the English plural of "umlaut" is "umlauts". Since PR was writing in English at the time, their use of "umlauts" is correct.
Edit: Yeah, people trying to import foreign plurals into English is a pet peeve of mine. Come on, folks, English has enough crazy inconsistencies already; can we at least try not to introduce any more?
USS Martenclaire:
Use enough and you'll have umlots of them. There's a reason you don't see too many of them together in a single word or sentence; they get quite rowdy in groups and turn into umlouts.
Gyrre:
--- Quote from: Morituri on 19 May 2016, 16:27 ---w/r/t language, yes English has more vowels than most, but I think that its complicated consonant clusters are its real challenge.
I mean, what other language has words (indeed, single syllables!) like "twelfths"? The vowel isn't the problem there for second-language speakers. The unvoiced 'th' is odd enough by itself, but you can get used to it; it's not all that peculiar. Sandwiching it between an 'L', 'F' and 'S' - that's bizarre.
The fact that its spelling and pronunciation are only casual acquaintances is a difficulty, but mostly a product of the fact that it's among the first languages where the ideas of standardized spelling and widespread literacy caught on, and the pronunciation of words has since drifted away from fixed spellings that actually made sense at the time. That 'gh' in night for example is left over from a voiced guttural (descended from German unvoiced 'ch' ) that isn't part of the language any more.
--- End quote ---
Greek does. For example "phthalate".
EDIT: Then there's Welsh, Polish, and any of the Czech languages (seems Czech has already been pointed out).
As for the silent 'th' in "twelfths", that depends on the dialect and how "lazy" the speaker is when the talk. http://gastrophobia.tumblr.com/post/141939665409/mania-doesnt-have-an-interesting-accent-she-just
Case:
--- Quote from: Storel on 20 May 2016, 13:12 ---There does not need to be any umlaut in Brun's name to explain Clinton's mispronunciation of "Broon". When pronounced with the German u, "Brun" is fairly close to English's "Broon". The difference is that the vowel sound "oo" in Broon is a little too long. Instead of the "oo" sound from, say, "broom" or "boot", it should actually be the "oo" sound from "book" or "took".
--- End quote ---
Native Kraut agrees (somewhere earlier in the thread) - though I couldn't think of a suitable English word with a "1+1/2 - length double-o".
You have no idea of the evil genius of having the Italian subtitles in "Django- Unchained" spell Brunhilde as "Broomhilda" to Christoph Waltz' immaculate high-German pronunciation - It's like Tarantino & Waltz wanted to give the tedeschi hysterical bellyaches ...
--- Quote from: Storel on 20 May 2016, 13:12 ---
--- Quote from: Case on 20 May 2016, 11:22 ---Your dumping on Americans' difficulties with German pronunciation would have a lot more gravitas if you stopped messing up German grammar ...
Just sayin'
(The plural of "Umlaut" is "Umlaute", not "Umlauts" - Germans might use the latter deliberately, in order to mock uneducated people ... Soooooh, actually, to a native speaker, you sound like you 'got hoisted by your own petard', but: I know, I know, your Head & it's cannon ...)
--- End quote ---
The German plural of "umlaut" is "umlaute", yes, but the English plural of "umlaut" is "umlauts". Since PR was writing in English at the time, their use of "umlauts" is correct.
Edit: Yeah, people trying to import foreign plurals into English is a pet peeve of mine. Come on, folks, English has enough crazy inconsistencies already; can we at least try not to introduce any more?
--- End quote ---
Aaaaaand you sprung my trap ...
From a German's POV, this is almost PoMo. Germans are certainly not above gently ribbing Americans about their pronunciation of the "Umlauts" (or rather: filming their attempts, see above) - but actually chiding them for their efforts would almost certainly be considered "being too German" - i.e. Germans would feel inclined to chastise the 'Klugscheisser' (lit.: "Smart-shitter", i.e. 'wisecrack') for embarrassing the tribe in front of a guest.
So: Stop being so German, 'Murricans!
Loanwords & plurals: We do the same with "Computer" - German plural is "Computer", just like the German "Rechner", despite the English plural being "Computers".
Question: Is it true that you write "Kindergarten" - just like the German spelling - but pronounce it "Kindergarden"? And what's the plural? Kindergartens? (German plural would be "Kindergärten")
EDIT:
--- Quote from: USS Martenclaire on 20 May 2016, 14:21 ---Use enough and you'll have umlots of them. There's a reason you don't see too many of them together in a single word or sentence; they get quite rowdy in groups and turn into umlouts.
--- End quote ---
Can I like this twice? Why can't I like this twice?
Eastrim:
--- Quote from: USS Martenclaire on 20 May 2016, 14:21 ---Use enough and you'll have umlots of them. There's a reason you don't see too many of them together in a single word or sentence; they get quite rowdy in groups and turn into umlouts.
--- End quote ---
Don't use them in a coffee shop unless you want an umlatte.
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