Hey Mike!

MIKE BURN · Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 8:09 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

She's still working in Germany, she just finished a new German movie called "La Mer".

droolymutt · Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 8:12 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

How's your Cantonese?

Cantonese sounds so weird to Western ears......

But fascinating....

Hey, Chis..?...(if you read this thread....)

How do you say "I love you" in Cantonese..?

Spell it phonetically, please....

MIKE BURN · Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 8:14 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

"Ngo oi ney" = :ily

droolymutt · Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 8:19 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

I can't pronounce that.

Got mp3?

lolol..............

The Master68 · Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 442

What does "Oy Vey" mean?

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When you argue with a fool, be sure he isn't similarly occupied...

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Music - Organismo Cibernetico (Cybernetic Organism)

MIKE BURN · Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 8:34 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

While I'm smoking a cigarette and we are talking languages and Europe.... LOL

Another factor (for quick learning languages) is that usually a border within a European country doesn't mean a clear cut between languages.

In a region we call "Elsaß" (there is the "ß" again HAHA) and the French "Alsace", a wide area where the (virtual) borders of France and Germany are (we don't have border control anymore and you smoothly 'dive in' into other countries) you will experience that 30 miles before and after the virtual border the people on both sides mix the French and German language. The Germans call this interesting flip-flop language "Elsässisch" and the French "Aleman" (now... you know why the French overall call us not Germans but "Allemands" because of the ancient tribe of the "Alemannen".

The language sounds funny though LOL

Example:

The German word "wählen" (engl. to choose) and the French pendant "choisir" mix to "schwasieren"

Well, a more fancy phenomenon is the fact (and you probably didn't know that) that when driving on your way from Germany southwards to Italy, you come either through Austria (German language with harsh dialect, comparable to a southern states U.S. accent vs. New Hampshire) or alternatively through Switzerland. Now you drive from a German language region through the so called "Brenner"-Tunnel, will realize that they speak Italian after the Tunnel (hence they write "Brennero" on street signs).

The good joke now is that you drive 100km further into the south, leave Switzerland and come to a region in ITALY which is called on the street signs "Alto Adige" (cities like Merano, Bolzano you may know). Only the people there don't care about those Italian names. The Italians which live there and populate the north of Italy, look like Bavarians

and speak GERMAN! HAHAHA Hence they say "Meran and Bozen" and you will be not served a cup of coffee or anything else when you order in Italian language. They explicitely hate the Italians and call the southern Italians "Africans" (vice/versa) LOL So, in larger parts of Italy, the Dolomites/Alps it can happen that you need to speak German rather than keeping your Italian language book busy

Another example for mixed languages can be found at the borders of Germany, Netherlands and Belgium (all 3 countries "meet" in 30 miles diameter. In the border zones you will hear that people mix German, Dutch and Flemish. If you drive further south in Belgium the people softly switch to French overall until you reach the French border. This all in between a 30 minutes drive by car.

Last but not least people in northern Germany speak a mix of German, English (because of the near U.K.), Danish and Swedish. We call this language "Platt".

And.... I still forgot some more... but I finish with Spain.

You probably think they speak "Spanish" in Spain. Right?

That's not right. They speak "Castellan" in the south, that's what you know as "Spanish" (also in Southern America), but in wide regions of northern Spain they do speak "Catalan" and consider themselves not "Spanish" people, but the people of "Cataluña".

An example for a Catalan city is Barcelona, the capitol of "Cataluña". Believe me, you don't understand anybody if you speak Spanish and the people talk back in Catalan. That's something really different

Salvador Dali's (born in Figueras, north-east Spain) language was therefore not Spanish, his mothertongue was "Catalan"

Edited by: MIKE BURN at: 11/22/04 20:46

bbchris · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:52 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

Mike has a great memory! I remember teaching him Cantonese the first time I met him and it was so funny to hear it spoken with a German accent!! Mike learnt way more Cantonese than I learnt German - hahahahhaha And yes Mike spelt it as correctly as he could. Remind me and I'll do an mp3 of it later on this week (am flat sitting so on borrowed notebook here)

Ich liebe dich :ily

The Master68 · Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 442

"Ich liebe dich"

I saw that on the Chris Rock Show...

He picked up 2 Germans in his "Taxicab Confessions" sketch.

He asked them about Jews and do they hate jews...

The guy said no and thewn he asked if they loved jews.

That's the funny part, the guy said "Umm, love is... too much."

I guess you have to see it...

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When you argue with a fool, be sure he isn't similarly occupied...

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Music - Organismo Cibernetico (Cybernetic Organism)

bbchris · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 2:04 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

Chris Rock is a really funny comedian!

markhewer · Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 246

Great thread! :yo

Mike...I'd like to hear you make an MP3 of commonly used words in English translated to German so we can practise saying them. :ft

Do you live exactly in Frankfurt, or on the outskirts in a smaller town?

Mark

bbchris · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 2:25 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

AH! I can answer that one Mark! Mike lives on the outskirts of Frankfurt in a little village town that is so beautiful and quaint. Did you know there are tons of CASTLES in Germany?

MIKE BURN · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:18 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

Chris

Mark!

Oh well, I live 10 miles north of Frankfurt in a little mountain area we call "Taunus" over here

The name of the town is Kelkheim

The few houses here in the woods, that's Kelkheim

You can "feel" Frankfurt on the horizon

This is the view to the other side, basically when I look out of my windows

bbchris · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:20 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

No apple trees near your house Mike!

MIKE BURN · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:29 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

HAHA Chris! :me

Actually there can be found a great variety of different trees in front of my house...

.....AND.... if you would please have a closer look to my "behind view"..... I have marked LOTS of apple trees!

....but of course a few miles from where I live we have actually fields/forests full of Apple trees!

bbchris · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 4:32 pm Post subject: Re: Hey Mike!

Ah! Thanks for pointing out the apple trees near your home!! I once wrote a song about apple trees, it starts like this:

Standing underneath the aple tree

Look into your eyes and see

Standing in a forest of trees,

Apples falling down one by one

hahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahhaha It's got a few more verses.