Bad Germlish/Denglish

It is not stylish to say Elejent...

2011-01-14T04:45:00.000-08:00

The word "elegant", meaning fine or luxurious, seems to trip many Germans up, there being a tendency to pronounce the "g" as a "j". Were it followed by an "e", this mistake would make more sense. Regardless, fight the urge and pronounce the "g" as you would in the word "go" or "get". Now, go get elegant.

Hey gorgeous, can I spend you a beer?

2010-12-30T05:55:00.000-08:00

Should be "can I buy you a beer". "Spending" a beer makes no sense unless you're bartering (and even then it's a stretch). By now I should probably know why Germans make this mistake, but sadly do not. Assuming one of this blog's thousands of readers will inform me. If someone does, I promise to stop lying about the popularity of this blog (although it has moved near the top of Google search results on "Germlish").

Are there any news from the blogosphere?

2010-12-20T04:50:00.000-08:00

I recently received a memo asking "Are there any news?", referring to a previous e-mail. This mistake is understandable as "news" is plural. However, in this case, the subject is "any", which is a pronoun that takes the singular form of the verb. "Is there any news?" is proper and the way all native speakers would express this thought.

My agenda says I should archive my calendar in the right category.

2010-12-14T04:48:00.001-08:00

This post is just about correcting some mispronunciations I hear regularly:

agenda: the g sounds like the “j” in “jet”, NOT hard like in “get”
archive: the ch sounds like the “k” in “kit”, NOT like the beginning of “chair”
calendar: the emphasis is on the first syllable (CAL-en-dar), NOT the second
category: emphasis falls on first syllable (CAT-e-gor-y), NOT the second.

See my other post on the word “architect”.

This blog does not provide good informations

2010-09-29T02:42:00.000-07:00

That's because information is a "noncount" noun in English, meaning its plural is never used. I hear and read Germans referring to "informations" or "infos" fairly regularly. It's not at all confusing, but clearly odd.

Whatsoever, nevermind...

2010-08-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

I don't think Kurt Cobain spoke Germlish, but if he had, it might have changed the lyrics of Smells Like Teen Spirit. I hear Germans often use "whatsoever" when they should use "whatever", something like "We could serve beef or lamb or whatsoever". This sounds odd but isn't especially confusing. In this example, "whatever" would have been correct. Whatsoever is typically used emphatically in phrases such as "I have no doubt whatsoever that "whatever" shouldn't be used that way." or "I speak no Hungarian whatsoever."

Happy Eastern!

2010-04-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

I've heard many Germans add an "n" to the end of the Easter Holiday. "Eastern" is an adjective meaning situated to the east. Not sure where Germans picked up this habit, but have a happy Easter!

A friend of us...

2010-03-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

My cellmate (office cohabiter) was just telling me about his weekend. Speaking of his family, he mentioned that he had seen a "friend of us". In this case, one should use the possessive pronoun in English. He should have said "We saw a friend of ours". Other variants:

friend of mine
friend of yours
friend of his
friend of hers

Thanks god for this blog!

2009-10-12T23:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, but I've heard several Germans say "Thanks God" (often when I finally stop ordering beer in the wee hours of the morning). Unfortunately, I don't completely understand my mother tongue (nor why Germans tend to do this). However, I think this is the imperative mood. Regardless, "Thank God" (no "s") is proper.

Greetings together!

2009-10-08T02:33:00.000-07:00

In German, you can address a group as zusammen, which can be translated as together in English. I sometimes see e-mails or hear Germans starting a presentation with "Hello together". This doesn't work in English (and is so unusual to native speakers that it's almost confusing). In e-mail, try "Hi All" or "Hi everyone". For a verbal presentation, try simply "Hello" or "Good morning" (no need to be more specific).

Can I borrow your bore machine?

2009-10-08T02:22:00.000-07:00

Here's one that I believe is a literal translation error from German to English. The hand tool that many of us use to bore holes in walls, wood etc. is called a drill in English, after the verb, to drill, that you can do with it. Every once in a while, I'll hear a German call it a "boring machine" (bohrmaschine in German).

Architect...

2009-10-08T02:20:00.001-07:00

In this word, the ch is pronounced like a k, not like "ch" at the beginning of a word like chair. Since I work in the software world, I hear the chair sound used with architect fairly often.

Expert-eyes...

2009-10-08T02:15:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason, we're alway talking about expertise where I work. Heads up to my German friends: the word is pronounced with a long e, i.e., expert-ease. It's obviously confusing, but it should never be pronounced with a long i, i.e., expert-eyes.

Does my expertise at finding English errors with Germans annoy you? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Has this blog catched on?

2009-10-08T01:52:00.000-07:00

The past participle of the verb catch is caught. This mistake is made fairly regularly by my German friends and coworkers (for fairly obvious reasons), e.g., "I catched the cold that's going around".

Do you agree to me?

2008-06-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

If you don't hate prepositions, you haven't tried to learn enough languages. I sometimes hear my Germany colleagues say something like "I agree to him". One agrees with someone or something when you're expressing that two people have the same view on a topic. Prepositions are a pain. Do you agree with me?

By the way, "agree to" means to consent, e.g., She agreed to the conditions in the contract.

We'll see us tomorrow...

2008-04-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

While this construction seems sensible to many Germans, it is incorrect. I don't claim to know all the nuances of reflexive pronouns, but can tell you the proper way to express this thought is "We'll see each other tomorrow".

I digged your blog...

2008-03-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

irregular past participles can make the most fluent speaker of a foreign language sound like a third grader, even if just for a moment. One of the ones I hear most consistently misused is "digged", as in "we digged ourselves into a hole". "Dug" is the past participle of dig -- "we dug ourselves into a hole".

I'm going to the toilet...

2008-02-20T05:25:00.001-08:00

This post is more about usage than grammar and underscores a difference between American and British English. While the use of the word toilet is, in my experience, perfectly normal in the UK, it has taken on an indelicate connotation in American English. As a matter of fact, saying you're going to the toilet is almost vulgar in American English. This usage is encouraged in many non-Americans by cognates prevalent in various European languages, German and French leaping immediately to mind.

Just a heads up for those who might be traveling across the pond. More common and/or polite in American English is to use "bathroom" or, even more politely, "restroom".

I've been writing this blog since 7 months...

2007-11-17T05:35:00.000-08:00

Here's another time-related proposition. I often hear native German speakers say "I've been working at ACME since 3 years." The correct proposition in this case is "for", "I've been working at ACME for 3 years.". Use "since" if you're refering to a particular past date. "I've worked at ACME since June of last year." is correct.

Are you reading this blog at that time?

2007-09-29T01:34:00.000-07:00

The use of demonstrative pronouns can be tricky. If you want to refer to something that is current or happening now, use "this", not "that". I often hear Germans say (in meetings for instance) things like "We don't need to do anything at that time". Since they're refering to right now, they should say "We don't need to do anything at this time."

"At that time" is used to refer to a period of time other than the present. For example "I didn't like high school, but at that time I had no choice but to go." or "We'll go to France tomorrow and at that time will assess our options."

I wonder if persons like this blog...

2007-04-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

While there are valid uses of the word "persons", most often one expresses the idea of more than a single person with the word "people". Today when I was signing the contract for electricity in my apartment, the very kind represenatitive asked me: "How many persons live in your flat?". While in no way ambiguous, this usage sounds odd.

Much more natural sounding would have been "How many people live in your flat?".

Did you make a good experience?

2007-04-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

German speakers often have trouble determining when to use "to do" and when to use "to make", as a single verb is used for both these meanings in German (and Spanish, Portuguese and I'm sure many other languages). Since these verbs are so common and used in many contexts, there's no reliable usage rule that I can discern. I'll therefore call specific examples of misuse that I hear regularly.

Today, I'd like to talk about "making" an experience, as in "I have made good experiences with that approach in the past." This use of "to make" is wrong! One "has" (to have) experiences. The example sentence should have read "I have had good experiences with that approach in the past." I hope you have had a good experience with this post!

The possibility to...

2007-04-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

My German is still too limited to figure out if this is an issue with literal translation, but I hear many Germans using constructions like this: "Do you have the possibility to call me tonight?" Using the word possibility like this will virtually always sound unnatural. It is much easier to express this sentiment using "can".

The phrase above would more naturally be expressed like this: "Can you call me tonight?" or "Would you be able to call me tonight". Instead of "I don't have the possibility of arriving at 8:00." say "I can't arrive at 8:00".

Do it until 2:00...

2007-04-01T04:21:00.000-07:00

Prepositions are the bane of virtually all language students (those of languages that have prepositions anyway). One of the most commonly misused by Germans is "until". If something must be completed before a specified period of time, use "by", not "until"

Standard: "We need to deliver the presentation by 2:00."
Nonstandard: "We need to deliver the presentation until 2:00."

This one is particularly insidious as it doesn't typically create much ambiguity (native speakers will understand it perfectly). However, strictly speaking, to do something "until" a certain time means you do it constantly until that time. Saying "We must eat lunch until 14:00." means "We must continue eating lunch (without stopping) from now until 14:00.".

And on the one hand side...

2007-04-01T04:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this is just a difference between British and American English, but I hear Germans commonly use the phrase "on the one hand side". To the American ear, this phrase sounds oddly redunant.

Better would be simply "on the one hand". This phrase is often used in a construction similar to this one: "On the one hand English is easy because its grammar is simple; on the other hand, it is difficult because it is so flexible.".