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0 pointsHeckFeck1y ago0 comments

Some thoughts are too complex for English. Three genders means they are always one step ahead of the French. Shunning Latin root words means you can be more efficient.

German persists for good reasons.

0 comments

mr_mitm1y ago

Can you give an example of a thought that cannot be expressed in English? That sounds like quite the claim without anything backing it up. I speak fluent German for what it's worth.

bratwurst30001y ago

the only i can think of is sentence with comatas. In german you can have as many „hauptsätze“ in one sentence as long they are separated by a comma. for example what thomas berndhard does is crazy. its one sentence per page. i think in german you can be more precise in one sentence. but that will be a hell of a sentence.

dpassens1y ago

Can't you just use a semicolon to do the same in English? And even if not, just because an idea is split over several sentences doesn't mean you can't communicate it. That's what paragraphs are for.

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davrosthedalek1y ago

For what it's worth, I only have an example for the other way around: Accuracy vs precision. It's "Genauigkeit". But there is a subtle difference in meaning in English that is lost in German without additional explanation.

bratwurst30001y ago

you can translate many english „complicated“ words one to one in german because german has a anglo saxon in it. for example accuracy is akkurat precission is prezision hypocrite is hypokrit etc

german has a crazy big vocabulary but most words arent used and in generell the language is simplified in everyday use. for example everyone has angst but noone has bange anymore. btw good word for anxious in german.

i once also had the impression that many nuances are lost in translation but then i had to realize germans are not using all the words of the vocabulary.

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dpassens1y ago

> Some thoughts are too complex for English.

English just adopts all the good German words. Every time I, a native German speaker, have struggled to express something in English it was either because my personal vocabulary was lacking or because of societal differences, never because English is somehow inferior.

davrosthedalek1y ago

And German has adopted all the good English words.

Like Handy (cell phone), Beamer (projector), and body bag (fanny bag).

Oh wait....

dpassens1y ago

I've never heard a fanny pack called a body bag in German. It's a Bauchtasche in my family.

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b3orn1y ago

Bodybag is more like a messenger bag.

karmakurtisaani1y ago

This is satire?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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mr_mitm1y ago

Can you give an example of a thought that cannot be expressed in English? That sounds like quite the claim without anything backing it up. I speak fluent German for what it's worth.

bratwurst30001y ago

dpassens1y ago

Can't you just use a semicolon to do the same in English? And even if not, just because an idea is split over several sentences doesn't mean you can't communicate it. That's what paragraphs are for.

2 more replies

davrosthedalek1y ago

bratwurst30001y ago

you can translate many english „complicated“ words one to one in german because german has a anglo saxon in it. for example accuracy is akkurat precission is prezision hypocrite is hypokrit etc

i once also had the impression that many nuances are lost in translation but then i had to realize germans are not using all the words of the vocabulary.

1 more reply

dpassens1y ago

> Some thoughts are too complex for English.

davrosthedalek1y ago

And German has adopted all the good English words.

Like Handy (cell phone), Beamer (projector), and body bag (fanny bag).

Oh wait....

dpassens1y ago

I've never heard a fanny pack called a body bag in German. It's a Bauchtasche in my family.

1 more reply

b3orn1y ago

Bodybag is more like a messenger bag.

karmakurtisaani1y ago

This is satire?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse