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Fri, March 1, 2013 - 7:04 AM
Fri, March 1, 2013 - 7:04 AM -
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Fri, March 1, 2013 - 7:24 AM
So far as I know, 'schwul' literally means 'damp' or 'humid'. Many years ago I was doing a two week German language course in the former East Germany, and, ignorant of the slang or figurative meaning of 'schwul' as 'homosexual', I commented to some people, about the weather, 'Es ist so schwul!' Only later was I able to account for their air of suppressed amusement... Embarrassing!
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Fri, March 1, 2013 - 5:14 PM
Hee hee hee...false cognates are also a bane: One of my German bear friends, while we were dining at an outdoor cafe in Berlin, said excitedly in English to me (they all wanted to practice their English with me, just as I wanted to practice my German with them), "I just became my refrigerator today!" I looked at him with mild surprise, to say the least, while my other bear friend choked on a piece of kuchen. He then explained to his friend that "bekommen" (to receive) does NOT equal the English "become". I then snorted kuchen out my nose. My first friend had intended to say that he had just received his (new) refrigerator today! And to us bears, receiving a new refrigerator is always celebratory news to be shared with other bears.... ;o)
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