Miscellaneous links / Links, vermischt

Today is European Languages Day, as I have mentioned sporadically since 2003, but it must have been going on longer than that. There is a game where you have to pinpoint on the map where each of the 41 languages of Europe is an official language. I managed 6 places with German and 3 with English, and I could do Azerbaidjan, Albania and Armenia, but although I recognize a Slavic language when I see one, there seem very many places to put it. There are the words for ‘Talk to me’ in all the languages – but even afterwards, they didn’t say what the language is called, or did I miss something?
LATER NOTE: I see Linklogbuch says the quiz doesn’t work in Firefox, but it does in Opera. What does it do that it doesn’t do in Firefox – give you a prize? I just had a look at it in IE, but there was no difference in playing. But surely German is an official language in part of Italy, isn’t it?

Today is also, according to the news, the first day for some well-known people (but not politicians) to say ‘Du bist das Wunder von Deutschland’ (You are the miracle of Germany). In fact, something will be happening at this website at 19.45 CET. It was strange enough seeing all the TV ads for Baden-Württemberg (‘We can do everything except speak High German’), but this should be weirder. I hope they have someone in the line-up who says ‘Church and state really are divided, despite appearances!’

The Language Guy examines four theories as to why President Bush sometimes mangles his words, and comes down on the side of the least offensive of them, namely mild anomia, a kind of verbal disorder.

6 thoughts on “Miscellaneous links / Links, vermischt

  1. According to the information available on their site, the “Ziel der bürgerschaftlichen Aktion ohne kommerzielle Zielsetzung ist es, zu einer neuen
    Aufbruchstimmung in Deutschland beizutragen. Die Medienunternehmen sehen ihr Engagement
    als Initialzündung einer Bewegung für mehr Zuversicht und Eigeninitiative in Deutschland.”

    So, the separation of church and state (desirable as it might be) is probably not on their agenda.

  2. Yes, Ingmar, I do realize that. I was just thinking of reasons to want to be in Germany. It would contribute to my Zuversicht, if not my Eigeninitiative. What is the position in Austria? (You don’t have to answer that).

    I remember now that there was also a poster campaign of admirable contemporary Franconians here, or rather, in Nuremberg.

  3. Hm, interesting question, that. In a way Germany continues to be Austria’s big Brother (not in the Orwellian sense, of course.)

    So we’re always a little behind in everything, be it the general level of income or taxes, be it unemployment rates or the economic development in general. If Germany does well, Austria profits from it, if she does not, we do not necessarily share that fate to the full extent. Everything seems to be less extreme, more gemütlich, if you will. (Yes, that’s a cliche.)

    I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not, just the way I see it. Eigeninitiative certainly is not a typical Austrian trait, by the way.

  4. Margaret, we were talking about different quizzez. The one I linked to is just a series of questions about language. What Firefox doesn’t do is let you drag the correct answer into the circle in some questions (i.e. the one about the most widely used language). The game is fun, too. There are also electronic greeting cards btw.

  5. Thanks.

    OK, bw, I will have a butcher’s. Am not really into electronic greeting cards, and I don’t collect them – someone sent me one recently but I suppose they find out one day that I didn’t get it.

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