Following the last entry, I must state that there is a lot of bureaucracy in Germany, and in a few other places too. Spiegel Online, in another article in its inimitable English, helps us to get to the bottom of this:

bq. The average age of students in their very first semester is already a relatively ancient 23, partly due the fact that many students take a few years just to complete the first semester partly due to constant course and university changes and partly due to mandatory military or civil service.

You see that – all Germans have to be in the civil service.

(Thanks to Ekkehard for spotting it)

Spiegel Online is preparing a Germany Survival Bible.

bq. If you’re an expat or someone who has spent time in Germany, we want your help. Why do pedestrians wait for the light to change at 3:00 a.m.? Why are the shops closed on Sunday? Is German beer a stereotype or a reality? Why do toilets have shelves? Why do we have to bag our own groceries at the supermarket — assuming we get to the checkout in the first place? And why are there so many dogs on German streets and naked people on German beaches? Are Germans rude? Why are there so many sex shops?

I might not be tempted to enter, but see here:

bq. If you’re an expat blogger in Germany, we’re also happy to consider republishing any blogs you may have written that are appropriate to the Survival Bible. We’ll give you credit and provide a link back to your site.

The trouble is, I’ve never seen myself as what is called an expat. I think of an expat as someone in the diplomatic service who may or may not speak the language of the country where he or she has landed, and who has an offshore bank account, sends children to public school in Britain and will retire in Surrey. But it’s not impossible that Spiegel Online defines the term expat in a different way from me.

Anyway, Spiegel Online thinks the Germans have a fixation with garden gnomes. Yes, they do. They would be surprised to hear that garden gnomes are not a purely German phenomenon. Anyway, here is a photo I took this week outside a one-euro shop in Fürth:

Eine BBC-Liste der Schimpfwörter im britischen Englisch, nach Anstößigkeit geordnet, sollten einige Deutsche studieren. Nummer 2 auf der Liste, mit Variationen, wird gefährlich häufig von Nicht-Muttersprachlern verwendet. Üben Sie mit Nummern 24 und 21; auch Nummer 8 ist ganz nützlich.

(von badscience über Language Log)

Here is information on the test for some people wanting to become British citizens. Information from Ekkehard in the comments to the last entry on this topic. Apparently it’s a 45-minute test done on the computer, answering 24 questions.

At wortpatenschaft.de you can adopt a German word that is threatened by extinction:

bq. Werden Sie Wortpate! Beschützen Sie ein deutsches Wort und übernehmen Sie dafür die Verantwortung: Entwickeln Sie das Wort weiter, pflegen Sie es, hüten Sie es vor Mißbrauch oder Verdrängung! Schreiben Sie Gedichte mit Ihrem Wort, tauschen Sie sich aus mit anderen Wortpaten und schaffen Sie Wörterbiotope oder -museen, ertüfteln Sie Wortspielereien. Und helfen Sie gleichzeitig mit einer kleinen Spende dem gemeinnützigen Verein Deutsche Sprache. Ihr Einsatz für die Gemeinschaft!

Die Auswahl an Wörtern ist sehr breit, weil offensichtlich niemand sich die Mühe machen wollte, bedrohte Wörter auszusuchen.

Just a minute – is that the Verein Deutsche Sprache I’ve encountered before? The one that often criticizes words for no comprehensible reason? Ah well – no wonder they have such a comprehensive list of words.

I did get some mockery last year for using the term Aufboden instead of Dachboden. Maybe I should adopt that. The term is normal in the dialect of the person I learnt it from, but no-one else had ever heard of it. However, the site isn’t offering that.

(Via Astrid Paprotta)

This is me after coming down the Sinwell Tower at Nuremberg Castle the second and, I hope, last time. I still don’t understand the wooden construction in the platform, but at least I photographed it this time.