I sometimes wonder if the Scots know how they are used in German advertising. (Note tartan paper on wall inside shop).

Die Kornweihe ist auf der roten Liste der geschützten Vögel, in Großbritannien (in England gibt es nur etwa 20 Brutpaare – jetzt vielleicht noch weniger – in Deutschland auch kaum 50).

Prinz Harry und ein Freund haben vielleicht zwei getötet.

Meistens folgt eine Gefängnissstrafe – video interview with Chief Constable of North Wales Police.

The British press report that Prince Harry and a friend are suspected of killing two. The Independent:

Prince Harry and a close friend have been questioned by police after two rare birds of prey were killed while they were out shooting on the royal family’s Sandringham estate.

The pair were thought to be the only people hunting on the Norfolk estate last Wednesday when witnesses at a nature reserve on the edge of the land saw two hen harriers shot down as they flew over.

Hen harriers are rare in England where it is estimated there are only 20 breeding pairs. They are legally protected and the killing of one carries a six-month jail sentence or a £5,000 fine.

The RSPB says that in October and November, Continental birds will join residents.

RSPB statement today.

I don’t know exactly what the law is, but it is probably the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – Schedule 1 has a list of birds protected at all times. See UK statute law database.

This whole story is a pun waiting to happen. Let’s watch the British press (Harry harries harriers?).

Reviewer’s letter to TLS, September 14, 2007:

Sir, – In my review of David Crystal’s How Language Works (July 20), the word ‘linguist’ was replaced by ‘linguistician’ throughout, without my permission. ‘Linguistician’ is a term which I would never use myself. People who do linguistics are known as linguists. In the review I used the phrase ‘linguistic researchers’ in the first sentence to make clear what sort of linguist I was referring to (since ‘linguist’ can also mean someone skilled in foreign languages).

Jennifer Coats, Department of English Language & Linguistics, Roehampton University, London SW15

Professor Ulrich Noack has possibly the most active and useful German academic legal weblog, Unternehmensrechtliche Notizen. But I didn’t realize his department had a dog called Cougar installed. Cougar specializes in animal law, company law (including restrictions on dogs at AGMs) and constitutional law.

(Via Elbeblawg)

Julie Galante is self-described in her weblog This non-American life as ‘A travel-addicted American expatriate who has lived in Italy, Germany, and now Switzerland.’ – now apparently moving to Munich:

Have I mentioned how very, very excited I am to be moving to a place where they speak REAL GERMAN? Yeah yeah yeah, I know there’s an incomprehensible Bavarian dialect that lurks around, but when you’re not talking to drunk farmers, High German is the default language in Munich. High German, the German I know, love, and most importantly, UNDERSTAND. Yippee!

In honor of my impending return to German-land, I’d like to share a couple of my favorite German words and expressions. Perhaps you’ll even glimpse a bit of why I love this language so (although at the moment, I’m thinking my love for it is purely based on the fact that it’s not Swiss German). Apologies for any misspellings – it’s been years since I’ve actually written in German…

The words include Arschgeweih and Vokuhila.

(Via Blogwiese)

Judging from Google, not only Werner Siebers is baffled by a Telegraph report:

Die spinnen, die Engländer. Weil ein Mann Sex mit seinem Fahrrad hatte – wie auch immer das befriedigen kann – muss er sich jetzt vor Gericht verantworten. 1993 musste in England bereits ein Mann einsitzen, weil er sich mit Pflastersteinen – auch das übersteigt meine Phantasie – vergnügt hatte.

(‘Die Engländer’ here means the British.) Even I find this odd. Let’s forget about the 1993 Redditch case of a fairly naked man in contortions on the pavement and look at this Scottish case – and note that it is a case of Scottish criminal law. It seems odd to me – and others discussing it inter alia on snopes.com – not only that it was an offence although he was in his own room and the door was locked, but also that he should now be registered as a sex offender. The man admitted to a ‘sexual breach of the peace’.

Collins Dictionary of Law (cheap paperback, ISBN 0007102941) is good on Scots matters:

breach of the peace in England, conduct causing harm or likely to cause harm or generally disturb the peace. The preservation of the peace is an ancient Crown prerogative. it is an especially important offence in relation to civil liberties, for if conduct is likely to occasion a breach of the peace that will justify arrest.
In Scots criminal law, disorderly conduct that is likely to occasion a public disturbance. It is a very widely construed crime and often causes concern in relation to civil liberties. It encompasses looking in at a lighted window … statements made to another in the absence of witness in private … and even an exuberant blow to the chest of a fellow footballer.

Consider also the case of the Englishman from Bournemouth jailed for hiking naked – but only once he reached Scotland.