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.
Laser Monks finden Tintenpatronen “sündhaft teuer”:
bq. All I wanted was a little bit of black dust for one of our monastery printers. In my search for a toner cartridge, I was suddenly struck with how incredibly expensive this black dust and a few squirts of ink were. “There must be a better way,” I said to myself.And so began my foray into the world of imaging supplies. What I discovered was a revelation. Simply stated, the mark-up on ink supplies is sinfully high, reaching in some instances into the 1,000-2,000 % levels. I also discovered that there were many companies that manufactured either new compatible cartridges or remanufactured cartridges at a fraction of the cost of the big name brands. My thoughts starting racing. Imagine the money we could save schools, churches, and other organizations if we could negotiate some deals with the manufacturers directly and cut out the middlemen.
Aus diesem Grund verkaufen sie für gute Zwecke unter anderem wiedergefüllte Tintenpatronen.
The Cistercians have a 900-year tradition of customer care and outreach, we learn.
(Via Boing Boing)
The East Frisia site has a lot of resources, including audio clips of people speaking it on the phone.
Following the exclusion of translations from the Golden ‘Duncan Lawrie’ Dagger Award (see earlier entry), three British publishing companies have arranged Bloody Foreigners: Crime FictionTranslation Tour.
(From Translation Exchange)