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.

BILD-Gegendarstellung von 22. September.
BILD am 25. August: “EU schafft Deutsch ab”

Siehe BILDblog hier

bq. EU schafft Deutsch ab. Die EU-Kommission hat die Übersetzung ins Deutsche gestoppt. Grund: Dolmetscher seien durch die Ostereweiterung der EU überlastet. Die EU-Vorlagen und Ausschreibungen gibt es jetzt nur noch in englischer Sprache.

bq. EU removes German. The EU Commission has stopped translations into German. The reason: it says that interpreters [sic] are overburdened as a result of the enlargement of the EU eastwards. The EU documents and tenders are only available in English now.

und hier. Und am 15. September:

bq. Selbst als die EU-Kommission am 25. August eine einstweilige Verfügung erwirkte, die “Bild” zum Abdruck der Gegendarstellung verpflichtete, gab die Zeitung noch nicht auf und legte Widerspruch ein. Heute nun hat das Landgericht Berlin diesen Widerspruch abgewiesen.

bq. In der “F.A.Z.” sagte “Bild”-Chefredakteur Kai Diekmann, er drucke absurde Gegendarstellungen gerne, “weil sie zeigen, wie hier das Recht der Gegendarstellung im Kern mißbraucht wird.” Wir lernen: Weniger absurde Gegendarstellungen druckt er offenbar nicht so gerne.

Wobei es nicht nur bei BILD beliebt ist, Lügengeschichten über die EU zu verbreiten.

I’m very fond of these flat peaches that taste just like other white peaches.
Apparently in the USA they are called Saturn or Jupiter or doughnut (donut) peaches. What are they called in Germany?

The Washington State Fruit Commission says:

bq. Saturn™/flat peaches are a variety of white peach that were originally developed in Asia. Low in acid and high in soluble solids, this tender peach is perfect for consumers who appreciate a sweet finish to their tree fruit. Likewise, this peach gets its name because it is much flatter in height than traditional peaches, very similar to a donut…but much healthier!

There is absolutely no need to knock doughnuts. And how come Saturn is trademarked?

It has been pointed out to me by Anon. of Frankfurt am Main that, as with ‘curry’, German newscasters have difficulty pronouncing ‘Hurrikan’ or ‘hurricane’. Some pronounce it in an acceptable English way, but others produce a weird U sound as already commented on.

I see I am not the first on this terrain. Rocko, at the end of August, heard a presenter saying it in English and an expert saying it in German, and the presenter gradually adapted her pronunciation to his during the interview:

bq. Während die Moderatorin das Wort Hurrikan die ganze Zeit englisch aussprach (“Härrikäin” mit weichem R), sagte der Experte, der immerhin Professor war, nur immer Hurrikan. Mit “Hu” und “Kahn” und nicht mit “Hä” und “Käin”. Es war deutlich festzustellen, dass die Moderatorin im Laufe des Interviews ihre eigene Aussprechweise des Wortes an die des Experten anglich. Zuerst fing es damit an, dass sie das weiche “R” gegen ein härteres eintauschte. Es folgte ein “Härrikähn” ohne ein das Wort aufblähendes “i”. Dann, nach einem Videobeitrag, hat sie die Aussprechmöglichkeit des Meteorologen komplett übernommen. “Hurrikahn”.

The recommended pronunciation there is ‘Wirbelsturm’. Here is 2wei.net:

bq. Harriken? Hörriken? Harrikäin? — Es gibt erschreckend viele Möglichkeiten, die Bezeichnung für die amerikanischen Wirbelstürme auszusprechen. Der Name∞ entstammt übrigens einer Sprache amerikanischer Ureinwohner. Die erstgenannte ist wohl die mehr oder weniger offizielle Aussprache des Wortes “Hurrikan” im Deutschen (so mein Oxford-Duden-Wörterbuch). Im Englischen hingegen gibt es mindestens zwei Möglichkeiten …

LATER NOTE: No, it is an intermediate variant, where the vowel sounds more like an ö. Here is the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (first edition):

The standard American pronunciation comes after the double pipe ||. I admit the vowel looks weird (I am not an expert on phonetics). The asterisk is ‘a warning that the British and American pronunciations are different in an important and unpredictable way’. As you can see, there are at least two British pronunciations, of which I use the first. But I think, as with ‘curry’, that it’s the thought of the English R that causes the newsreader to produce a new sound.

The opera was great. It’s just as well I went, as I might have been the only Fürth blogger not to blog it (see zonebattler, with not only a good photo of something I only saw from the side, but he even knew where we were:

bq. Sei es vor dem Maschinenhaus, zwischen den Schwelöfen oder gar im riesigen Sortierbunker, die glücklose Fürther Müllschwelanlage gab dem zauberhaften Spektakel einen surreal-aberwitzigen Rahmen…

First act outside – what the pictures don’t bring out is that the singers were in the middle of the audience much of the time):

Act 2 inside:

Going up many stairs to act 3:

Act 4: 2 singers seen from below through a mesh floor. Some of the action also took place below us, seen through the same kind of mesh floor.

Encore:

Pocket Opera Company (DE/EN)
Purcell: The Fairy Queen / Bussotti: La Passion Selon Sade
CD
3 sets of Impressionen at left show good photos of the event