The Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Deutscher Bibliotheksverband have produced a website called ‘deutsche internet bibliothek’ (um – what happened to hyphens?). This is a collection of links.

Via Handakte WebLAWg.

They will answer (almost) all your questions too, by email. But not juristische oder medizinische Fachfragen – does that mean all legal and medical questions or just ‘Doctor, what’s that funny twinge in my knee?’ Continue reading →

Another picture taken in Fürth yesterday afternoon. Even for pedestrians, it can be difficult to take in all the messages we see. Is the deleted football symbol used elsewhere?

Auch für Fußgänger kann ein Schilderwald unüberschaubar sein (Fürth, Theaterstraße, 27. Mai 2003). Der durchgestrichene Fußball könnte eine Fürther Erfindung sein (ist Greuther Fürth deswegen nicht aufgestiegen?)

Another picture taken in Fürth yesterday afternoon. Even for pedestrians, it can be difficult to take in all the messages we see. Is the deleted football symbol used elsewhere?

Auch für Fußgänger kann ein Schilderwald unüberschaubar sein (Fürth, Theaterstraße, 27. Mai 2003). Der durchgestrichene Fußball könnte eine Fürther Erfindung sein (ist Greuther Fürth deswegen nicht aufgestiegen?)

Deutscher Sprachrat gegründet (von Bruno Aeschbacher, swisstrans, aus der NZZ zitiert).
From Bruno Aeschbacher, who runs the Swiss translators’ group (swisstrans) at Yahoogroups, an article in the Neue Züricher Zeitung says a German language council is to be formed – this was decided by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, the Goethe Institut Inter Nationes and the Institut für deutsche Sprache. From the last, a press release in German. The Deutscher Sprachrat has its own website, at present consisting of one page.

Deutscher Sprachrat gegründet (von Bruno Aeschbacher, swisstrans, aus der NZZ zitiert).
From Bruno Aeschbacher, who runs the Swiss translators’ group (swisstrans) at Yahoogroups, an article in the Neue Züricher Zeitung says a German language council is to be formed – this was decided by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, the Goethe Institut Inter Nationes and the Institut für deutsche Sprache. From the last, a press release in German. The Deutscher Sprachrat has its own website, at present consisting of one page.

I am posting some pictures from a walk here in Fürth yesterday (click on image to enlarge).

Since the German spelling reform, we are approaching something like the 17th-century freedom to spell in whatever way we feel like spelling. I like the word pinckel, although I don’t think it’s logically spelt. I don’t like the punctuation, although at least there are never more than three exclamation marks.

This picture may be evidence that this kind of German is used by speakers of German as a second language themselves sometimes, and not only by Germans when talking to foreigners. Continue reading →