With Frankfurt airport closed, note the lack of vapour trails…
3 German Phrases you probably don’t know
April 14, 2010 By 1 Comment
One of the ideas behind German Words Explained was to explain the words in German that students usually neither learn in school or at university. In addition to some words, there are some set phrases that I heard for the first time whilst I was a student in Germany.
I found them relatively complex at the time, and yet they play an important role in the German language – particularly for television viewers. And I am obviously not alone, since I have heard from others who have lived here and who remember – sometimes fondly – these phrases as something particular to Germany.
Here are my favourites:
1. Zu Risiken und Nebenwirkungen lesen Sie die Packungbeilage und fragen Sie Ihren Arzt oder Apotheker
This phrase is announced very quickly after any form of advertisement for medicine. It warns you that to find out about any risks or side-effects you should read the documentation included in the packaging and ask either your doctor or pharmacist.
My assumption is because that if you were not told to do this, and suffered a side-effect, you could try and take the manufacturer to court because they did not warn you about them.
2. Der Rechtsweg ist ausgeschlossen
You see this on almost any form of competition. As far as I understand this use, it means that you cannot take the organiser of a competition to court to claim the prizes. Something similar to “the judge’s decision is final”.
3. Alle Angaben sind ohne Gewähr
This is used most commonly when announcing the winning numbers in the lottery each week. It is meant to protect the broadcaster in the event that either the announcer says a wrong number or the on-screen graphic is incorrect. Image what would happen if you thought you had won but it turned out that the numbers had been wrong!
Can you think of any others? If so, please leave a comment!
Is it the same in Germany?
April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A popular question to be asked when talking to someone who does not live in Germany, is “is it the same”?
“Is it the same where you live?”
“Is it the same in Germany?”
Sometimes it is the assumption, that something that happens in one country or is defined by laws there must be the same or at least similarly defined in another, and people are often surprised when this is not the case.
One of the stranger questions recently was “is it illegal to kill a swan in Germany?” from @johnusher. Quite why you might want to do this to such a beautiful bird is beyond me, and I am sure that even if you did you would need permission and – this being Germany – pay tax for it.
But how did the question come about? Quite simply, it’s one of those bits of general knowledge about life in the United Kingdom that people know – wild swans belong to the Crown and it’s illegal to kill them.
So the assumption I guess it that they must belong to someone in Germany too.
Well I’m not aware that they do, and I’m not aware of any similar tradition here. Unless someone else knows otherwise?
If you do, please leave a comment!
