Re: built-in rules

["Harriet Hodges" kapok@xxxxxxxx]

Thank you. I as very glad to know that.--Harriet Hodges
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wolfgang Bechstein" 
To: 
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: built-in rules


> flash  wrote:
>
> > Is it hard-wired in the brain (or ontological) that 'I am a Berliner'
> > mean that I come from Berlin, whereas 'Ich bin ein Berliner' means that
> > I am a jelly donut?
>
> Utter poppycock that doesn't become any truer by being endlessly bounced
> about the net.
>
> Although I was quite young at the time, I do remember hearing JFK's
> speech on the radio, and neither I nor--to the best of my knowledge--the
> multitudes of other native-German-speaking listeners thought for even a
> minute that he had said "I am a jelly donut". His accent was pretty
> thick, but the phrase itself, "Ich bin ein Berliner" was correct, both
> grammatically and in the idiomatic and intended meaning of "I am a
> citizen of Berlin". That there are also jelly donuts called "Berliners"
> (one of my favorite types of pastry) is neither here nor there. I don't
> know exactly where this urban legend originated, but anybody with a firm
> grasp of German (not some half-baked notions of how language works)
> could instantly refute it.
>
> [That said, I like your web site!]
>
> Wolfgang Bechstein
> bechstein@xxxxxxxx
>
>
>
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