Do you know Spongebob?

[Yankee]

Hi Michael

The thing with English and German is that you never know when a fairly direct translation will work. There are lots of similarities between the two languages, so sometimes the direct translations work out. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of times that they don't.

Your "bring some light into the dark" was quite understandable even though it's not a "typical" expression in English. So, that was one of those situations where a native English speaker probably wouldn't notice anything "wrong" -- BUT if they knew German, they'd recognize the direct translation.

You can ask someone to 'shed/cast some light on' something, or possibly to 'enlighten' you.

By the way, in your last post, you should change 'straightly' to 'directly' and you should use 'last' instead of 'latter'.

Amy
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Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Torsten]

Hi Michael, I think translating from German into English is OK as long as you are aware of it. You have to keep a balance between using 'English phrases and expressions' and creating your 'own' sentences. It seems to me that you have been able to raise your awareness for the fact that it's always easier to read and understand 'correct English sentences' than it is to create them. Bottom line: You are on the right track with your program and I'm sure you will become even more confident in using your English.

Regards,
Torsten
PS: I have removed my previous post because Amy said exactly what I wanted to say but she did it much better than me.
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[prezbucky]

Torsten

What does "Jah wol" (or "wohl" or however it's spelled) mean?

"Yah vole" is how I pronounce it... hope that's right.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Torsten]

Hi Tom, it means "yes", "yes Sir!", "aye, aye", "alright"... Why are you asking?
By the way, it's spelled "jawohl" (ja + wohl: yes + well)
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[prezbucky]

I've just always wondered what it meant. I've heard it spoken in several movies... seems usually to be spoken as an afterthought, or as an answer to a command. (I know that "ja" means "yes")

Danke!
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Torsten]

That's right. It somehow reminds me of the way the German military used to speak, especially during World War II...
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Fan of Arabian horses]

Hi prezbucky, hi Torsten!

I?d like to add my tuppence on this. In that area of Germany where I live (near Dortmund, Bochum.....Castrop-Rauxel) the vocabulary "jawohl" is commonly used still. Just a bit in the typical tongue: "Jawoll!". It?s an expression for great joy, for instance if the favorite soccer club achieves a goal you might hear a loud scream: jawollllll. Or if anybody should win a huge price in a bet or something else. Or during an argue between children when they lost the thread and the argue is about who is right at the end you might hear a discussion like this:

A: It?s not true!!
B: is? ja_wohl wahr!!!

Michael

[Yankee]

.
The way I hear things in Swabia, I think a good translation for jawohl would sometimes be "Yessirreebob!"
.
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Torsten]

That's a good one, Amy!
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[prezbucky]

lol, Ames (hehe. smack me if you don't like that), ya just reminded me of my grandpa.

well one of them, anyway (maternal).

It might be going out of style in other parts of the world, but YESSIREEBOB (almost "bab" up there) is still -- like "OOFDAH" in da U.P. (eh!) -- a cornerstone of Wisconsin speech.

Down here I've heard it as "YESSIREEBUDDY"

I feel I must correct the ingrate who says it that way, whenever that happens.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Lucien_Librarian]

Hi prezbucky

I am familiar with YESSIREE, but I've never come across OOFDAH. Would you care to explain it?

Thanks
L.L.

[prezbucky]

Oofdah... how to explain "oofdah"?

"Oofdah" is an expression of surprise, shock, dismay, irritation, and/or happiness commonly used in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (commonly referred to as the -- or da -- UP).

The UP was settled mostly by Scandinavian-Americans. The UP accent is among the harshest in the United States -- it is extremely nasal. Every vowel in the UP tongue is a diphthong.

"Oofdah" is also commonly used in northern Minnesota.

Wisconsinites, sandwiched between their Minnesota/UP brethren, are more likely to use "oh jeez" or "ah jeez" or "shoot" to express similar feelings.

Check these out:

http://www.dayoopers.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Peninsula_of_Michigan

(If you can find it, download "Da Second Week Of Deer Camp" by the pop/accordion band Da Yoopers. The song is hilarious, and will definitely give you a feel for Da UP, northern Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota.)

The chorus of "Da Second Week Of Deer Camp":

It's da second week of deer camp, and all the guys are here
We drink, play cards, and shoot da bull (or "pool"), but never shoot no deer
The only time we leave the camp is when we go for beer
Da second week of deer camp is the greatest time of year.

---------------------------------------------

Fan of Arabian Horses
Do you cheer for Dortmund? I like their home kit.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[prezbucky]

Another classic Yooperesque song is (and it's in season) "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Yankee]

That's not Yooper, that's country and western. (Or is there no difference?)

I've taken that song to English classes with me at Christmastime.
(Yes, my students think I'm a little nuts...)

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[prezbucky]

it's actually polka, i think... they use a lot of accordion.

Here's one for you:

In heaven there is no beer
That's why we drink it here
And when we are (or have... can't remember) gone from here
Our friends will be drinking all our beer

That was off the top of my head, lol, so don't razz me if it's off a bit. hehe

We used to go down to a German pub during my undergrad days at UW-Madison... we'd drink boots filled with beer.

Now the boots we used probably held about a pitcher's worth of beer. We'd sit 'round the table. Here's how it would go:

I drink untill I can't swallow any more beer. I flick the boot with my finger and hand it to the next person.

He says, "Danke."

I reply, "Bitte."

And he begins drinking.

Rules:

- You must keep your mouth on the boot. If you take your mouth off the boot, your turn ends. (in other words, you can't just sit there sipping/resting/sipping/resting.) Mouth on, drink; mouth off, your turn is over and you pass it to the next person.

- If the person after you finishes the boot, you buy the next one.

Ergo, once the beer level in the boot gets down around the ankle, it behooves the drinker to finish it... because if he doesn't, it's likely that the next person will.

At any rate, the bar always had a polka band on stage when we were there for our bootfests.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.