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L O W L A N D S - L - 19 May 2011 - Volume 03<br>
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<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">From: <a href="mailto:mike.keach@gmail.com">mike.keach@gmail.com</a><br>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica"</p><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><div bgcolor="#ffffff"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
I've so enjoyed the responses to the question: Q: Are there (more) such negative answers possible in English..?</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Those of you across the pond might not be familiar with the motivational
speaker and writer, Zig Ziglar, but his trademark answer (one which
will make all of you cringe with a sugar-induced pancreatic attack) to
the question: "How are you?" is, (drum roll . . . )</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
"I am super fantastic --- but, I'll be better!"</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Grüezi mitenand!</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
~Mike von Tampadorf</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">----------</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="gI"><span class="gD" style="color:#5b1094">M.-L. Lessing</span> <span class="go"><a href="mailto:marless@gmx.de">marless@gmx.de</a></span></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Subject: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="gI">LL-L "Idiomatica" 2011.05.19 (01) [EN]</span><b style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br><br></b><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="4">Hi all,</font></div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="4">in Germany there is a negatively tinted answer to "Wie
geht's?", and that is "Muss ja!". No explicitly negative word in it (as
"complain" or "worse"), but you clearly know the person is not too happy or just
dragging along. Anything like it in English?</font></div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="4">Hartlich</font></div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="4">Marlou</font></div><font style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" size="2"><br></font><font style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" size="2">----------</font><b style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br>
<br></b><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: "Steven Hanson" <<a href="mailto:ammurit@gmail.com">ammurit@gmail.com</a>></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2011.05.19 (01) [EN]</span><b><br>
<br></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Papyrus;color:#244061">I very often say something along the lines of ‘Could be better, could be worse.’</span><br>
<br><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">----------</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
From:
R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>></p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Subject:
Networking</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Lowlanders,</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">In American English there is a mainstream convention in "polite" discourse (i.e. among people that don't know each other well, and this tends to call for "positive" responses even when these are not honest. Among people that know each other better it is permissible to give more honest answers, as our American friends here have already indicated.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">And then there are ethno-specific conventions. For example, among Ashkenazi Jewish Americans it is quite all right to be brutally honest and blunt. For instance, you might respond with things like, "Egh!", or "Oy! Don't get me started!", since in this culture, like in the preceding Yiddish culture "kvetshing" (complaining, whining) has been elevated to a fine art. But this is limited to people who share this culture or are familiar with it.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Regards,</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Reinhard/Ron</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Seattle, USA</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
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