Speaking of puns (the remarkable German language)

[A. Maberry]

Not about puns really but about exaggerated claims for a particular
language. I was at the American University in Cairo in the mid-70s and
heard a lecture on Arabic literature in which the lecturer made a claim
to the effect that Arabic was a particularly beautiful language for poetry
and literature because it was the only language that was spoken *before*
it was written.

allen
maberry at u.washington.edu

On Fri, 15 Dec 2000 AAllan at AOL.COM wrote:

> << Er wollte sagen: Nur auf Deutsch kann *ich* das tun.
> D.h.: He meant to say, "German is the only language in which *I* can do
> that." >>
>
> I don't think so. I knew enough German to distinguish between "ich" and
> "man." And it went along with some other endearing German characteristics,
> like the stout middle-aged Berlin housewives with their umbrellas battling
> their way onto the bus. Don't get me wrong, Americans have endearing
> characteristics too. - Allan Metcalf
>