I think it would be a great tragedy if the German language did not include words like Rettungschwimmeruebungsplatz. Words like that just crack me up. Is there a Guiness record for the world's longest word? What is the longest word you know in the German language? They don't mention the most important reform they need, hoping not to offend any Germans or Germanophiles, but what is the reasoning for having five different ways to say the word 'the' or alternatively 'a' ? Isn't that a major stumbling block for anybody trying to learn German? Is that part of the proposed reforms? I wish there was some way to reform the language. I took issue with a dictionary editor who said that his dictionary only recorded the way a word actually was used, and not somebody's idea of 'correct' usage. So if enough people start using a word wrong, giving it a new or contradictory meaning, then that becomes correct. Thus has the word 'snuck' sneaked it's way into proper usage. I wonder why 'ain't' hasn't as well. Well, it is easy for me to get off topic, since I know much more about America than I do about Germany. Not too long ago there was a campaign to change "Smokey the Bear" to "Smokey Bear". This has probably been accomplished through advertising and schools. So now young people can laugh at my old-fashioned way of talking when I say Smokey THE Bear. Just thought I would make the point, that they will acheive their reforms, the way most change is acheived, by teaching the young the new ways and waiting for all the people who use the old ways to die off. Thomas Koch ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2000 10:07 AM Subject: [GERMAN-LIFE] Fwd: Crisis of Letters in Germany > > Spelling reforms have touched off an angry debate and have left the public, > students and teachers confused > > Jody K. Biehl San Francisco Chronicle > > Berlin -- German trains may run with uncanny precision, but ask any person > standing on the tracks how to spell the word for ``train travel'' and you > might be greeted with a gaze of pure Teutonic panic. > > Indeed, this meticulous nation of 83 million inhabitants has not suddenly > forgotten how to spell. But the entire country -- and the German-speaking > nations of Austria and Switzerland -- are gripped in a seething debate about > the future of their language. > > The debate focuses on an international attempt to make German easier by > eliminating 100 spelling rules, including those that permit famously long > compound words like Feierabendverkehr (rush-hour traffic) and > Rettungschwimmeruebungsplatz (lifeguard training area). The reforms also > reduce the number of rules for commas, from an astonishing 52 to nine and > replace Americanized spellings for words like ``ketchup'' and ``disco'' with > the Germanized Ketschup and Disko. > > ``It is absolute lunacy,'' said Thomas Steinfeld, chief literary critic for > the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a staunchly conservative newspaper. > ``Can you imagine telling generations of people -- let alone writers, > historians and other academics -- that the way they learned to spell is > wrong? It is a linguistic nightmare.'' > > Examples of the new grammar are as complicated as the old rules are long. In > general, they break up compound words into various parts, so Zugfahren (to > ride a train) becomes Zug fahren. > > Steinfeld insists such shifts alter the meaning of many words. A good > comparison, he said, would be to take the English word undercover and break > it into under cover. > > ``You end up not knowing if the person is a spy or if they are going to > bed,'' he said. ``You want to ask under cover of what, a blanket?'' > > In some cases, critics say the new rules push otherwise separated words > together, resulting in an awkward situation of having three consonants in a > row, as in Shifffahrt, the word for navigation. > > Language reform is based on a 1960s notion that the way people write German > is an automatic clue to their social status. In theory, class barriers > disappear by simplifying the language. > > The new spelling, which took effect in 1998 in schools, government offices > and courts of law, has resulted in orthographic chaos in the usually placid > world of German publishing. According to Steinfeld, every dictionary > published since 1998 is different because publishers are also struggling to > understand the new rules and explain away the old ones. > > Moreover, teachers complain that publishers of classic books often don't > adhere to the new rules, leaving students confused and unsure of spelling > and grammar. > > ``Instead of being more modern, we are reverting back to the 19th century > where there were no standard rules of spelling and every publishing house > was free to make up its own style,'' Steinfeld said. > > The changes are happening at a time when many Germans are suffering from > what the media describes as ``reform fatigue.'' In recent months, they have > seen sweeping changes hit their tax system and have watched in horror as > legislators threaten to do away with cushy pensions that have been a popular > perk of the West German system since the 1950s. Health insurance and > commercial laws are also under scrutiny as Germany struggles to find its way > in the global economy. > > But fine-tuning the language, it seems, is one step many Germans are not > willing to make in the name of modernity. > > ``We have tried the language reform for the past two years and I think we > have to come to the conclusion that people don't want it,'' said Ulrike > Flach, chairman of the education committee in the German parliament. ``I > think we should stop it now.'' > > But that is not likely to happen any time soon. > > Since the reforms were agreed upon in 1996 by the cultural ministers of > Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the German government has > spent more than $200 million to rewrite school textbooks and official > brochures. More significantly, several cultural ministers would have to > admit that they were wrong. > > In recent months, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has enraged government > officials by branding the reforms ``ridiculous'' and ``a total failure.'' In > a much-read editorial, the newspaper, which still uses 19th century typeface > and refuses to publish photos on its front page, announced that it had > abandoned the new rules in favor of classic, rule-bound German. > > Leading literary figures, including Nobel laureate Guenter Grass and the > conservative Academy of Language and Literature, have rallied around the > newspaper, creating a bizarre alliance between political foes. Grass, a > leftist who has long refused to be interviewed by Frankfurter Allgemeine > Zeitung reporters, has quipped that he would happily allow the newspaper to > ``continue publishing nonsense about me as long as it is written according > to the old rules.'' > > In response, Education Minister Klaus Boeger says the anti-reform campaign > will have no effect. ``We are not in the habit of revoking decisions of the > Cultural Ministers' Conference merely because an important newspaper returns > to the old spelling rules,'' he said. > > > > ********************************************************************** > MESSAGES CAN BE IN GERMAN AND ENGLISH ON THIS LIST. > <http://www.egroups.com/group/germanfriends/info.html> > ********************************************************************** > To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: [email protected] > Visit the German Corner: http://www.germancorner.com > ********************************************************************** > > > --part1_b0.c854ac8.274bf7c3_boundary--

> They don't mention the most important reform they need, hoping not to > offend any Germans or Germanophiles, but what is the reasoning for having > five different ways to say the word 'the' or alternatively 'a' ? Isn't that > a major stumbling block for anybody trying to learn German? Is that part of > the proposed reforms? No, it's not. It's only a spelling reform. They won't change any words, only their spelling to make it more German or easier (?) to learn for children. To add two things: The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung had used the new spelling for one year, but since august this year they use the old one again. The DUDEN, which contains German words and their spelling, had published the reforms. But since august this year they use the old spelling again for some words. So let's see how they will go on. :) Anita