Author Archives: schaefew

Afrikaans vs. English

Posted on 13. July 2014 by schaefew

In 2004, the new constitution of Namibia declared English the sole official language. Up to then, both English and Afrikaans, as a result of South African control of the country, had been the country’s official languages. The administrative and military … Continue reading →

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Der Gau

Posted on 9. July 2014 by schaefew

In einem wunderbaren Radiobeitrag wird die Entscheidung des ADAC, das Wort Gau aus seiner Satzung zu streichen, kritisch unter die Lupe genommen. Es ist unglaublich, was man über das Wort Gau so alles nicht weiß. Es klingt für viele von uns … Continue reading →

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Brooklynese

Posted on 7. July 2014 by schaefew

Many Americans look down on the speech of New Yorkers, and many New Yorkers themselves don’t like they way they talk. As a matter of fact, until a few decades ago students of Manhattan High Schools were given diagnostic exams … Continue reading →

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Scheidung international

Posted on 7. July 2014 by schaefew

In Russland ist es ganz und gar normal, sich scheiden zu lassen. Russland hat die höchste Scheidungsrate der Welt. Frühere Ehepartner bleiben oft freundschaftlich miteinander verbunden. In Indien gibt es kaum Scheidungen. Und wenn es eine Scheidung gibt, kann sich … Continue reading →

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Kein Akrobatik-Sex für Brasilianer

Posted on 19. June 2014 by schaefew

Verletzungsgefahren lauern für Fußballer überall: Paolo Guerrero verkrampfte sich einst aus Flugangst so sehr, dass eine alte Muskelverletzung aufbrach. Eine Bordkarte traf Milan Rapaić am Auge, ein Getränkewägelchen Jerome Boateng am Knie – beide fielen wochenlang aus. Charles Akonnor bohrte … Continue reading →

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Glocalisation

Posted on 7. June 2014 by schaefew

This term – a blend of globasation and localisation – describes the way in which practices that spread around the world will be “nativised” by local cultures. Multinational corporations take local practices and preferences into consideration. McDonald’s, for example, uses … Continue reading →

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Ebonics

Posted on 6. June 2014 by schaefew

It is well known that intelligibility is not enough to decide whether a variety is to be considered a language of its own or not. It leaves out of consideration linguistic attitudes, in particular the question of identity. Norway, Sweden … Continue reading →

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Global English

Posted on 5. June 2014 by schaefew

English has emerged as a world language for extrinsic reasons, not for intrinsic reasons. Popular ideas that English is easy to learn – few inflections, absence of lexical tones, grammatical gender and honorifics – disregard the fact that English is … Continue reading →

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Do you speak English?

Posted on 5. June 2014 by schaefew

How many native speakers of English are there altogether? Perhaps surprisingly, this is not so easy to decide. The figures cited vary between 400 and 500 million – a considerable difference. This is probably chiefly due to differences of opinion … Continue reading →

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Nichts Neues, bitte!

Posted on 5. June 2014 by schaefew

Einer im Journal of the American Medical Association veröffentlichen Studie zufolge verschreiben Ärzte in den USA bei einer akuten Bronchitis immer noch Antibiotika, obwohl längst klar ist, dass die dabei keinen Nutzen haben. In offiziellen Leitlinien und Aufklärungsprogrammen wird darauf hingewiesen, … Continue reading →

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Passende Namen?

Posted on 5. June 2014 by schaefew

Da lacht das Herz des Linguisten: Der BVB hat eine italienische Neuverpflichtung, Immobile. Ein perfekter Name für einen Fußballspieler. Demnächst gibt es in den BVB gegen Bayern nicht nur Dante gegen Sokrates, sondern auch Lahm gegen Immobile. Jetzt heißt es, … Continue reading →

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English vs. Chinese

Posted on 5. June 2014 by schaefew

Which is the top language on the internet? The obvious answer seems to be: English. But Chinese seems to be catching up quickly. The question is, of course, what to count: users, sites, clicks, texts? And: what is a text? … Continue reading →

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Welche Qual!

Posted on 1. June 2014 by schaefew

Bei einem Volkslauf in Luxemburg sah man aus der Ferne eine Bushaltestelle, die QUAL 3 hieß. Als ich mich über die überaus passende Namenswahl wunderte und der Haltestelle näher kam, konnte ich das Schild besser lesen. Darauf stand: QUAI 3

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Just talk!?

Posted on 1. June 2014 by schaefew

What happens if you get language learners to just talk? This was done in an experiment in which three learners were asked to do just that: talk. The result was a highly illuminating dialogue. The three learners talked about Tina … Continue reading →

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Story and plot

Posted on 1. June 2014 by schaefew

Although they contain the same elements, and the same information, plot is not the same as story. The story reports events in their chronological order, the plot is the order in which the text presents them. They frequently do not … Continue reading →

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