Re: VL-TRANS: Caution:
Dr Maggie Hellstrom, GSI Darmstadt 
Tue, 21 Oct 1997 11:11:47 MET_DST

I don't know if this is completely on-topic, but I just want to briefly
comment on what docwho*pop,usit,net wrote:

> Oh, so you haven't heard of John F. Kennedy's famous attempt
> to speak German with English grammar?  
> 
> My point in saying that overusing stuff like the Universal  
> Translator Assistant could cause you to say things that are 
> not only choppy in the target language ... but that could  
> actually mean things *very different* from what you intend.

Well, I guess the reference is to what JFK said at the end of his speech
in Berlin: "I am proud to be able to say "Ich bin ein Berliner"!". It
is true that a Berliner is a German word used to designate a jelly-filled
doughnut, but the first and foremost meaning of the word is a "person
coming from or living in the city of Berlin". Thus, there was _nothing_
wrong with Kennedy's statement per se, although it could be interpreted
in a humorous(?) way. The grammar is correct, the word order is fine.
(I even asked a bunch of my German colleagues here at work, and they all
agree.) 

Of course, your point about the importance of not relying too much on
an "automated" translation system is very valid, but I think you would
do well to find another example to illustrate your argument.

Dr Maggie

PS While on the subject of the dos and don'ts of donuts: in large areas of
Germany, the word "Berliner" is _only_ used in the sense of "someone from  
Berlin"; as the jelly-filled doughnuts are very popular, a large number of
dialect words have been created for this bakers' delight. In Hesse, where
I live and work, they are called "Kraeppel", for instance. And even more
fascinating is the fact that there is a type of cookie called "Amerikaner"
as well! Are _you_ proud to call yourself "ein Amerikaner"???