Re: VL-TRANS: Caution:
Adam Ophir Shapira 
Tue, 21 Oct 1997 19:52:32 +0100

At 11:11 AM +0000 10/21/97, Dr Maggie Hellstrom, GSI Darmstadt wrote:
>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.)

He used perfect German vocabulary, but he did *not* use German
grammar *at all*. The way to say "I am a Berlinner!" is
  "Ich bin Berliner!".

JFK *did* say "I am a jelly donut".