Berliner

PREREQUISITE READING FOR THIS BLOG ENTRY:

The most prominent feature of German word order is the position of the verb. Each of the three major clause types in German—main, question, and subordinate—requires the conjugated verb to occupy a different place within the clause, which can differ considerably from English:

Main clause:

Eigentlich verstehe ich diese Regel schon. Actually I already understand this rule.

Question:

Verstehst du diese Regel oder nicht? Do you understand this rule or not? Subordinate clause:

Ich glaube zumindest, dass ich diese Regel schon verstehe. At least I think (that) I already understand this rule.

But although the verb position varies from clause to clause, it is consistent within each clause type. The conjugated verb and any associated verbal elements (such as infinitives or participles) in fact form a subtle framework into which other elements can be placed in various ways. The important thing is to remember which kind of clause you are constructing and how that dictates the constraints and possible variations for word order within it.



After “Ask not what your country can do for you…” JFK’s most famous phrase is probably “Shit, I think I hear your husband.” His third most famous phrase, though, is “Ich bin ein Berliner.” Kind of sad for one of our nation’s best orators. Kennedy made this verbal gaffe in 1963 at the end of a long speech in front of more than 500,000 people at the Rathouse Schoneberg. The speech was about expressing the unity the rest of the Free World had with West Berlin citizens. What could be more unifying than a little sprinkling of local dialect? Now, if you’ve visited a German baker anywhere from Lindau to Emden, you know that a Berliner is a jelly doughnut. When Kennedy said “Ich bin ein Berliner” the natives were left scratching their ends. “He’s a what?” they must have said.

Cute story. Clean, compact. Hits all the right notes: cynical; brings a great statesman down to size; references the two most important subjects in Post-WWII history (the Cold War and Dessert). Just one problem – we’ve been telling it wrong for over forty years.

The nut of the joke lies in German grammar, of course. If you didn’t complete the prerequisite reading for this entry, now would be a good time to do so. Got it? Okay. If JFK really wanted to impress the folks of West Berlin with his grasp of German and all of its wonderful subtleties, what he should have said was “Ich bin ein Pfannkuchen.” Because that is how you say jelly doughnut here in Berlin.