Words and Expressions
from a Deutschlandreise
What German expressions did your Guide encounter on a recent trip to Germany? Well, 'Coke bei drei Grad Celsius' was definitely the coolest!
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Words Part 1 > 'McDrives' and More
The photo on the right offers a good example of how culture and language are interrelated. This building directory in a new Hochhaus (highrise) in Berlin features something I had never seen before: the use of zero (null) to designate the ground floor instead of E (for das Erdgeschoss) or P (for das Parterre, French for ground floor). Even though some of the items on this sign are in both German and English, an American unfamiliar with the German floor numbering system could still get confused here. Even after many visits to Germany and other countries in Europe, I must confess that I still sometimes forget that der erste Stock (or die erste Etage) in Germany is the second floor in the U.S. But this was the first time I had seen the ground floor indicated as zero.
The word defekt turned up entirely too often during my recent travels, usually when it was least welcome! This short English cognate seems to be replacing the older and longer außer Betrieb (out of order) and is usually found on public telephones, on S- or U-Bahn doors and in public toilets — even in the new modern McClean™ toilets where you have to pay up to a euro (about US$1.00) for the privilege of having a clean restroom.
Which brings up a cultural note. The use of a public toilet (das WC, das Klo or die Toilette) in Germany costs between 25 euro cents (about 30 U.S. cents) and a euro. The only place where you can count on free public facilities is at the airport and in most restaurants, so if you're out and about anywhere else, be sure to carry some change with you.
“That would be 37 Fahrenheit degrees for Americans, who are just about the last people on earth still using the temperature scale invented by a German.”
As I was walking from Berlin's Lehrter S-Bahnhof (a massive construction site that is to become a massive new train station by 2004) to the Reichstag, I noticed a red billboard with large white lettering that said: "Coke bei 3 Grad C" — which means "Coke at three degrees Celsius." (That would be 37 Fahrenheit degrees for Americans, who are just about the last people on earth still using the temperature scale invented by a German.)
What this sign and slogan reveal (see photo on the next page) is more than vocabulary. Europeans, including Germans, generally like to drink their soft drinks (and das Bier, of course) at a somewhat warmer temperature than North Americans. Except at McDonald's (which also serves beer in Germany), that also usually means no ice cubes (Eiswürfel). The "Coke bei 3 Grad C" slogan was part of an ad campaign that dared Germans to try something different — in this case a really cold Coca-Cola! There was even a Web site at www.Cokebei3Grad.de where you could order a poster set of the Coke ads and find new friends on a bulletin board. This graphically (and musically) interesting site also invited you to put some Eiswürfel in a glass of Coke.
Now we turn to the German tendency to over-use English. Have you ever heard of a McDrive? Well, they're all over Germany and Austria. More about that, including a glossary, on the next page.
NEXT > 'McDrives' and More
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