German

19 Stories

Germans Not Happy With New Rules on 'Idiot's Apostrophe'

Or would that be 'idiots apostrophe' in German?

(Newser) - Worldly punctuation pros know that Germans typically don't use an apostrophe to indicate the possessive—meaning it's correct to write "Newsers readers," not "Newser's readers." According to the Council for German Orthography, however, which dictates grammar for schools and other public institutions in...

See Foreign Language Most Common in Your State

German is most prevalent language overall, after English and Spanish

(Newser) - It's probably not surprising that, once you take English out of the equation, Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the United States. But what if you also remove Spanish from the options? 24/7 Wall St. ventures into each state to see which other foreign language ranks highest,...

Rare Dialect Dying in US: Texas-German?

Last speakers in their 60s, as professor tries to preserve it

(Newser) - Another unique American dialect is fading into obscurity, and it's a safe bet that most never knew it existed in the first place: "Texas German." It's so unusual that University of Texas linguist professor Hans Boas tells the BBC he has "found no two speakers...

Cannibal Killer Gets Life
 Cannibal Killer Gets Life 
Jun 28, 2011 12:03 AM CDT

Cannibal Killer Gets Life

He confesses to eating flesh of one of two teen victims

(Newser) - A German identified only as "Jan O.," who admitted eating the flesh of one of his two teenage victims, has been sentenced to life in prison. The killer, 26, confessed to licking blood from the wound of a 14-year-old girl he murdered and eating her flesh. He had...

Germans Use Anti-Nazi Laws to Raid Muslims

Fundamentalists groups targeted in crackdown

(Newser) - German police raided homes and offices linked to two Islamic groups this week, using "anti-Nazi laws of association," reports the Christian Science Monitor . The groups raided are made up of fundamentalist Salafist Muslims, and a government official says they are suspected of wanting to "create an Islamic...

GOP's Iott: Nothing Wrong With Wearing Nazi Uniform

Re-enactment was for educational purposes

(Newser) - Other people might be looking for a new costume, but Ohio House candidate Rich Iott says there's nothing wrong with his having dressed up as a Nazi soldier while participating in historical re-enactments, the AP reports. "I don't see anything wrong about educating the public about events that happened,...

Teen Emerges From Coma Fluent in German
Teen Emerges From Coma Fluent in German
news of the weird
Apr 13, 2010 5:47 PM CDT

Teen Emerges From Coma Fluent in German

Croatian doctors say they can't explain it, yet

(Newser) - A bizarre tale from Croatia: The Daily Mail and the Telegraph are reporting that a 13-year-old girl emerged from a 24-hour coma unable to speak her native Croatian but fluent in German. The girl reportedly had basic lessons in German before falling ill and had been watching German TV programs,...

Green Berlin Brothel Offers Cyclists Discount

(Newser) - A Berlin brothel is trying to boost business and make the red-light district a greener place with a new discount program, Reuters reports. Patrons who cycle to the brothel or who can prove they got there on public transport will get $7 off the usual $100 price, according to the...

French Are World's Worst Tourists: Survey

Poll of 40,000 hotels ranks visitors on politeness, generosity

(Newser) - The French are the world’s worst tourists, AFP reports. A global survey asked staff at 40,000 hotels to rate tourists on categories ranging from politeness to generosity to willingness to learn local languages—and the French finished last in several categories. Japanese tourists took honors in just as...

9 Missing Foreigners Found Dead in Yemen

Hospital workers had been picnicking; al-Qaeda blamed

(Newser) - Nine missing foreigners, including three children, have been found dead in Yemen today, their bodies mutilated, a security official said. The foreigners, including seven Germans, a Briton, and a South Korean, disappeared Friday while on a picnic in the turbulent northern Saada region. Shepherds roaming the area found some remains...

Pirates Seize German Ship
 Pirates Seize German Ship 
Apr 25, 2009 12:08 PM CDT

Pirates Seize German Ship

(Newser) - Hijackers seized a German-owned ship in the pirate-infested waters between Somalia and Yemen today, a US Navy spokesman said. Pirates captured the Maltese-flagged MV Patriot in the Gulf of Aden about 150 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni coastal city of Muqalla. An official from the German Foreign Ministry could...

A Rose by Any Other Name Might Smell ... Manly?

Language influences perception, study finds

(Newser) - Think of the Golden Gate Bridge. Would you describe it as fragile, elegant, and slender? Or strong, dangerous, and sturdy? When they pictured a bridge, a group of German speakers offered the first group of words, while Spanish speakers offered the second, NPR reports. The difference, believes the psychologist behind...

Germany Bans Group Behind Nazi Summer Camps

'Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend' indoctrinated children with racism, minister says

(Newser) - The German government today banned a neo-Nazi youth group it says ran summer camps where children were instructed in racist and National Socialist ideology, Der Spiegel reports. “Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend,” the German Youth Faithful to the Homeland, allegedly included military exercises and “racial science” classes—which discussed...

Oktoberfest Brews Gotta Be 'Poundable'
 Oktoberfest Brews 
 Gotta Be 'Poundable' 
BEER REVIEW
Oct 1, 2008 2:48 PM CDT

Oktoberfest Brews Gotta Be 'Poundable'

A tasting panel names the best in Bavarian style

(Newser) - To wash down sausages, sauerkraut, and pretzels, Oktoberfest beer must flow like a dinner wine: "Worthy of attention without demanding to be the center of attention," writes Eric Asimov in the New York Times. And with festive consumption measured in liters, it must also be "poundable."...

Graphic Bod Novel Jars Germany
Graphic Bod Novel Jars Germany
Jun 6, 2008 4:16 AM CDT

Graphic Bod Novel Jars Germany

Female author delves way deep into sex and femininity

(Newser) - A highly explicit novel that explores every body crevice of its teenage female narrator has scandalized Germany—and topped bestseller lists, the New York Times reports. The controversial novel, which mixes the anatomical and scatological with the erotic, is a feminist statement challenging a world that expects women to be...

German Flick Quietly Reclaims the Red Baron as War Hero

Breaks taboo against positive portrayal

(Newser) - Films extolling German war heroes aren’t exactly abundant, but upcoming movie The Red Baron shines the spotlight on the noble, softer side of Germany’s most famous fighter pilot. “There are strong voices in Germany still saying we're not allowed to do this,” says the writer/director. “...

Competing With Neo-Nazis for the Youth Vote

German officials fight skinhead music with a CD of their own

(Newser) - The government of one East German state is so concerned about the influence of neo-Nazi extremism on the young that it's handing out free CDs of leftist punk music as an antidote. Der Speigel reports that the tactic is borrowed from the far-right NPD party itself, which has been distributing...

German Publishers Launch Google Books Rival

Service won't show text snippets, which Germans think violate copyright

(Newser) - German publishers irked by Google Book Search's indexing of their books without paying a fee have launched a competing version of the same service. So far, reports Ars Technica, about 300 publishers have made about 8,000 German books available to searchers on Libreka.de, with up to 50,000...

Scientists Breach Einstein's Theory
Scientists Breach Einstein's Theory
Aug 16, 2007 11:40 PM CDT

Scientists Breach Einstein's Theory

Photons traveled faster than light, say Germans

(Newser) - Two German physicists claim to have sent microwave photons zooming past the speed of light , a feat Albert Einstein said would require an infinite—and impossible—amount of energy, reports the Daily Telegraph. "For the time being, this is the only violation of special relativity that I know of,...

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