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January 21, 2004Ich liebe dich!
France's young people will be the target of an advertising blitzkrieg this week, aimed at trying to get them all hot and bothered about learning German—a language many of them consider "difficult and ugly," according to
this
Apparently, the French subways will be plastered with posters of French and German teenage couples kissing and cuddling. The text of one such ad reads: "Pierre is learning German. [Tanja, the girl in the poster] immediately fell for his charming French accent and he kept it on purpose. Since then, he has returned to France but hasn't ceased corresponding with her—in German."
Yeah, and I'll bet Pierre and Tanja have so much to talk about in their German letters, too—like how Tanja's grandfather took out Pierre's grandfather with a well-tossed potato masher during WWII, perhaps, or how she always enjoyed her grandfather's stories about marching into Paris. In any event, let's assume they keep up their correspondence. Summer rolls around. She takes the train into France and meets up with Pierre. At first, they're shy. They don't know what to say, or where to look, but their chemistry is undeniable. That evening, as they ride a tour boat up the Seine, marveling at the lights of Paris, Tanja leans over and rests her head on Pierre's shoulder. He looks down at her, their breath hot on each other's faces in the cool evening air. Their lips call out to each other like gravity, like an undeniable natural force, like two halves of a single fate torn asunder long ago.
"Je t'aime," Pierre whispers, leaning in to kiss her.
"Ich liebe dich!" Tanja replies, promptly killing the mood with her guttural, glottal declaration of love.
It sounds bad enough to Americans speakers, and we're not possessed of a terribly mellifluous language ourselves. One can only imagine what such a close-range aural assault of that nature would do to poor Pierre. Would his external ears curl into themselves like old orange peels, or would he just leap up and feed himself to the tour boat's propeller?
Ich liebe dich, indeed!
Posted by patrick at January 21, 2004 10:19 PM
CommentsSo, a Frenchman, a Spaniard and a German are having an argument about which of the three languages is the most beautiful. (Notice that they have the argument in English. Ahemn.) Anyway, the Frenchman insists that French is the most beautiful language in the world. "Look at the word for 'butterfly,'" he says. "Papillon. Could anything be more beautiful than that?"
The Spaniard scoffs and says, "Spanish is much more beautiful than French. Papillon?" He spits derisively. "Our word is 'mariposa,' and that is far more beautiful."
Silence, then the Frenchman and the Spaniard look over at the German, who's just sitting there brooding. He notices the other two staring at them, and finally shouts back, "So, what is wrong with 'schmetterling?'"
(baDUMdum) Thank you. We'll be here all week...
Posted by: Jon Bastian at January 22, 2004 09:28 AM
Thank you! Chinese Apes.
Posted by: Yellow Monkey at March 2, 2005 03:53 AM
Thank you! Chinese Apes.
Posted by: Yellow Monkey at March 2, 2005 03:55 AM
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