Germans ask their government for an easier language
German citizens, supported by major civic organizations (except for the strong opposition of the Institut für Deutsche Sprache, IDS), have decided to pressure their government into changing the official language and finding a slightly easier one. "We are tired of long, complicated, convoluted words. Our ancestors endured it out of fear and resignation, but this is a democracy. Enough of us pretending to be 'cool' in front of foreigners. Let's get a normal language, a language like all the rest that does not have declensions or names like 'Eichhoernchen', states the "For a normal language" manifesto, released through the main German media.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has acknowledged that "I also get tired often, and feel rage when I see those flamenco singers expressing themselves by clapping and shouting. But German defines us as a nation; besides, think that when the outsiders understand what we say, we won't seem as smart."
The popular claims became more intense since last week, when a five-year-old child died in Hamburg while trying to pronounce the name of his sister. "The human vocal apparatus is not prepared to articulate the sounds of our language. And when things are forced, sometimes bad things happen," argues Dr. Grüshpildendergrauencordh, an othorhinolaryngologist (Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde). Merkel replied that "what each person does with their vocal apparatus is not a State matter. If used well, it can be used perfectly without any language-related scares."
The civic manifesto also highlights a drawback that not even the government has dared to deny: "Our youth is running out of new communication technologies, being unable to synthesize their posts in sentences of less than 140 characters. Germany is a country of reference but there is not a single German on Twitter. We're running behind."
Many people have chosen to leave German and move on to English or sign language until the authorities decide to tackle the problem. "We are looking for a compromise. We are ready to delete the letter H, for example. But there are words that we cannot give up without betraying our core, especially those that sound like you're throwing up cement," said the chancellor.
German citizens, supported by major civic organizations (except for the strong opposition of the Institut für Deutsche Sprache, IDS), have decided to pressure their government into changing the official language and finding a slightly easier one. "We are tired of long, complicated, convoluted words. Our ancestors endured it out of fear and resignation, but this is a democracy. Enough of us pretending to be 'cool' in front of foreigners. Let's get a normal language, a language like all the rest that does not have declensions or names like 'Eichhoernchen', states the "For a normal language" manifesto, released through the main German media.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has acknowledged that "I also get tired often, and feel rage when I see those flamenco singers expressing themselves by clapping and shouting. But German defines us as a nation; besides, think that when the outsiders understand what we say, we won't seem as smart."
The popular claims became more intense since last week, when a five-year-old child died in Hamburg while trying to pronounce the name of his sister. "The human vocal apparatus is not prepared to articulate the sounds of our language. And when things are forced, sometimes bad things happen," argues Dr. Grüshpildendergrauencordh, an othorhinolaryngologist (Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde). Merkel replied that "what each person does with their vocal apparatus is not a State matter. If used well, it can be used perfectly without any language-related scares."
The civic manifesto also highlights a drawback that not even the government has dared to deny: "Our youth is running out of new communication technologies, being unable to synthesize their posts in sentences of less than 140 characters. Germany is a country of reference but there is not a single German on Twitter. We're running behind."
Many people have chosen to leave German and move on to English or sign language until the authorities decide to tackle the problem. "We are looking for a compromise. We are ready to delete the letter H, for example. But there are words that we cannot give up without betraying our core, especially those that sound like you're throwing up cement," said the chancellor.