Where is everyone from??

[Amanaduial the archer]

Originally Posted by HerenIstarion

I always thought you were German, Esty. Now I find you to be like my sister, who lives in Germany and is Georgian citizen. Perchance you are my sister?

*Gasp* Could it be? Could the powerful female administrator, Estelyn Telcontar, really be the sister of Heren, the lovable but cunning Downer who secretly plans to take over the 'Downs?! And what about Mark12_30 - can such a cheerful figure really mean well in 'innocently' suggesting the opening of The Gauntlet Inn - a place designed specially for fights? And can this have anything to do with Mithalwen's recent disappearance...? Tune in next time to find out on 'Who's that 'Downer?', the LotR community's favourite forum-soap!

Yes...well. Ahem. Indeed. No...germans here. *pause* If you'll excuse me...

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Oh dear, I hate to disappoint you, HI and Aman, but I'm nothing that interesting at all! I'm only bilingual, and since those two languages, neither of them Georgian, are English and German, I'm obviously not HI's sister. I am a U.S. citizen by birth, German by descent, and have been living in Germany for many years. 'Nuff information?!

[the phantom]

Not quite- we just need your SSN and address and then we'll be all done.

I'm also of German descent, but I've never been to Deutschland. I'd like to go though, mainly to see all those große alte Schlösser, or however you say it.

But there's all that water between here and there. Very deep water. I'm scared of oceans... they're just not natural (oder natürlich, for you German sprechers out there).

And Esty, are you going to be coming to my city any time soon? I'm still depressed about not getting to meet you last time you were here.

Anyway- getränkbier und essen Sie bratwursts!!

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Anyway- getränkbier und essen Sie bratwursts!!

Drink beer and eat your sausages? I am intrigued... perhaps there is a hidden metaphorical meaning behind this sentiment? Perhaps not... I was never good at simple messages... overthink them and all.

My descent is of the Western European Mutt variety. Some English, Welsh, Irish... But as my family is generally unaware of where my mother's side of the family came from, you could conceivably throw in any nationality and I might have a blood-relative from there. But mostly... English and Irish. No German...

Fea

[Bungo Baggins]

Chicago. Home of our queen Oprah.

[Durfuiniel]

to see all those große alte Schlösser,

Well, there really are some great castles in Germany, and very different ones. Old from the Middle-Ages and newer ones from the barock(is it called barock in english, too?). But if you like old buildings, you should visit France because there are many old churches which are so fascinating....

Anyway- getränkbier und essen Sie bratwursts!!

wow, so there are people here who speak german pretty good*smile*
Do people in America(or England or whereever) really think all germans are beerdrinkers? I'd love to her some other prejudices about us Germans, that's really interesting I think.... so please tell me your view of germany

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Great philosophers. Especially Kant.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Originally Posted by Durfuiniel

Do people in America(or England or whereever) really think all germans are beerdrinkers?

No, but the fact that a mug of beer costs less than a cup of tea doesn't help your case much.

Maryland is home to the famous Michael Phelps...and blue crabs. ::shrug::

-Aylwen

[the phantom]

Drink beer and eat your sausages

Is that what I said?

Oops... I meant to say "have a nice day".

perhaps there is a hidden metaphorical meaning behind this sentiment?

Indeed, there is. You should spend a couple of hours thinking about it. By then you'll be hungry and thirsty enough to "drink beer and eat your sausages" and the meaning will suddenly become clear.

from the barock(is it called barock in english, too?)

Baroque.

so there are people here who speak german pretty good

Only "pretty good"? What, did I get a word wrong? The only words I for sure get right are cognates, like and (und), shoe (schuh), pizza (pizza), or Germany (Deutschland).

Or did I not conjugate one of my verbs correctly? That's always a problem. I don't even conjugate English correctly. English be hard- I is frustrated by it sometimes.

But it's understandable since I was raised in Mexico by Latinos, who obviously being latinos spoke Spanish (aka Latin). That was a problem though since most people in Mexico speak Mexican (which the Spanish haughtily refer to as pig-latin).

Do people in America(or England or whereever) really think all germans are beerdrinkers?

No, we think 99.9% of Germans are beer drinkers. All the exchange students I ever met sure talked about it all the time.

I'd love to her some other prejudices about us Germans

Lemme see... Germans are always taking their clothes off, right? Or more specifically, their lederhosen?

Also, they don't keep their fridges full, but prefer to buy what they're going to eat (usually bratwurst and sauerkraut) on the same day.

And then they go play soccer.



(I know everybody's not like that, but those are the first things that pop into my head)

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Durfuiniel

Well, there really are some great castles in Germany, and very different ones. Old from the Middle-Ages and newer ones from the barock(is it called barock in english, too?). But if you like old buildings, you should visit France because there are many old churches which are so fascinating....

wow, so there are people here who speak german pretty good*smile*
Do people in America(or England or whereever) really think all germans are beerdrinkers? I'd love to her some other prejudices about us Germans, that's really interesting I think.... so please tell me your view of germany

Aber das Bier is sehr gut zu trinken! Entschuldige bitte, Deutsh ist nur mein zweite Fremdsprache und ich habe alles vergessen - auch kann ich nicht ein umlaut oder ein Schlafer's S an diesem Klavier finden.

Ich liebe das Musik von Bach und Handel. The musicality of the Germans is a good stereotype!!! The wine is usually a little sweet for me and I hate Stollen with a passion.....

[Amanaduial the archer]

Originally Posted by Durfuiniel

wow, so there are people here who speak german pretty good*smile*
Do people in America(or England or whereever) really think all germans are beerdrinkers? I'd love to her some other prejudices about us Germans, that's really interesting I think.... so please tell me your view of germany

French is compulsary in my school until you're 16, and as I was fairly rubbish at it when I made my GCSE choices, I decided that one language was about as much as I could deal with. I regret the choice as I intend to take French into university, but hey, c'est la vie - I apologise for not speaking to you in German. Although my sister works pretty much as a living, walking, breathing, talking...german translator.

But we had a French lesson some time ago when we were talking about the various stereotypes which are held about different nations. And it was the Irish, not the Germans, who came out as the drinkers - a sentiment I couldn't exactly deny, as seven of my maternal granddad's siblings are alcoholics.

As to Fea's remark on ancestry - I'm entirely Irish, all my relatives living there apart from my parents, who went to the same school for two years but only actually met each over when they both went to Manchester university (that's what you call irony...) Half of the youth of Belfast seemed to be in Manchester University that year - and all doing accounting, why?!). Otherwise none of my Catholic relatives live in the 'heathen country' and few of my dad's. So yeah, I was born here and have lived here most of my life, but I think we can say I'm pretty damn Irish. Unless you go back like four hundred years to the Spanish Armada, and that's just silly...

There you go, some useless information that you didn't need to know, will never need again, but which I nonetheless felt like sharing anyway.

So there.

Nyuh

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Amanaduial the archer

*Gasp* And what about Mark12_30 - can such a cheerful figure really mean well in 'innocently' suggesting the opening of The Gauntlet Inn - a place designed specially for fights? And can this have anything to do with Mithalwen's recent disappearance...? !

My disappearance? I guess that profiting from logistical problems to cut down the time I spend on line is not coming a moment too soon if missing the occasional day counts as disappearance....


BTW We spell it "baroque" (like the french) and the Brits say it more or less the same way as the Germans but the Americans make the "O" a long vowel...

I am mainly English by blood but I have an Irish surname (My Great grandfather was an Irish cockney, born within the sound of Bow Bells to Irish parents from Cork who emigrated after the potato famine), and my grandmother's family were Welsh. There is allegedly a drop of French blood somewhere, but nothing more exotic than that...

[Lalwendë]

I have no prejudice about Germans - well, not about anyone, in fact! Something which does irritate me about English newspapers is that they do perpetuate it. We are close cousins linguistically and culturally, and so this attitude just makes no sense to me. What's great about Germany? Their cars, the beers, Goethe...
Is the German for Annihilation really Vernichtung? Someone asked me this today, thinking I'd know...

What am I? My father's family are all from the same area into the far distant past, an area which was settled by Vikings at one time. Half my mother's family originated in Kinsale, the other half from North Wales; her great grandfather was a Welsh hellfire preacher who steadfastly refused to learn English.

I'm a bit diverted by how many 'Downers seem to have Celtic connections - is it some kind of genetic resonance which makes us Tolkienians?

[Mithalwen]

Deep calling to the deep - or the fact that Sindarin is related to Welsh?

[Amanaduial the archer]

*shrugs* Half of Boston is made up of the Irish who emigrated in the early 20th century. It seems like a somehow glorified nationality - it draws people. Various people in my school claim to be Irish and it's like "yes, because your great grandmother once took the ferry over from Stranraer to Belfast, that obviously makes you Irish..." (Stranraer being a very strange little village on the Scottish coast that always seems dead and has a whiff of goats and the sort of relationships found in Jacobean tragedies).

Psh, the English newspapers are just ruffled because the Germans get up at four in the morning to steal the sunbeds *STEREOTYPE ALERT* Lol, there are plenty about us though, I'm sure - the English seem to come across as complete prudes who are interested only in cricket and the weather; a nation that wears a disturbing and suspicious propensity (is that even the right word?) of tweed...

My disappearance? I guess that profiting from logistical problems to cut down the time I spend on line is not coming a moment too soon if missing the occasional day counts as disappearance....

Hush I name-grabbed - you should feel priveleged that you were the first name to come to mind.

[the phantom]

Bayern...München

Well, yeah, I suppose when I think of Germany I tend to think of Bavaria and Munich first- probably because that's what I saw the most movies about in my junior high German class.

auch kann ich nicht ein umlaut oder ein Schlafer's S an diesem Klavier finden

Ha ha! You mean you can't find -> ä or -> ß.

Ich liebe das Musik von Bach und Handel.

Was Handel German? I thought he was a Brit. Oh, wait, he just moved there. Boy, my music history it getting rusty.

But how could you forget all the other German-born composers such as Brahms, Wagner, and Beethoven?

"Musicality of the Germans"... no kidding. That must be where I get it from.

So, I guess we should assume that you are not Bavarian, Durfuiniel. What Bundesland do you come from? Mein Großvater war von Nordrhein-Westfalen.

[the phantom]

the English seem to come across as complete prudes who are interested only in cricket and the weather

You forgot about scones, tea, pinkies, and silly phrases.

[Amanaduial the archer]

Originally Posted by the phantom

You forgot about scones, tea, pinkies, and silly phrases.

What ho, old bean, I do believe you're correct. Rather off of me to forget that, what what? *takes a puff at her pipe and adjusts her monocle* Just one thing though, old chap, a trifling thing - it's never pinky. Keep it in mind, there's a good fellow.

[Mithalwen]

Aman.... I am, I am lol
Phantom, I hadn't forgotten them but while I like Beethoven and the middle movement of the Emperor Concerto is one of my "desert island discs", my taste is rooted in the Baroque .... and I doubt I would ever have the stamina for Wagner .. was it Birgitte Fassbender who replied tpo the question " What do you need to sing Wagner ?" "Comfortable shoes.."

Handel was naturalised but I was being polite ....(being british an all)

I think you have propensities rather than wear them ... and isn't tweed back?

I don't know what a pinkie is so how can I be obsessed? And it isn't that we aren't interested, just that we are bound by rules of politeness that exclude more interesting topics of conversation..

Yeah, I hated Americans telling me that they were Irish, I mean I was probably more Irish than they were and quite frankly, after visiting Ireland, I was very glad my ancestors made the trip - I mean it was the only place I have been to that was wetter than England .. Apart from perhaps Scotland...

Ooh do we have anyone from Stranraer Before Aman meets the same fate as the Duchess of Malfi... lol