Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 22:12:01 +0000

From: Duane Campbell dcamp[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]EPIX.NET

Subject: Re: "Ich bin ein Berliner"



At 04:25 PM 11/28/97 -0500, you wrote:

When I was in Austria studying German, my teacher told us that the word

"Berliner" does indeed refer to a jelly doughnut in some areas (every

little district seems to have different words for pastries).



As I recall from several years of living in Germany and being conversant,

though not native fluent, in German, to say that you were a citizen of a

certain place, one (sorry) would say, Ich bin Berliner (or W=FCrzburger, in

my case). Adding the indefinite article solidifies the doughnut connotation.



I was there for the City Hall speech, and as I recall there was talk at

that time of the gaffe amongst Germans. But I could be misrecollecting. At

that distance one (oops, sorry again) tends to remember what one wants to

be true. Similarly scholarly discussion is not devoid of political=

influence.



Duane Campbell dcamp[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]epix.net

http://www.epix.net/~dcamp/