Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 10:43:32 -0500

From: "Kathleen M. O'Neill" koneil1[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UIC.EDU

Subject: Re: upspeak in German



While I've never heard "upspeak" in standard German, there is at least one

dialect (Schwabisch) in which people tend to put the word "oder" (or), with

an upward intonation, at the end of statements - sort of the equivalent of

saying "isn't that right?" after a sentence. I knew one guy when I studied

in Germany who used it at the end of almost every sentence - much to the

amusement of Germans from other regions.



Jenny Becker

beckerj[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]omri.cz





That reminds me of my struggle to drop the same "oder" from my speech

when I returned from Germany a few years back.

After spending so long speaking German, I couldn't find a replacement

for "oder" so, without thinking, I'd use "or."

"This is a nice party, or?"

Got a lot of funny looks from my friends and family.

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