G.D. Falksen's Blog, page 1135
March 22, 2013
March 21, 2013
March 20, 2013
"Some German words are so long that they have a perspective. Observe these examples:
•..."
Some German words are so long that they have a perspective. Observe these examples:
• Freundschaftsbezeigungen.
• Dilettantenaufdringlichkeiten.
• Stadtverordnetenversammlungen.
These things are not words, they are alphabetical processions. And they are not rare; one can open a German newspaper at any time and see them marching majestically across the page — and if he has any imagination he can see the banners and hear the music, too. They impart a martial thrill to the meekest subject. I take a great interest in these curiosities. Whenever I come across a good one, I stuff it and put it in my museum. In this way I have made quite a valuable collection. When I get duplicates, I exchange with other collectors, and thus increase the variety of my stock.
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- Mark Twain on German words, 1880 (via the-red-dilettante)
Yes, we sometimes need just one long word where other languages need 5 words ;)
