fromage mangeant le singe de reddition!

I'm German and believe me, me and my collegues laughed our toes off at this yesterday. Just plain stupid.

vasquez

I'm german too and I think this is just as stupid as the 'Freedom Fries' all germans are laughing at.

Also stupid are all these boycotts because many companies are multinational and hvae shareholders all over the world. German netzeitung had an article about it. For example Coca holding French Evian company.

Why French? Why not use Polish, Italian, or Czech as word-mines for replacements of English words? Perhaps the promulgators of this plan are Alsatian and just can't help mixing their German with French. Or maybe they are strong advocates of the creation of the Restored Carolignian Empire.

Xenophon, you might be onto something there. What could have given you that idea?!

"Let them eat cheese."
Anonymous

I promess to replace german words with french as a sign of protest against German occupation of my country...
hey wait, I dont need to do that. Anglo-saxon liberated us from Germany long time ago!!!

Hey Monsieur Bush, there's another criminal running in the wild here, he's know as "President Chirak" or "Jacques Chirak", would you please put him where he belongs, that is JAIL ?

It's très blöd, this idea. But still not a whit less childish and moronic than what the elected members of the legislative branch of government in the world's militarily strongest state have done. Therein lies the scary part. In Germany this idea is lunatic fringe, and recognised as such. In the States, it's gone mainstream to the point where US Representatives and Senators are involved.

The German thing is stupid. The American equivalent is just plain scary.

A few suggestions for replacing English words with French :-

Fuck-wit = Chirac

Gutless = Francais

Illegal Arms Sales = Liberte

Dictatorship = Fraternite

Fascism == Equalitie

how about
the french = kaesefressende weglauf-affen
?

The so called linguists do not know their own lingo ... all the words listed 'billet ' and so on are all already/still used in the german lingo ...

On the other hand, someone may be trying to pull our leg.

"The German thing is stupid. The American equivalent is just plain scary."

Only if you are very easily frightened. The CAFETERIA of the Capitol Building changed the names of the food. Stupid, yes. Scary, no. Notice that the Congress didn't pass a law making the new names mandatory for everyone...they just wanted to not see the word "french" in their own lunchroom. Passing laws regulating what words people can say, frankly (pun intended), strikes me as a quite French and German, rather than American, thing to do. Vive la Liberte! Der Frankenriech Uber Alles!

this is rediculous. If the germans want to use french words instead of english or german words, thats their own business. I don't even want to laugh at it, they're just trying to express their discontentedness with the the US, as the US refused to obey the orders the Europeans see fit to issue and actually pursue its own national issues.

Well, we will all be delighting in shadenfruede while Old Europe continues to unravel.

If I remember correctly, there was some effort made in the US during World War I to replace German loan words-- for example, sauerkraut temporarily became "liberty cabbage." Anybody have some good ideas for replacing flak, blitzkrieg, kaput, stein, frankfurter, and a couple others, not to mention Gesundheit! when someone sneezes? I don't think there are any good French equivalents!

If a loanword is useful, I'm going to use it without worrying about its national origin. Most of the english language has roots in either germanic or french/romance languages. We could make up a new language but what would that prove?

The amusing thing is that the germans are using french loanwords rather than..GERMAN.. words. Of course when the germans try to make up a new word it ends up being a 10+ syllable compound word.

Why this is so funny is because the ever-elastic English already uses those "french" words: chauffer? "bill" (e.g. bill of sale) or, even closer "billet doux"? communique? Um...English absorbed those a long time ago. Wonderful language, that; largest on earth, terribly resilient and welcoming: sauerkraut, taco, blitzkrieg, etc. etc....

If they keep on replacing English words with their French equivalents, they'll end up speaking... English.

I'm intrigued as to what they're going to replace the good English words "Kindergarten", "Sauerkraut", "Pumpernickel", "Frankfurter", "Blitzkrieg", "Kriegspiel" etc. with.

Yeah, this brings up an interesting question. Just how are linguists going to deal with General Tommy Franks name? Sure it's little bit English, but it's a little bit French too.

The Americans have done this sort of thing before with Norman Schwartzkoff.

How about "God Bless You" when somebody sneezes? It has always worked for me... and people appreciate the sentiment... all nationalities.

Pathethic.

This would be some fab material for Eddie Izzard.

I'm fairly certain the renaming in the congressional cafeteria was done with the tongue firmly in cheek. Most of my fellow Americans prefer to use 'freedom' in place of 'french' chiefly because we see the French as so inconsequensial. Yes, we know its silly. But that's rather the point. So are the french.

And as the previous poster pointed out, this proposal is the most assinine of the bunch. English is german with french words. OK, its an oversimplification, but not much of one.

As soon as someone tells me what "Fuck You, Kraut" is in French, I will be ready to communicate with these assholes.

Anyone know what "Bite Me" is in French?

"mordez-moi" according to BabelFish

Ah the joys of the language police! ...in the US, we steal from everybody's language with great abandon...it's fun....but it does end up making the dictionary rather heavy and the spelling rules a nightmare...

John Cole (a.k.a intolerant twit):

coming from a "Kraut" to whom you have just said "fuck you":

va te faire enculer toi-même, petit connard merdeux.

Und leck mich am Arsch noch dazu, du umgefickter kleiner Wichsknochen.

In short (since you probably never learned a word of anything but English in your life, but probably still speak it worse than most Germans and French):

right back at you, bud!

It's not America the Germans are not siding with--far from it--but the attitude of intolerant schmucks like you.

Think of it as an employment opportunity in economically stagnant Germany: language police, as in Quebec, whose task it is to assure french (I refuse to capitalize references to a degraded culture) dominance in public signage and in the workplace. In Quebec, all companies with 50+ employees must speak/write in french by law. Stupid, arrogant frogs and krauts.

Dual...perhaps in your sophisication and superiority you haven't bothered to read our founding documents..."We the people"...as Pogo was wont to say

America is us.

french fries, freedom fries ... you've all got it wrong,

the word should be "chips"

(and I don't mean crisps!)

So "America" says "fuck the krauts"?

What a bunch of garbage, err, I mean trash!

Actually, I think in the Congressional cafeteria case, it was just one Congressman who was in charge of it (very prestigious position, that) who replaced "French" with "freedom".

I no longer buy French bread. Now I buy weasel bread. It's the same stuff, I just call it something different.

Yes, this is all tongue in cheek, and anyone getting their knickers in a twist over it needs to have their perspective recalibrated. I'm looking right at you, dual citizen. You need to grow a thicker skin.

As for the German linguists, I wish them well. I'm sure Grench, or whatever they're going to call it, will come in extremely useful in the future. And congrats to the French for launching this very subtle front in their bid for European domination.

Rubbish!

To clarify, I'm a German who grew up in the States. There are a great many things that I love about America and a lot of ways in which it really is a beacon for the world. But ultimately it became a very uncomfortable place for me to be because for no reason in particular, every day some different person felt compelled to call me a Nazi or a Kraut, for about 20 years. Every single day, just for being German. This is not the tolerant and open and egalitarian America I was raised to believe in.

Perhaps that colours my view of this issue rather strongly. Makes for a strong reaction when I hear "fuck you Krauts". I just wish there were a bit more differentiation.

John, I'm sure you're a nice guy and speak English very well; my reaction to your post was not personal but a reaction to two decades of German-bashing I had to put up with in the USA before any of this Iraq stuff even started. I apologise that you took the brunt of it.

But lumping an entire country and all its people together and insulting them is just wrong and not conducive to anything more than more hatred and misunderstanding. The views on the war and on the relationship across the Atlantic in Germany are as diverse and varied as they are in America. The language thing was stupid, and most people felt that way. There are big problems with Schroeder's position on the war. Major ones. BUT DOES THIS MAKE *ALL* GERMANS ASSHOLES?

Whether it comes from Americans or Germans or French or whoever, this is bad. I flame Germans all the time who stereotype Americans.

I am starting to hate being a dual citizen. Get flamed by both sides for not quite fitting either mould. I ought to change my name to schizophrenic...

Dual Citizen and others. Its time for you all to be scared, very scared. You've played games with the U.S. for years. Accused us of things that you knew were absurd. Acted like we were what you used to be. Well, we are tired of it. Very, very, tired of it. Your bullsh*t is finally coming home to roost, and you don't like it. Well tough sh*t. Be scared, because you've gutted your economies and militaries. You should be scared, because there is nothing you can do now but whine.

You sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind.

The French and the Germans have managed to do the one thing above all else they wanted to avoid. You've awakened the American people and pissed them off.

dualcitizen, what part of the US were you in? The attitudes of what has variously been called "the old south," "white trash coutry," and other such things is NOT representative of the rest of the country. I doubt you would have gotten such treatment anywhere else. Well, maybe parts of the midwest, but surely not every day.

anon,

Great job disputing his stereotype by stereotyping half the country. Outstanding work.

Angie:
you're absolutely right. I do need a thicker skin. 20 years is a long time though.

Tom:
I don't quite follow where I played games or accused whatever "us" you refer to of being something "us" isn't, or sth absurd . If you are referring to my personal experience in the USA, I'm sorry to say that's how it went down, unembellished. But I never said ALL Americans were like that. Just enough in my immediate surroundings to make me leave. If you insist on extracting a stereotype out of me, I'd have to say Americans are the most open and friendly people, as a category, that I've met , certainly compared to your average European.
Now let me point out where I totally agree with you. Don't forget the "dual" part: I am an American as well. Perhaps because of the dual bit though I can see better than some how things in the relationship cut both ways.
I couldn't agree with you more that there are many, many Europeans who are playing a very, very dangerous game with their passive-aggressive attitude towards the States. There is altogether too much Schadenfreude (joy at others' mishaps) going on. Saddam Hussein and the President of the United States--whoever he may be--are not morally equivalent institutions. But equality cuts both ways: neither Germany nor the United States nor any country in the world is any better than any other.
As a dual citizen I have an interest in seeing the two countries get along, as it were. So I strive to see tolerance and openness. I won't defend one side over the other or pick sides or whatever. In this war, both have points on which they're right and points on which they're wrong.
But I will go after those who stand for intolerance with equal vehemence on both sides. My whole personal experience makes me abhor generalisation and stereotype--though no one, certainly not I, is perfect.
If you think I wouldn't flame a German who stereotypes and insults America just as strongly you are mistaken.
People on both sides are very worked up now. I'd like to see it blow over, but there's a lot of work to be done in that respect. I don't think it's a question of fault or apologising or gratitude or bullying, but of different styles and approaches. Remember the disagreement is about the means, not the ends.
I don't think the question of who needs whom more is that easily answered, as it is not measured solely in military or economic might or cultural history.
I think the Germans have very different motivations from the French; for the Germans it's more about pacifism because of the very painful memories of war and devastation, both suffered and caused. That is why I also think that if the Germans had been convinced this was a war for self-defence, they would have been there for the US from the very beginning. You are correct in identifying a big problem. In the criticism of the US, there are those who have principled, reasoned disagreements with current policy--with whom the US must engage--and those who just want to take potshots and be idiots--whom the US has every right to blow off. One should neither take the twits too seriously nor throw out the baby with the bathwater.

It should be clear from this that I do not count myself as one of those who has something against America; on the contrary. I just by force have to look at both sides of the relationship. The rather hot response to the "fuck the krauts" thing was very personal and should not have happened (it just really, really hit an old wound and stung pretty deeply). This is the more balanced, distanced side of the equation.

Anon:
I grew up in a very educated town in the Northeast.

Excellent post, dualcitizen.

The problem with national disagreements is it tends to reduce the citizens of each nation to something similar to fans of rival teams at a soccer / football match.

No matter what dual's national origins are, he is an american (also) and simply expressing his opinion. Part of what makes the US strong is we have such a resource of people from around the world that call themselves american. The worst thing about america is that we have some among us that want to harass other americans based on their national origin.

As I mentioned before, we should really value the insight and opinion of our European allies and friends. It's just that at some point you've taken their opinion and decided that your own national interest is more important and then ask your friends for help - what hurt Americans so much is the attitude and actions of the French at that point and I think some of this is fall out of that.

Why not just speak in German? This smacks of a French propaganda ploy to French-ify Germany...(much like the whole EU thing)

I'm reminded of the story about Bush telling Blair: "The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for 'entrepreneur.'" Ha ha ha ha ha!

This was reported a couple of years ago.

Why would a nation that almost ruled the world want to use the langage of a bunch to chesse sniffing yellow bellies.