Accent inferiority complex?

And just btw: Last time I had to call Deutsche Telekom, I got an Easterner! (Dresden or something) That's the funniest accent known to man! 

Heh! I think I'm just more resentful towards my own people than other nationalities - for example, I wouldn't think less of an American hailing from Alabama because he/she's from one of the states maintaining segregation longer than others, OTH, when I watch a Bavarian politician rant on TV or so, I automatically think, "typical that this comes from you, bloody fascist!"

Uh ... I can't remember where my friend is from, I recall in the 80s, her old car had a 3-letter registration plate starting with N ... Nieder something ... some hickstown close to Nuremburg

I know what you mean, they aren't ALL thaaat bad, however, I'm so opinionated, they have to try twice as hard to convince me ... like a woman has to be twice as good in a male-dominated world

Funny ... I don't mind the east German dialects so much, in that case, I'm perhaps like a foreigner and their dialects just sounds new to me and doesn't automatically bring up historical references (though I know the Saxons are as conservative as the Bavarians, again, it's like my indifference to southern Americans )

N... close to Nuernberg "hick town": NEA

Neustadt an der Aisch. Between Landkreis Würzburg (my German "roots") and Landkreis Erlangen, I believe!

NEA .... Neustadt a.d. Aisch! That's it! How could I forget ... been away for too long! But how the hell can you remember so well? 

I am there every month. I was in Würzburg again last week. Neustadt a.d. Aisch - same district as Rothenburg an der Tauber, very close friends of mine live there, a psychologist and an anesthesiologist. Both Southerners, both "Green" voters. 

Personally, in my more tired moments, listening to East Berliners who grew up in the DDR, can sound like little dogs yapping. It's like Brummie on speed. But don't get me wrong, I have a lot of elective affinity for the new Lander, minus the NPD, of course.

Also, the region around Erlangen is unusual in Bayern since its a Protestant enclave!

ps. I haven't read this thread at all, I was just wondering what had happened to you misch, and I saw your name on a thread.

I am there every month. I was in Würzburg again last week.

And where are you when not in the 'beautiful south' (isn't that the name of a band?)?

Personally, in my more tired moments, listening to East Berliners who grew up in the DDR, can sound like little dogs yapping. It's like Brummie on speed.

Interesting comparison, never thought of that ... LOL

And where are you when not in the 'beautiful south' (isn't that the name of a band?)?

One of the best bands ever, as a matter of fact.... Sorry, couldn't resist.

Hi, Lightbulb,

Thanks. It's really good to be back. I've had an incredibly eventful past 3 months. I think it will take me a little while to process it, but I'll tell you all, someday (how's that for a "hook"?)...

You're right that Erlangen is Protestant, but actually many of the Franconian towns are, particularly those that were "Free Imperial Cities", such as Nürnberg and Schweinfurt, were traditionally Protestant enclaves, but today have a fair mix.

In Würzburg, which is historically as Catholic as Rome itself (up until the late 18th century, non-Catholics were not allowed to spend the night within the city walls), the church is still very present, but its influence is greatly watered down compared to what it used to be. By contrast, in the immediate vicinity, the town of Kitzingen and a couple of the wine villages as you go East from Würzburg (all of which are practically walking-distance, but certainly easy cycling distance from Würzburg) are traditionally Protestant.

Then as you go north, into the Franconian Rhön region, there are enclaves of Protestant villages which resisted the restoration of the Catholic church in the late 16th/early 17th century under Bishop Julius Echter.

Some succeeded, some didn't. For example, Münnerstadt, a little market town at the northern tip of Lower Franconia, was 100% Protestant for a couple of decades and then was retaken by the bishop's troops. BTW: It has a stunning medieval parish church with an altar by the local master Tilman Riemenschneider, many of whose works are still there in Franconia in the local churches and chapels where they have stood since the 1490s. Riemenschneider's work was, as you may know, the topic of a big wandering exhibition that, five years ago, toured the Met, the National Gallery in DC, and I don't know where else in the US. I was in DC at the time, and it was a little moving to me to see the pieces of the Münnerstadt triptych in person which have been missing in Münnerstadt for centuries, and which I had only seen in pictures. But at least I have been to Münnerstadt many times and seen the remaining parts. If anyone ever wants tips for what I personally think is one of the most beautiful and culturally rich areas in central Europe, let me know - I will write you a novel.

Do I sound like a travel writer or the tourism authority for Franconia? Am I seriously off topic?  I'm sorry, folks. It's just that I am glad to be back with you. I hope everyone is well.

-m.

PS: When not in the wilds of Franconia, I am in North London.

Do I sound like a travel writer or the tourism authority for Franconia? Am I seriously off topic? 

LOL! Welcome back, misch.

welcome back. Believe me, I'd rather have spent the last 3 months in Franconia than doing what I've been up to.

For misch and teutonica--on a side note about Germany, I thought you'd find this bit of trivia interesting. Mary Ann Sieghart, a columnist in the "T2" section of the London Times, recently asked readers why the words for Germany were so different among various countries, considering the words for a lot of other countries don't differ much from country to country. In yesterday's column (Thursday, March 10), she wrote the following (I'll spare you the quotation marks, as I'm quoting it verbatim, starting with the subheadline):


Teutonic clarity anyone?

MANY thanks to all those readers who explained to me why the words for "German" are so different in English, French, German and Italian. Apparently, it goes something like this:
      Germany was a land of scattered tribes with different names. We borrowed Tacitus's name--Germania--for a large area of land outside the Roman Empire which embraced a number of Teutonic tribes. The word "deutsch" means the language of the (common) people, the "theod", providing in its earliest form an adjective "thiudisc", which turned into the modern "deutsch". We then, in the English form "Dutch", gave that name not to the German Franks but to those Franks who formed the dominant population of the Netherlands.
      The French, meanwhile, took their word "allemand" from the Allemani, the tribe who lived in lands around what is now the Franco-German border: Alsace, Swabia and Switzerland. The Italian "tedesco" originates from the same root as "deutsch".
      What I did not know is that the Slavic word for "German" is different again: "nemetski", meaning foreigner. The Finns, meanwhile, having come into closest contact with the Saxons, call Germans saksalainen". All clear now?


So there you have the answer to a question that has puzzled humankind for time immemorial...

Suzanne, well, that's really been an essential bit of information

Interesting though, that the slavic countries only regard the Germans as "foreigners" ... what about the rest of the world? LOL. On another note, while living in PA, I didn't know why people there would associate their 'Dutch' culture things with German, me thinking, hey, a Dutch is someone from The Netherlands!

For those tapping in the dark so far, at least now you know where my nym stems from

Yeah, I've often wondered that.  "Pennsylvania Dutch Country" (mainly the Lancaster area) is a misnomer.  It should have been called "Pennsylvania Deutsch(e) Country" but whomever popularized the phrase wasn't too bright, I guess.

Ha, that reminds me ... is it true or not? I heard that Americans had to vote (17th century?) for a general language and English won with only a slight majority right before German?