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Was President Kennedy a Sausage?

GNC

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You know President Kennedy's famous "Ich bein ein Berliner" speech? Is there any truth to the rumour that what Kennedy was mistakenly saying was "I am a sausage" in German?
 
Accord to Babelfish, it means:

I leg a citizen of Berlin
 
Nah - it means "I am a doughnut" :D
 
LOL

LOL- That would be pretty funny.
I personally don't know. I wasn't yet alive when that president was in office.
 
The German for doughnut is "Berliner", but I can't imagine he meant he was a small fried cake. They seemed to know what he really meant. Funny though. :)
 
Ah, a doughnut, right, thanks.

Don't know where I got sausage from - good job he wasn't talking about Frankfurt, I suppose.
 
I'm surprised people are still saying it's a donut when the translator seems pretty clear that it means "citizen of berlin".
Don't you believe it?
 
I recall reading somewhere that the difference is "ein berliner" and "eine berliner" (? whatever the feminine is in German) One means "I'm a citizen of Berlin", and one means "I'm a doughnut"

As Eddie Izzard said, Kennedy should have done a tour of Germany... gone to Frankfurt; "I am a frankfurter!" Hamburg; "I am a hamburger!" etc etc.
 
German headline for the recent internet cannibal episode read "INTERNET MAN DEVOURS BERLINER", or something like that. Well I assume it was in German. Someone waited years to use that pun, I bet.
 
"Ich Bin Ein Berliner," That's What Jack Said

If I remember correctly, a 'Berliner' is actually a jam filled doughnut. Which only adds to the Fortean horror of it all.:eek!!!!:
 
Yes, it's a subtle but crucial difference.

"Ich bin ein Berliner" - I am a type of doughnut traditionally made in Berlin, hence the name :rolleyes:
"Ich bin Berliner" - I am a citizen of Berlin and in no way resemble any deep fried products.

You'd think his speech writers/translators might have checked up on it before they gave it to the president to say. Or they could have done it as a joke I suppose... :D
 
Maybe he actually got it right, but the myth evolved from someone speculating on how very funny it would have been if he hadn't.

Or, y'know, maybe he meant to say he was a doughnut.

Or! Maybe he meant to say he was a doughnut, but said "I am a citizen of Berlin" by accident. Possibilities are endless.
 
MadCat said:
Yes, it's a subtle but crucial difference.

"Ich bin ein Berliner" - I am a type of doughnut traditionally made in Berlin, hence the name :rolleyes:
"Ich bin Berliner" - I am a citizen of Berlin and in no way resemble any deep fried products.

You'd think his speech writers/translators might have checked up on it before they gave it to the president to say. Or they could have done it as a joke I suppose... :D

Exactly, MadCat. Mind you, it's not as bad as President Ford, telling a bunch of bemused Poles that he desired them carnally instead of saying he was very pleased to meet them . . . these interpreters often have much to answer for . . .

Carole
 
carole said:
Mind you, it's not as bad as President Ford, telling a bunch of bemused Poles that he desired them carnally instead of saying he was very pleased to meet them . . .
Ooerr! I didn't know about that one! Best to have the presidential limo close to hand for situations like that... :eek:
 
Another celeb "slip"

This reminds me of the time that the self confessed "Freak of Nature", Anastacia - on arrival in France uttered the immortal line:

"J'aime Baiser" (I love to f**k)

Ah bless, i think she was in Beziers at the time and French pronunciation can be such a fickle thing.

Apparently on hearing this news our French cousins went out and bought her records like the proverbial hotcakes:p
 
My French pronounciation is so bad that, after spending the first 20 years of my life (including many trips to france) being ever so polite and constantly saying "merci beaucoup" at any relevant opportunity, I was told by a french friend that I was actually saying "merci beau cul."

Which, I am informed was "Thank you, nice arse":eek!!!!:

Oh, and it never worked................
 
LOL!
Last year in Spain we met an ex-pat who couldn't understand why people kept asking her (repeatedly) how long she'd been in Spain and then falling about laughing
Anos has more than one meaning, depending on pronunciation!
 
When a colleague of mine met the parents of his Spanish girlfriends for the first time, they served him paella, and he asked 'Esta es coño?' ('Is this cunt?') when he meant 'conejo' ('rabbit').
 
Does anyone know if it's true that the Chinese word for "hello" and the Chinese word for "vagina" are exactly the same; the only difference being the tone it's pronounced with?
 
I heard this, but with the words "mother" and "horse"
 
As Chinese words only have one syllable, I think a lot of them are the same with the difference in the tone. If you've ever read Wild Swans or anything like that, she's always talking about how so-and-so's name means this, but people take the piss because it also means something else.
 
I have that book kicking around my house, should I read it? It's somewhat weighty in appearance...
 
Give it a go, it is worth it. I enjoyed it, and it's not hard going really after the first few chapters.
 
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