The LearningSomethingAboutOtherCountries&Cultures-Thread

-->Blunt<-- · Post by **-->Blunt<--** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:27 pm

I have a simple question know: Of how many states does America consist? I argued with some friends about that some time ago. I and some others said 52, some said 51 and 54 and one said 50. Two teachers also said 50. So what is right? Here are lots of Americans and I thought you should know best. And Washington D.C. is not a state but a Distrcit, right? I remember a Friends-episode (a Thanksgiving one) where Ross wanted to write down all states and I mean they also said there that America consits of 52 states.

carreypunkrawker · Post by **carreypunkrawker** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:07 pm

America has 52 states. I'm an American. I should know. They may not be counting Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico. THE US owns Puerto Rico but I don't know if it's a state. but 52 is the official number. Shove that in your teachers' faces! hehehe!

THE 5th KIND · Post by **THE 5th KIND** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:21 pm

what i would like to know is:
is it true that, in america, you don`t have a corridor in your apartments?
like you step in and stand in your livingroom?

see, in germany we`re almost all having a corridor.-that`s where we leave our jackets, the shoes... .-

-->Blunt<-- · Post by **-->Blunt<--** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:26 pm

carreypunkrawker wrote:America has 52 states. I'm an American. I should know. They may not be counting Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico. THE US owns Puerto Rico but I don't know if it's a state. but 52 is the official number. Shove that in your teachers' faces! hehehe!

Thank you. Damn, I am good, hehe

carreypunkrawker · Post by **carreypunkrawker** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:26 pm

no problem!

Apartments do have corridors. I've been in a lot that do have hallways to the living room, bedroom, kitchen, whatever.

It depends on how big the apartment is though. Big and medium sized apartments have corridors! Some small ones do but others don't. It depends. Each apartment varies in America!

THE 5th KIND · Post by **THE 5th KIND** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:36 pm

alright.-i couldn`t quite imagine it tho.-

how many regular tv-channels do you have?

-->Blunt<-- · Post by **-->Blunt<--** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 9:33 pm

Do you use many German words (not only Americans also other can answer).

In Germany we use more and more English words in our everyday language. I sometimes heard that it could be the other way around, too. In the Truman Show, for example, somebody says the word "Doppelgänger". This is a German word and I had to laugh when I heard it.

THE 5th KIND · Post by **THE 5th KIND** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 9:47 pm

really?-in which part of the movie?-didn`t recognize.-

carreypunkrawker · Post by **carreypunkrawker** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 5:04 pm

well, Americans use German words in the American language. Sofa, Kindergarten, Oktober, swine, and many other words. I can't think of them right now but we use them!

-->Blunt<-- · Post by **-->Blunt<--** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:29 pm

Hehe, that's really funny. We use words like "chillen", "gamen" etc.

@THE 5th KIND: I'm not really sure but I think it's in the scene where Truman goes through the door of his workplace. Either the one where is turns around quickly to leave this place or the one where he only goes to work.

clemato · Post by **clemato** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 7:09 am

Let's see.... the Fins.... I have no response. I've never met one. I know FInland is one of those 3 peninsulas WAY up north. Mind's eye sees: Cold Winter.....

-->Blunt<-- wrote:Are here any members from France? I heard that the French are very proud of their language and think that people who visit France should speak French although the French themselves can speak English. And I also heard that they don't want to have much music in a foreign language in the radio and so it's forbidden to have more than 20% foreign music or something like that.

I studied French for 5 years, but learning isn't using. It's extremely intimidating speaking the language. The people in the country (okay, I only went to Normandy and Paris-Metro), were AWESOME. So incredibly friendly and nice. Well, there was that evil man at the Chartres catacombs.

Ask any arrogant Californian about the Spanish as a 2nd language thing. You'll get nothing but negativity. I'ts the same thing, really. The "locals" don't want immigrants to bring their own language over the border. How arrow-minded - since 99.99% of your ancestors were immigrants.

My point is, there's nothing wrong with speaking your own language in your own country. The French shouldn't just adopt our language to suit our needs.

Don't get me wrong, there are some arrogant, racist, bigoted, narrow-minded, facist French. But there are also some real, down-to-earth, hard working, innocent people with no agenda for world domination, too. In the countryside you can see that the cities rule the entire nation, the provinces are at the mercy of the wealthy and powerful - and whatever their sick agendas may be.

But, I digress, the Parisians lived Beyond their reputations. So I said, fuck 'em, pass the Sancerre, a baguette, and the apples. Walk the Louvre, check out St. Chappelle, see the Unicorn tapestries, keep your mouth shut, and act sophisticated, you'll be fine.

Watched t.v. at the chateau I stayed at. It was just basic t.v., no cable, all French. Lesson: I had a book. READ. Then you don't have to care about what people are up to. It is their country, after all.

My best friend from high school was from Iran. She moved to the US when she was 13. She spoke, and more importantly, WROTE and READ, in English better than most Americans. English is a staple everywhere, but here. Go figure. But then, we don't value education. It's a shameful, degenerating, disease - and it's our problem and self-imposed. Makes me sick.

Anyway, in conclusion, don't listen to what anyone tells you. Find out first hand. Make up your mind. But don't make a determination about 1 people based on 1 city. It's not fair.

Edward Nygma · Post by **Edward Nygma** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 2:49 pm

I am French!

And Blunt, what you said was actually more or less true. And the annoying thing is that French music SUCKS! IT SUCKS SOOO MUCH! Every summer when I go to France I have to stand for all these terrible songs!

French TV and music are so old fashioned! In some shows the presenters have these huge microphones you hold in your hand and it looks ridiculous.

And yes French people are proud of their language. They just don't like it when British people don't make an effort to speak their language because most French people do make an effort to learn English.

I've never felt French, truthfully. I've always watched American shows, American Films and listened to Britishor American music. ~And you know what's worse than a rich snob? A French rich snob!

-->Blunt<-- · Post by **-->Blunt<--** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 10:13 pm

Anyway, in conclusion, don't listen to what anyone tells you. Find out first hand. Make up your mind. But don't make a determination about 1 people based on 1 city. It's not fair.

I didn't say that I believe everythin of that and I know that it does not refer to all French. But when we read Edward's post it was not so wrong, was it?

-->Blunt<-- · Post by **-->Blunt<--** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 4:28 pm

It does not fit perfectyl to this thread but I didn't want to open a new one for this simple vocabulary question.

What is the precisely vocabulary for saying "What's up with Jim" (for example) in another way?

Is it

1) How about Jim?

or

2) What about Jim?

Or is the one British English and the other American English? If yes, what is what?

-->Blunt<-- · Post by **-->Blunt<--** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:15 pm

A while ago we talked about German words in the English language. I just found a list of a few:

alpenglow
angst
Anschluss
autobahn
automat
beergarden
bildungsroman
Birkenstock
blitz
Blitzkrieg
bratwurst
bremsstrahlung
coffe-klatsch, coffee klatch
concertmeister
dachshund
Das ist gut
delicatessen, deli
diener, deaner
Diesel
dirndl
Doberman pinscher
dopelganger
dreck, drek
dummkopf
edelweiss
ehrgeiz
fahrvergnuegen
fest (for example beer fest)
frankfurter
Fraulein, Frollein
Fuehrer
gasthaus
gemuetlich
Gesundheit!
glitz, glitzy
glockenspiel
hamburger
hamster
hausfrau
Herrenvolk
hinterland
howitzer (from the German Haubitze)
iceberg
kaputt
kindergarten
kitsch
knackwurst
kraut
kriegspiel
Kristallnacht
lagerbeer, lager
lebensraum
leberwurst, liverwurst
lebkuchen
lederhosen
leitmotiv, leitmotif
lied
muesli
Nazi
Neanderthaler
nicht wahr?
Oktoberfest
Ostpolitik
panzer
pils, pilsner
pinscher
plattenbau
polka
pretzel (from the German Bretzel)
pumpernickel
Reich
reinheitsgebot
rollmops
rottweiler
rucksack
sauerkraut, sourkraut
schadenfreude
schnapps
schnauzer (a dog)
schnitzel
spritz, spritzer
strudel
U-boat
umlaut
Volkswagen
waldmeister
waldsterben
weltschmerz
wunderkind
wurst
zeitgeist
zigzag (from the German Zickzack)

And I found another funny thing: In German language they are often using English words to make it sound cooler. So they said that they are selling body bags but they ment backpacks. Later they found out that body bags are the things where the dead people are in

.