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hahahaha For those not in the know, JFK immortalized the pastry from Berlin in his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. "Ich bin Berliner" -> I'm a citizen o
by chrisweekly 4y ago
hahahaha
For those not in the know, JFK immortalized the pastry from Berlin in his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.
"Ich bin Berliner" -> I'm a citizen of Berlin
"Ich bin ein Berliner" -> I'm a jelly donut.
- nkozyra 4y ago> There is a widespread misconception that Kennedy accidentally said a malapropism that he was a Berliner, a German doughnut specialty. This is an urban legend which emerged several decades after the speech, and it is not true that residents of Berlin in 1963 would have mainly understood the word "Berliner" to refer to a jelly doughnut or that the audience laughed at Kennedy's use of this expression.[2]
- Loic 4y agoEspecially because in Berlin they are known as "Krapfen" and not as Berliner.
- zorked 4y agoPfannkuchen in Berlin not Krapfen, I think?
- culturestate 4y agoThat's what someone who grew up in Berlin would probably say, but the city being what it is it genuinely depends on which shop you're standing in. I've seen it every which way.
- ff10 4y agoYes, Pfannkuchen is the name used in Berlin.
- ben_w 4y agoI've seen them sold here in Berlin under the names "Pfannkuchen" (not to be confused with pancakes), "Krapfen" (not as rude as it sounds in English), "Amerikaner" (not to be confused with an oversized iced soft cookie), and "Berliner" (not to be confused with the alcohol). Sometimes they're even sold as "Donut".
- senand 4y agoIndeed, Pfannkuchen in Berlin
- fileeditview 4y agoBuying a Berliner in Germany can be very challenging if you travel a lot. There are so many words for it depending on the region. At least: "Berliner", "Krapfen", "Pfannkuchen", "Kräppel", "Küchli" and probably others I don't know..
- cratermoon 4y agoTry buying a hogie, sub, hero, Italian, grinder, wedge, or spuckie in the US.
- nkozyra 4y agoIch bin ein Hoagie
- soiler 4y agoFor all its faults, we can thank Subway for partially solving this problem.
- throwanem 4y agoSpuckie?
- superhuzza 4y agoApparently from spucadella, an italian-american word for a type of bread.
- cratermoon 4y agoI've never heard anyone use it myself, but then I've never tried to order the sandwich otherwise known as a sub in the parts of the country where that name is used.
- grogenaut 4y agoWedge will get you a salad most places in the us. Hero might get you a gyro or ask for clarification. Grinders seem specities in much of the us.
- chki 4y agoInteresting. I have heard about this famous speech many times but I have never made the connection to the pastry "Berliner" (or heard anyone mention this association). Also, as a native German speaker, saying "Ich bin ein Berliner" is not unusual if you are talking about being a citizen of Berlin. I don't think that was a common association at the time as well. Especially since (pastry) "Berliners" are not called "Berliners" in Berlin but "Pfannkuchen" instead.
- locallost 4y agoIt's just an urban legend. Most people don't speak German so you can tell them anything you want :-). Speaking of which, good thing Kennedy never visited Hamburg.
- mc32 4y agoWell, you're in luck, he did visit Frankfurt.
- weard_beard 4y agoOr Frankfurt!
- HPsquared 4y agoI suppose that raises the question, if people from Berlin do indeed call themselves Berliners - do people from Hamburg call themselves Hamburgers? (genuine question)
- pigbearpig 4y agoCan you not propagate urban legends please.
- tannhaeuser 4y agoActually, the traditional stuffed donut-shaped fried pastry without hole is called pancake (Pfannkuchen) in Berlin whereas at other places of Germany a Pfannkuchen is the sweet soufflé-like thing you make yourself in the pan called Eierkuchen in Berlin and elsewhere. Just saying, as native Berliners won't understand or take orders for "Berliners". Edit: what chiki said
- socksy 4y agoThis isn't true.[0] The difference between "Ich bin Berliner" and "Ich bin ein Berliner" is that the former says that you literally are from/living in Berlin, and the latter means you are figuratively speaking as like a Berliner. "Ich bin Clown" means that your job is to entertain people with face-paint on, whereas "Ich bin ein Clown" means that you sometimes behave clownishly.[1] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#%22I_am_a_doughnut%22_confusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#%22I_am_a... [1] https://language.mki.wisc.edu/essays/ich-bin-ein-berliner/ https://language.mki.wisc.edu/essays/ich-bin-ein-berliner/
- hesk 4y agoThe source [1] is misleading to the point of being wrong. It is perfectly valid German to say "Ich bin ein Student" meaning that one is indeed a student. "Ich bin Clown" is not grammatical at all.
- loevborg 4y agoIt's funny how (presumably) native speakers make judgments about their own language. Of course you can say "Ich bin Clown" just as you can say "Ich bin Kaminfeger" or "Ich bin Physiotherapeut"
- fortran77 4y agoDu liegst falsch.
- luoc 4y agoDit heest Pfannkuchen
- chrisweekly 4y agoOP here. FWIW, I'm not a native speaker but I did study German in high school and college, and used my moderate proficiency extensively while traveling in Germany (including Berlin in 1990), and Austria, and living in Prague. I've laughed with native Germans about the JFK speech (which story was first related to me by my hs German teacher), and regardless of its provenance / veracity, it makes for an interesting discussion. :) There's also a European liquor, bright blue in color, aptly named "Blau" (which word, "blau", is slang for drunk or intoxicated). As for varieties of sausage, "wieners" (Wien/Vienna), and Frankfurters (Frankfurt) were referred to as "hot dogs" by Parisian college students jokingly(?) describing their mysterious ingredients... (citation needed, but I did read that in a seemingly-reputable magazine.)