Dingleberry

Dingleberry

Computer Storage: The old-fashioned way.

Did you know that your smartphone has at least 100 times the computing power that the Apolo rockets had? However, at this time in history, people could still do calculations within their own heads and most people cannot add two whole numbers together. You can be tracked as to your location by your smartphone, and in this time, 1960s, people had a lot more freedom than we do today. I think I would want to go back to this more (unschuldig) innocent time; so what time in history would you like to have lived in?

NOTE: Business English etc.

can be found below the translation exercises.

 

Translate the Text: Übersetzen:

Susann, Andreas, Reiner, Heike, Simone and Nadine.

Apartment:

Ist deine Wohnung sauber?

Nein, wir haben keinen Tisch.

Meine Mitbewohner, Anna und Martin, sind nett.

Meine Mitbewohner sind Peter und Tim.

HEALTH:

Viel

Krank

Bist du Krank?

Mein Mitbewohner und ich sind jetzt krank.

Traurig

Müde

Nachts

Du bist gesund und ich bin glücklich!

Ich habe keine Bauchschmerzen mehr, ich bin gesund.

Ich bin sehr traurig.

Es tut mir leid, wir sind müde.

Meine Freunde besuchen mich nächsten August.

Hast du Verwandten in Frankreich?

Ich besuche meine Oma im Februar.

Meine Familie macht immer im August ein Picknick.

Meine Familie macht im Februar eine Party.

Sie besucht ihre Verwandten jedes Jahr.

Warum besuchst du deinen Bruder im Februar?

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Business English Word of the Week:

Geschäftsenglisch Wort der Woche:

In your best interest

If something is done in your best interest, that something will be an advantage or benefit to you.

Sample Sentence:

“I think it’d be in your company’s best interest to find a reliable supplier with a good delivery record.”

 

Law English word of the Week:

Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:

Terminate a contract

To terminate a contract is to cancel or end it before it expires (es läuft ab). When a contract is terminated, the parties in the contract will no longer need to perform or fulfil the terms of the contract.

Sample Sentence:

“Since I’m going overseas to work, I plan to terminate my mobile phone contract.”

 

Vocabulary for Contracts:

Wortschatz für Verträge:

Breach of contract

The breaking of a contract’s terms. If your supplier fails to deliver your goods by the date stated in your contract, that would be a breach of contract.

Sample Sentence:

“I hope you can meet tomorrow’s deadline for completing the repairs, otherwise, your company will be in breach of contract.“

 

Vocabulary for Negotiations:

Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:

Bargaining power

The influence one party has over another in a negotiation. Having more bargaining power puts you in a better position to win a deal.

Sample Sentence:

“You have more years of experience in sales than him, so you should have more bargaining power when negotiating your pay package.”

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I really do not like this company

– where do you buy your furniture?

 

Word of the day: Wort des Tages:

Dingleberry means a foolish or inept person (ungeschickt).

Sample Sentence:

 “Only a real dingleberry would vote for him to be president!”

 

Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:

To be in ‘Cloud Cuckoo land’. (Wolkenkuckucksheim).

Sample Sentence:

“Anyone who believes that pigs can fly is living in cloud cuckoo land.“

Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:

To be “over the moon“ (überglücklich) means to be very happy about something.  Synonyms and related words: To be, or to become happy or happier; to rejoice in.

Sample Sentence:

“Raphael was over the moon about becoming a father.”

NOTE: Er freut sich wie ein Schneekönig.

 

British English (B.E.) / American English (A.E.) Vocabulary:

Britisches Englisch / Amerikanisches Englisch Wortschatz:

British English (B.E.) = Chips (Pommes = German).

American English (A.E.) = French fries (Why ‘French’ as it has got nothing to do with the French – stupid people!)

Sample Sentence:

“I went to the ‘Fish and Chips‘ shop and ordered a medium portion of chips with a large piece of Haddock.” (B.E.) Schellfisch.

 

NOTE: Americans don’t have ‘Fish and Chips‘ shops as it is not their invention. The British created ‘Fish and Chips‘ and so you will find ‘Fish and Chips‘ shops all over the length and breadth of Great Britain and Ireland.

NOTE: the word Crisps has been turned into Chips by the Americans and so it has become popular in other parts of the world, but it is still wrong!

 

Special Grammar tip of the week:

Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:

Link Ideas With a Conjunction

Sometimes you want to link two ideas with a second S+V+O combination. When you do, you need a coordinating conjunction. The addition of the coordinating conjunction creates a new layout for you to follow.

S+V+O, COORDINATING CONJUNCTION+S+V+O

Take this sentence, for example;

“Frank found a cat, but it ran into the alley.”

Before “but,” the subject is Frank, the verb is found and the object is cat. After “but,” the subject is it, the verb ‘is ran‘, and the object is ‘alley‘.

Coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember with an acronymic mnemonic device: FANBOYS. Each letter of the acronym stands for one coordinating conjunction: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

 

Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:

“Each Easter Eddie eats eighty Easter eggs.”

Try and say this quickly X 10.

Versuchen Sie, diesen Satz zehnmal schnell und fehlerfrei zu sagen.

 

False Friends Tip of the Week:

Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:

German         Translation               False Friend (F.F.)   Meaning of F.F.

Bodybag   mono-strap backpack         bodybag            Leichensack

 

NOTE: A body bag, the way I understand it, is for the use of a dead body – a soldier, for example. I saw this in the film ‘Platoon‘, right at the beginning of the film. The hero of the film arrives at the military airport and someone points out to him a large pile of body bags on the tarmac (Rollfeld).

 

Wit, Wit, Wit Business examples:

Witz, Witz, Witz Geschäftsbeispiele:

“Not every problem someone has with his girlfriend is necessarily due to the capitalist mode of production.”

Quote by Herbert Marcuse.

 

Slang word of the day: Slangwort des Tages:

The slang word to be “Squiffy” which means to become a little drunk. (schwipps – “tipsy”).

Sample Sentence:

“My wife got a little Squiffy the other night, whilst we were at her brother’s birthday party!”

 

Colloquial / Colloquialisms:

Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:

Gibberish – quatsch mit soße.

Sample Sentence:

“You’re talking Gibberish, especially when you’ve had a few!”

NOTE: The phrase “To have a few” means “to have a few beers.”

 

Cockney rhyming slang:

Cockney reimender Slang:

“Brass Tacks” = facts.

NOTE: Brass = Messing “Nägel mit Köpfen machen.”

Sample Sentence:

“Let’s get down to Brass Tacks!”

NOTE: The above sample sentence would be used in business, for example, whilst negotiating. “zu einer Entscheidung kommen.”

 

Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.“

Quote by W. C. Fields.

 

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