Der, die, was? [Paperback]

David Bergmann (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verla (July 31, 2007)
• Language: German
• ISBN-10: 3499622505
• ISBN-13: 978-3499622502
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #607,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Awfully Cool German Language, May 7, 2008

By 

DB - See all my reviews

This review is from: Der, die, was? (Paperback)

What happens when an American gets up close and personal with the German language? In September 1996, David Bergmann voluntarily moved from Chicago to Germany (the country of his 32 great-great-great-grandparents) for a year-abroad to go back-to-the-roots - both physically and linguistically. Since then, he has come to terms (almost) with the past-tense, cute yet tough umlauts", powerful prefixes, Doinglisch", idiosyncratical idioms, and the twelve (or was that thirteen?) possible plural-forms. Furthermore, he has tackled the eternal questions posed by English native-speakers of How do you ,du'?", Where's my Fahrvergnügen?", and Der, die, WAS?". Through it all, he has both confused and amused the natives. But most importantly, he discovers that German is not at all an awful language - as Mark Twain once wrote mistakenly - but rather an awfully cool one!

This book is a warm and witty book in homage to the German language written by someone who learned it the hard way.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ein sehr witziges Buch!, June 18, 2009

By 

ML Kaiser (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Der, die, was? (Paperback)

Dieses Buch zeigt in einer sehr humorvollen Art, nicht nur wie schwierig die deutsche Sprach sein kann, sondern auch wie lustig. Sehr empfehlenswert!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very true, extremely funny!, November 28, 2009

By 

bok - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Der, die, was? (Paperback)

Dies ist eines der wenigen Bücher, die es geschafft haben, mich laut zum Lachen zu bringen. David Bergmann hat meine Welt verändert. Ich werde nie wieder ein Umlaut mit den gleichen Augen sehen können! Smilies als Umlaute- auf die Idee muss man erstmal kommen. Eine herrliche Lektüre, alle denen ich es verliehen habe, fanden es köstlich. Kurze Abschnitte im Buch sind prima um das Buch unterwegs, z.B. im Zug oder auch an der Ampel stehend zu lesen.

Wirklich uneingeschränkt empfehlenswert. Wer sieht schon die Schrebergärten als Ghettos an? Das kann nur Bergmann.