2006-06-25 12:28:52 · 9 answers · asked by stephanie_hele 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
JFK announced to a crowd in Berlin 'Ich bin ein Berliner!' - to great applause and amusement, thinking he was telling them - presumably in a figurative sense - he was a native of Berlin and that he empathised greatly with the problems of that city at the time.
However, in German the indefinite article (ein) is dropped before the noun 'Berliner' when it means 'a native of Berlin'. (He should have said 'Ich bin Berliner'). Leaving the article in would, strictly speaking, suggest that he was a doughnut (US spelling 'donut') - also named after the city of Berlin but used in a slightly different (grammatical) way.
To say that he 'spoke German' is, however, something of an exaggeration. If he calls the utterance of those four words 'speaking German' then I, by that reckoning, could claim to speak about two dozen languages - which I cannot!
2006-06-29 14:33:18 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
German president.
2006-06-25 19:45:11 · answer #2 · answered by King of Town 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
President of Germany.
2006-06-25 19:32:00 · answer #3 · answered by Diezel 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kaiser Wilhelm II, of Germany. He had many titles, Including president. Although some said he stuttered.
2006-06-25 19:35:14 · answer #4 · answered by Puzzleman 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Washington spoke and wrote Deutsch.
2006-06-25 19:31:35 · answer #5 · answered by helixburger 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
um the president of Germany i suppose
2006-06-25 19:31:47 · answer #6 · answered by the brain 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
JFK did say in Berlin, "Ich bin ein Berliner," but I don't know if he spoke more than that.
2006-06-25 19:30:53 · answer #7 · answered by fcas80 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think JFK did some but not fluent.
2006-06-25 19:30:44 · answer #8 · answered by antiekmama 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
didnt he say "I am a jelly donut"?
2006-06-25 19:30:46 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋