I am in Germany and tomorrow is my boss's birthday

 

Joachim Pense

Dave, my mind is going.

8,372 followers

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I am from Mainz, Germany, spent a couple of months in Warwick/Coventry (England) and in the Bay area. Graduated in Maths (Dr. rer. nat.), became an IT guy. Used to work in a group of artists in the 80s and early 90s producing noise-music and sound/light-installations. Have some interest in Linguistics and Philology. I like various kinds of music, European classical, modern, South-Indian classical, Japanese, Bluegrass, Jazz, Soul, Korean etc.

I am in Germany and tomorrow is my boss's birthday and I am invited. Instead of buying a bottle of wine, I have bought a bottle of Kirschwasser (long story). Can I give the Kirschwasser as a gift? Does it have the same impact as wine?

Originally Answered: I am in Germany and tomorrow is my boss's birthday and I am invited. Instead of buying a bottle of wine, I have bought a bottle of kirschwasser (long story). Can I gift kirschwasser? Does it have the same impact as wine?

The bottle of Kirschwasser and the bottle of wine are in different price categories. The wine bottle is something you would bring to somewhere you are invited, without a special occasion like a birthday. The Kirschwasser (unless it is of a cheap kind, but then it is not appropriate as a gift) would be a full birthday present. Usually, the reportees of a boss would collect the money and present such a present together. The situation to avoid is that your gift is in a completely different price range than the gifts your colleagues bring. Best you talk to them about what they intend to bring.

What Germanic languages are dying?

 

Joachim Pense

Dave, my mind is going.

8,312 followers

1,076 following

I am from Mainz, Germany, spent a couple of months in Warwick/Coventry (England) and in the Bay area. Graduated in Maths (Dr. rer. nat.), became an IT guy. Used to work in a group of artists in the 80s and early 90s producing noise-music and sound/light-installations. Have some interest in Linguistics and Philology. I like various kinds of music, European classical, modern, South-Indian classical, Japanese, Bluegrass, Jazz, Soul, Korean etc.

What Germanic languages are dying?

East Frisian (1500 to 2000 speakers left); North Frisian (still 8000 to 10000). The German dialect isles in northern Italy (Mocheno, Cimbrian) are dying, but they might not count as languages. Similarly Frans Vlaams (almost not spoken anymore in coastal France near the Belgian border) is a Dutch dialect, but extreme from a Dutch point of view. But then, the Frisian dialects can be seen as part of Frisian, which as a whole is not yet dying, with many more speakers of West Frisian. Still, mutual intelligibility between those is poor.

Yiddish seems to experience some revival currently, but still I am not sure about its destiny.

And - thanks to Daniel Ross, Scots should be mentioned as well.