Picking German Nits.

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Mark Combs, Bill Sellers, et. al.,

You're right, I'm right and we're all alright. The spelling is certainly 
Guterwagen but with an umlaut (") over the u. The noun Wagen is masculine 
gender, hence "Der (geshlossene/gedeckte/offene) Gueterwagen" using the 
accepted standard "e" following an umlauted vowel when no umlaut symbol is 
available. Lest the rest of you listers think we are discussing 
inconsequential things, the use of the umlaut in written German is crucial 
to correct spelling. The umlauted and non-umlauted vowels are considered 
different letters in the German (Roman) alphabet. Curiously, since we are 
really getting way off the NWHS track here, the plural form of boxcar "auf 
Deutsch" is "Die ('die' is always the plural article) Gueterwaggons" with an 
"o" instead of an "e" unless my "Duden" (standard German dictionary) 
contains a misprint. This is highly unlikely because my copy of Duden was 
proofed and signed by Otto von Bismarck himself. Thanks to all of you 
listers for putting up with this non-N&W/Vgn. discussion. I really hate to 
make such nit-picking mistakes when picking such nits.

Albert Burckard

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 8:34 PM
Subject: German Nitpicking



> As a German speaker, the proper spelling and actually

> proper word to use in German would be:

>

> Der geschlossene Gu (umlaut over u)terwaggon or Gu

> (umlaut over u)tterwagon.

>

> Gu(umlaut over u)terwagen is the classic

> boxcar/freight car. I do not see that the adjectives

> of covered would be required. Unless you wanted to

> specify that there were non-covered box cars as well.

>

> There is no such word as Gueterwagon. Yes, even in the

> 3 dialects I speak. At least, last I spoke it, as it

> were.......

>

> Mark Combs

>

> --- nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org wrote:

>

> > Sincerest apologies to Bill Sellers but, since I was

> > the one who asked the

> > question about the 40&8s, I feel compelled to

> > correct the record.

> >

> > The "Merci" cars are French, not British, and are,

> > therefore, decidedly not

> > "goods wagons" at all . One finds "goods wagons"

> > only in the UK and in some

> > of their former colonies (except here!,) but

> > certainly not on the continent.

> > In France, the 40&8s were/are "Wagon-Couvert" and in

> > Germany, for another

> > example, a "boxcar" is a "gedeckte (or) geshlossene

> > Gueterwagon."  Boxcars

> > are called different things in all the other myriad

> > European languages of

> > course. One must not presume British English is

> > "universally" used.

> >

> > Sorry, Bill, but being a foreign language teacher

> > and uncontrollable nit

> > picker myself, I could not resist the correction.

> >

> > Albert Burckard

> >

> > ---- Original Message -----

> > From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> > To: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> > Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2005 9:44 PM

> > Subject: 40 & 8 box cars.

> >

> >

> > > Not to be nitpicking fellows, but in England and

> > on the continent there is

> > > no such thing as a boxcar.   They are universally

> > known as goods wagons.

> >    Bill Sellers

> > >

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>

> Man who loves Whitby WV

>

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