On 10/02/2007, at 9:46 AM, matthiasm wrote:
> German native here.
>
> The ending "-chen" and "-lein" is used to describe the small or young
> version of something, and always makes the main object an "it". So
> "Mädchen" (girl) derives from "Magd" (female farm servant). Adding
> the "-chen" - in ancient times - reflected that she was not yet a
> woman, hence an "it". There is no male equivalent.
>
> Yes, it is a weird language.
>
> Matthias
Weird compared to what? English is arguably the most bastardised
language. It has more than enough exceptions, especially in terms of
phonemic orthography. Us Aussies have our own share of those, most
notably the split between the length of vowel sounds on some words.
Like, "I can do it", the word "can" has a short 'ae' sound, where as
the "can" in "open the tin can" has a long 'ae' sound.
Ich spreche ein bischen Deutches,
É parlo un po di Italiano (Toscano),
Je parle un peu Français,
أتكلم قليل من اللغة العربية Atakalamo kalilan
mena alogha al Arabiah,
ואני מדבר כיצת עברית Ve ani mediber kitsat Ivrit
(Hebrew),
Or me toratora Hindi bolta-hung.
Are you gonna call me weird, too? ;-)
Regards,
- Adam Goddard
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