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asekhon said
on 10/11/2007 Let's set this Kennedy/Berlin thing straight: JFK said, "Ich bin ein Berliner,"--literally, "I am a Berliner." However, a resident of Berlin would have said, "Ich bin Berliner,"--literally, "I am Berliner." In English, it can be a toss-up whether or not to include the article ("I am American" and "I am an American" are both grammatically correct), but the language more often favors putting the article in ("I am a New Yorker" is correct, but "I am New Yorker" is not). In German, however, the article, "ein," is not necessary when talking about being a resident of a particular place (like Berlin). Not only is the article not necessary, it would actually be incorrect to include it in this context! The German word, "Berliner," when used to refer to a type of jelly doughnut made in Berlin (and NOT to a person of Berlin), DOES take the "ein" article. Kennedy was apparently unaware of this fact.
DHarry said
on 4/4/2007 You can call Kennedy's blunder an urban legend, but they did laugh at him for the "Berliner" line. This wasn't because of the accent though, it was because while "Berliner" can technically mean "person from Berlin", its more common usage is as the name of a jelly doughnut. When he tried to identify with the people, he actually said "I am a jelly doughnut" - hence the laughter.
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 I have heard so many people try to speak a foreign language with their own accent just because they are so worried they will get it wrong if they try! Trust me, you sound a lot sillier if you don't make any effort at all, than if you try and make a couple of mistakes!
Anonymous said
on 3/30/2006 President Kennedy did not make a fool of himself. This is an urban legend about the "Berliner" line. In fact, he used the word correctly in context.
Anonymous said
on 12/16/2005 It's generally agreed the best way to learn French is to listen to Chirac speak. Even if they don't agree with his policies, almost every French speaker agrees his accent is flawless and he speak very, very clearly.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Record the voice of a speaker you like, such as an announcer on the radio or television. Listen to the recording and try to imitate the accent and pronunciation as closely as possible.