tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099363488280675328.post1926188212936011458..comments2023-10-06T04:49:05.127-04:00Comments on KrautBlog: Word of the Month: OberlehrerUlrichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099363488280675328.post-11191660068204440222016-02-22T18:19:37.715-05:002016-02-22T18:19:37.715-05:00@Mark: Not that I know of. You would have to say, ...@Mark: Not that I know of. You would have to say, like in English, to act or behave like an Oberlehrer or, really colloquially, to let the Oberlehrer hang out (<i>den Oberlehrer heraushängen lassen</i>). But since I have been living abroad now for a long time, I do not know if that idiom is still widely used. I do know, though, that "Oberlehrer" is still very much in use because, as I said in my post, the Internet has given those types a whole new venue to pursue their favorite pastime, and for their critics, the term is a very convenient expression to make their displeasure known without having to go into lengthy explanations—"<i>Jawohl, Herr Oberlehrer</i>" is all they have to say. Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099363488280675328.post-31602290879394217092016-02-22T12:11:31.919-05:002016-02-22T12:11:31.919-05:00Is there a German verb for the activity of Oberleh...Is there a German verb for the activity of Oberlehrer-ing?<br />Mark Dominushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17698641253266210249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099363488280675328.post-44442231433254278052016-02-07T11:33:31.238-05:002016-02-07T11:33:31.238-05:00Check this out:
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_c...Check this out:<br />http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png<br />Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099363488280675328.post-19915973234115716342016-02-04T10:52:32.884-05:002016-02-04T10:52:32.884-05:00just came across this blog via a google search, an...just came across this blog via a google search, and can not emphasize enough how absolutely annoying an "Oberlehrer" colleague in our faculty is. Somehow I feel that the English "I-know-it-all" is not even remotely reflecting the abrasive potential of these figures...<br /><br />A sympathetic cheers to all who suffer from such critters!Christiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099363488280675328.post-60197535661272469782012-05-02T14:35:49.349-04:002012-05-02T14:35:49.349-04:00Apparently, there are female Oberlehrer!
The I-kn...Apparently, there are female Oberlehrer!<br /><br />The I-know-better-than-native-speakers syndrome also manifests itself in the two Germans who criticized my English. They both claimed that since my book was aimed at English speakers, it was hurt by my text (one of them actually claimed--on the blog, not in a private e-mail!--that I had "embarrassed" myself). It made no impression on them when I pointed out that the Americans who had seen the book loved it, including the text (see the favorable reviews on amazon)--they were German Oberlehrer and they knew better!<br /><br />BTW I'm using the terminology of disease deliberately: I believe this seemingly uncontrollable urge to criticize everyone and everything in sight is a real sickness of the soul.Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099363488280675328.post-27804914907876911122012-05-01T23:40:20.563-04:002012-05-01T23:40:20.563-04:00Ah yes, I know the species from my years living in...Ah yes, I know the species from my years living in Germany. I remember speaking to a middle-aged German woman, and I used the word "boxes," which she felt I had mispronounced--What do I know after all. I'm only a native speaker of the language--and said, "We say "bawxes" or something to that effect. So what you say rings very true.Heikanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3099363488280675328.post-85756950411239322632012-05-01T12:28:12.486-04:002012-05-01T12:28:12.486-04:00Here's one of the comments from the Oberlehrer...Here's one of the comments from the Oberlehrer e-mail:<br /><br />I had used the phrase: "...to lighten the essentially arduous task of memorizing words...", and that's what he had to say (m.t.--I'm willing to send the original to anyone doubting my translation): "Really: To illuminate the task? Or more likely "to alleviate" [his suggestion]..."<br /><br />Clearly, our Oberlehrer does not know that "enlighten" can be formed from the adjective "light" (not heavy, German "leicht"), rather than the noun "light" (German "Licht"), and then means exactly what I wanted to say, to lessen the burden (German "erleichtern").Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.com