In Germany, summer time is marathon time, and the K-Landnews team are aficionados of watching other people run without much of a purpose other than fitness and medals. We don't run, except in Dr. Who style emergencies.
This year's season is drawing to a close, so we thought it nice to make room for a post.
Brochures and flyers for sports events around here have a familiar look and feel. Local dignitaries share greeting space with the chiefs of sponsors, businesses large, medium and small tell you they are there to take your money, and a couple of personal interest stories like "how marathon saved my life" entertain the non runners.
The whole brochure is in German.
The whole brochure?
No, one small corner is resisting German!
Since this is not the best allusion to comic hero Asterix, we decided to spell it out.
After years in the K-Land, we still chuckle once in a while at the English words or phrases splash dab in the middle of a German treatise, and the last marathon announcement is a wonderful case in point.
As with all modern marathon events, you can run or walk, and you can choose between several distances. The list in the German brochure reads exactly like this:
Full marathon
Half marathon
Walking
Fun walk
Not a German word in sight (although marathon is spelled the same in both languages).
It feels like a Cinco de Mayo menu at a bar in the American South West. Not much Spanish is needed to figure it out.
Who then are the people who would use the German words for the event?
Foreigners who conscientiously attended the mandated German language course and who now insist on using the hard learned language.
The brochure has found a new home in the giant blue paper recycling bin, and we will enjoy a no sports fall and winter.
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