hello, Jean, hello, Avital, both versions, "Ich bin Berliner" als well as "Ich bin ein Berliner" are correct, grammatically and by meaning. The use of the article "ein", (a), makes the statement stronger and at the same time, indicates that he is one Berliner among others, so this sentence placed JFK in the middle (and the hearts) of his auditorium.
In German, only names or other attributes for individuals (like Berliner, Bavarian, teacher, catholic, lacemaker...) can go with or without article. Objects, and even names for everything else (but the indivudual name of an animal and most countries) go always with articel: der Colorado, der Mount Everest, der Pazifik... "Ich bin Berliner" would have been correct and without the possibility of misunderstanding. "Ich bin ein Berliner" opens a possibilitiy for inteded misunderstanding and jokes (a Berliner is a kind of doughnout), but was better nevertheless. It's as usual as correct to say: Ich bin ein Bayer.. ein Frankfurter.. ein Hamburger.. (the joke's too obvious to amuse anyone but a first-grader) JFK's word is famous in Germany. Nobody would even try to skip the articel. Eva, from Haltern, Germany To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
