Damn Wikipedia! Always ruining good stories! :-) Chris Green ==========
Bourgeois, Dr. Martin wrote: > > > According to Wikipedia and many other sources, that's not true: > > Jelly doughnut urban legend > > > According to an urban legend > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_legend>, Kennedy allegedly made an > embarrassing grammatical error by saying "Ich bin ein Berliner," > referring to himself not as a citizen of Berlin > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin>, but as a common pastry > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_%28pastry%29>:^[2] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-1> > > Kennedy should have said "Ich bin Berliner" to mean "I am a person > from Berlin." By adding the indefinite article > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indefinite_article> /ein/, his > statement implied he was a non-human Berliner, thus "I am a jelly > doughnut". > > The story stems from a play on words with Berliner > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_%28pastry%29>, the name of a > doughnut <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut> variant filled with > jam <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam> or plum sauce that is thought > to have originated in Berlin. But in Berlin this pastry is known as > pfannkuchen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Pfannkuchen> so it > was no big faux-pas for the citizens of Berlin, who consider Kennedy's > speech a landmark in the country's postwar history.^[3] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-2> > > The indefinite article /ein/ can be and often is omitted when speaking > of an individual's profession or residence but is necessary when > speaking in a figurative sense as Kennedy did. Since the president was > not literally from Berlin but only declaring his solidarity with its > citizens, "Ich bin Berliner" would not have been correct.^[4] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-3> > > The origins of the legend are obscure. The Len Deighton > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Deighton> spy novel > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spy_novel> /Berlin Game > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Game>/, published in 1983, > contains the following passage, spoken by narrator Bernard Samson > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Samson>: > > 'Ich bin ein Berliner,' I said. It was a joke. A Berliner is a > doughnut. The day after President Kennedy made his famous > proclamation, Berlin cartoonists had a field day with talking > doughnuts.^[5] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-4> > > The /New York Times/ review of Deighton's novel, which appears to > treat Samson's remark as factual, added the detail that Kennedy's > audience found his remark funny: > > Here is where President Kennedy announced, /Ich bin ein Berliner,/ > and thereby amused the city's populace because in the local > parlance a /Berliner/ is a doughnut.^[6] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-5> > > In 1988 William J. Miller wrote in an April 30 > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_30> /New York Times > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times>/ article: > > It's worth recalling, again, President John F. Kennedy's use of a > German phrase while standing before the Berlin Wall. It would be > great, his wordsmiths thought, for him to declare himself a > symbolic citizen of Berlin. Hence, /Ich bin ein Berliner./ What > they did not know, but could easily have found out, was that such > citizens never refer to themselves as "Berliners." They reserve > that term for a favorite confection often munched at breakfast. > So, while they understood and appreciated the sentiments behind > the President's impassioned declaration, the residents tittered > among themselves when he exclaimed, literally, "I am a > jelly-filled doughnut."^[7] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-6> > > In fact, the opposite is true: The citizens of Berlin do refer to > themselves as /Berliner/; what they do not refer to as /Berliner/ are > jelly doughnuts. While these are known as "Berliner" in other areas of > Germany, they are simply called /Pfannkuchen/ (pancakes) in and around > Berlin.^[8] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-7> Thus > the merely theoretical ambiguity went unnoticed by Kennedy's audience, > as it did in Germany at large. In sum, "Ich bin ein Berliner" was the > appropriate way to express in German what Kennedy meant to say.^[9] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-8> > > Although it is false, the legend has since been repeated by reputable > media, such as the publisher of the Morning Call, Tim Kennedy, and the > BBC (by Alistair Cooke <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_Cooke> > in his /Letter from America > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_from_America>/ program),^[10] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-9> /The > Guardian/,^[11] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-10> > MSNBC,^[12] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-11> > CNN,^[13] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-12> > /Time/ magazine,^[14] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-13> /The > New York Times/,^[15] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-14> in > several books about Germany written by English-speaking authors, > including Norman Davies > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Davies>^[16] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-15> and > Kenneth C. Davis <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_C._Davis>,^[17] > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#cite_note-16> and > is even mentioned in a stand-up show by Eddie Izzard > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Izzard>. > > As for the creation of the speech, it had been reviewed by journalist > Robert Lochner <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lochner>, who was > educated in Germany, and had been practised several times in front of > numerous Germans, including Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Brandt>. The many video and audio > recordings of the event show only enthusiastic applause following the > statement; the only laughter occurred later, when Kennedy jokingly > thanked his translator for his translation of Kennedy's German > sentence into German. > > > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JFK_Ich_bin_ein_Berliner_-_civis_Romanus_sum.png> > John F. Kennedy's phonetic transcription of the German and Latin > phrases in the Ich bin ein Berliner speech > > During the speech Kennedy used the phrase twice, ending his speech on > it. However, Kennedy did pronounce the sentence with his Boston accent > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_accent>, reading from his note > "ish bin ein Bear/lee/ner," which he had written out in English phonetics. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From:* Christopher D. Green [[email protected]] > *Sent:* Saturday, August 29, 2009 5:45 PM > *To:* Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > *Subject:* Re: [tips] info: Kennedy > > > JFK once famously told an audience in Berlin that he was a jelly doughnut. > > Chris Green > York U. > Toronto > ============ > > > michael sylvester wrote: >> >> did any of the Kennedys speak other languages? I know that Jacquie >> was fluent in French.But how about Gaelic? >> I know that Ted flunked Spanish. >> >> Michael Sylvester,PhD >> Daytona Beach,Florida >> --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
