Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I found this rather imposing figure


on my trip through the town yesterday.

I was out on the town to buy shoelaces yesterday - which leads us to our word for today Schnürsenkel. Schnüren - to fasten, to tie with string, to strap and Senkel - shoe lace, plumb bob (arch.), sinker - meaning well, you probably won't see it used in any other context.

I normally find dialect confusing - I enjoy it to no end, but rarely does it make comprehension easier for me. But just to show that the exception proes the rule.
The dialect word for shoe laces is Schuhbandle. Band meaning ribbon or tape.

Tada! A dialect word that makes more sense than the Hochdeutsch equivalent.

And because we are nothing if not thorough here in Mooseville, here is the German Wikipedia link for Schnürsenkel where you will find more than you ever had any desire to know about the wideranging world of shoe laces. The English page can be accessed through the German site.

1 comment:

Paul Smith Jr. said...

An entire site devoted to shoelaces. (Auf Englisch. See, I remember a little German.)