The point in Kris' presentation about
needing to know your audience is valid, but the JFK "Ich bin ein
Berliner" example may not be the best possible illustration. The
story about the phrase having been interpreted as "I am a jelly
doughnut" is a
long-standing
(untrue)
urban
legend.
As was intended, the phrase was actually understood to mean "I am
one with the people of Berlin." The alternative, "Ich bin
Berliner," would have been parsed as "I am from Berlin," which was
obviously not the case. As one of the linked references notes,
"Similarly, after 9-11 many politicians said 'today we are all New
Yorkers' and nobody thought they meant 'we are all glossy
magazines' or 'we are all cars.'" Further, jelly doughnuts are
generally referred to in Berlin as
Pfannkuchen, not
Berliners
.
As it turns out, JFK's speech-writers knew their audience pretty
well in that case.
Glen Beltt
University of Minnesota Foundation
On 1/25/2013 2:11 PM, Layon, Kristofer wrote: