[tied] Re: Latin - English derivatives, German

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "P&G" <petegray@...> wrote:

> >The Perfekt has
> >taken on the functions of Präteritum, ....If you do hear

Päteritum of other

> >verbs in spoken German, it would be to express an action in
> >process, similar to the English continuous tenses.
>
> I believe there are dialect differences here. In the South, the

preterite

> is hardly ever used, outside a few verbs, while in the north-

west, in formal

> contexts, it is quite regular in speech. It is restricted in the
> north-east, but not as much as in the south. (See page 162

dtv-Atlas zur

> deutschen Sprache)

Peter, I was actually referring to the sort of German vocabulary
and grammar which are in most general use by the population.
Dialects and specialized language are restricted. Berlin is in
this sense a good melting pot - you hear all kinds of accents and
dilects here, although, of course, with regard to dialects, most of
what you hear is Berlinerisch. I was not referring to dialects, but
rather to the most standard of standard German - that which
everyone understands and finds normal. E.g., George's "die
kochen doch auch mit wasser" is already restricted to a certain
context. I mean the use of the article in place of the pronoun.

Eva