From: tgpedersen
Message: 43027
Date: 2006-01-19
>functions
> >> Mit can be followed by die in correct German, since mit
> > >also as anAs I have acknowledged.
> >> adverb. This can confuse English speakers, who think the mit
> > >governs the following "wrong" case. E.g.
> >> Diese Katzen sind mit die schoensten, die ich .....
> >> ("These cats are amongst the most beautiful that I ...)
> >
> > cf.
> > http://www.ruhrgebietssprache.de/literatur8.html
> >
> > Google "mit die" site:.de
> > produces millions of hits (but many spurious, eg. 'mit "Die toten
> > Hosen"' etc.
>
> Yes, but these are completely different aspects of grammar.
> <Mit> in the "mit die schönsten [Katzen]" has nothing to do
> with the case of the following nouns and adjectives, unlike
> the other <mit> ("with"). For the former, <among(st)> is a
> good rendering. The idea is "pars pro toto", i.e., one
> part/thing/etc. as seen in comparison with an entire group,
> where it is to be included. It is standard German. (But
> caution: it rather belongs to... high style, esp. in written.
> In colloquial and dialectal German, such a <mit> will be
> highly unusual, sort of breach of style.)
> Whereas <mit> + <accusative> articles/pronouns representsPlease provide an example from southern dialect of a prepositional
> either sloppy colloquial German (of certain social classes)
> or a (sub)dialect. (BTW, in southern dialects, native-speakers
> are also quite sloppy, esp. by dropping esp. plural endings.
> In the approx. area between Suebia and Western Pannonia
> <bei dene Lait> [baj 'de:ne 'lajt] or farther to the East
> of this dialectal realm [bæ: de:ne læ:t] will suffice in
> order to express <bei jene*n* Leute*n*> (dative, plural).
> (<denen> replacing <jenen>)