HAVE GERMAN WILL TRAVEL Sprache DIE DEUTSCHE SPRACHE / GERMAN LANGUAGE "Awful German Language" by Mark Twain By his own admission, reflection of both his frustration one of America's great­ with the language and his affec­ est writers failed to learn Huckleberry tion for it. While they are in the minority, German. The essay he there are passages in the essay produced afterward that praise some of the language's chronicles his distaste - In Heidelberg virtues, including Twain's descrip­ and perhaps admiration - tion of German words that repre­ for the language. sent peace, love, repose, pathos Mark Twain's and love as "surpassingly rich and en embarking on 'The Awful German Language' effective." a difficult jour­ "My favorite passage is when ney, it's helpful to still rings true he describes how some German know that you are poems are so beautiful that they not alone. For those learning the can make people who do not speak problems with the language. I German language, struggling with the language cry," said Kersten. curse it on a daily basis." its grammatical exceptions, never­ After his early success with The essay was published as an ending compound words and the "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" appendix to the author's 1880 seemingly useless dative case, it's and "Adventures of Huckleberry book, "A Tramp Abroad" about reassuring to keep in mind that Finn," Twain struggled to write his travels through Germany, they have some very illustrious more novels. To eseqpe from his Switzerland and Italy from 1879 company. own popularity, Twain set sail to 1880. According to Ho!ger In 1880, Mark Twain chron­ for what he called the "free air Kersten, a Twain scholar and icled his experiences learning of Europe." professor at the University of the language in an essay, "The His travels took him throughout Magdeburg, the essay has taken Awful German Language." In it, the country but he spent most of on a life of its own. In some ways, he described his distaste for the his time in the university town its popularity has surpassed that language's grammatical absurdi­ of Heidelberg. It was here that of the book. "In scholarly circles, ties with his signature wit and he devoted his days to learning 'A Tramp Abroad' is not con­ sarcasm. German. sidered a major work but 'The "There are more exceptions to Disheartened after what he Awful German Language' has the rule than instances of it," he called nine weeks of dedicated become very popular, especially wrote of German grammar. He Study, Twain offet't_d eight_ways to with American readers," said lambasted the placing of verbs ''reform" German. The suggestions Kersten. at the end of the sentence: "In a included dumping the dative case, German newspaper they put their For 40 years, Hyde Flippo bas moving the verb to "a, position verb away on the next page." As been teaching and writing about where it may be easily seen with for compound words, probably German and Germany. During the naked eye," and either doing German's most famous peculiar­ his time as a high school teacher away with long compound words ity, Twain could not contain his in Nevada, he would hand out or at least ,,requiring the speaker bafflement. "Some German words the essay to try and help his more to deliver them in sections, with are so long that they have a per­ advanced students get through intermissions for refreshments." spective," he wrote. the difficulties of learning the Whatever level of fluency Twain People who have never dared to language. achieved in German is unclear. learn the language might think the "It was very much about empa­ However, it did remain present essay exaggerates. But among the thy, that they were not alone in in the household as Twain's two initiated, it draws knowing nods their struggle with the language, daughters and his wife continued and chuckles. that even Mark Twain found it to study the language. "The first time I read it, I couldn't difficult," said Flippo. "That is in _ And wm:n Olivia Clemens, keep from laughing out loud," said many ways th~ magic of Twain." Twain's wife of 34 years, died Matthew Baird, an American who Unlike some other scholars, Ker­ after a long illness, the author lives and works as a German rrans,­ sten said Twain's essay was not lator in Bonn. "It's nice to know intended to poke fun, as other that even a genius like Twain had scholars have asserted, but as a .