(05-19-2018 09:08 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote: [ -> ] (05-19-2018 03:18 PM)grsbanks Wrote: [ -> ](*) there is some debate as to whether it should be Bisschen with a capital B or just bisschen. "Ein Bisschen" is a noun that means "a little bite" and all nouns are written with capitals in German. However, in general usage many people use "bisschen" instead.
Perhaps because the expression is equivalent to an adverb, if I were to guess.
No, as a native German I know that, with mentioned meaning, "bisschen" is used.
Arno
(05-19-2018 07:25 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote: [ -> ]“The building was pretty ugly and a little big for its surroundings.” John Steinbeck, Nobel Prize for Literature (1962).
Steinbeck? Are you trying to bring some culture and class to this group? Nice start, but it's a big job.
(05-19-2018 01:37 PM)jebem Wrote: [ -> ] (05-19-2018 09:13 AM)toml_12953 Wrote: [ -> ]For some reason, this struck me as very funny!
"A little big" is a direct translation from a very common Portuguese expression that we, the Camões's language speakers, use when we want to say that a object is bigger than the average for that object class:
In Portuguese: "Um pouco grande"
I don't know the correct native English speakers equivalent idiomatic expression for that, though.
There was nothing wrong with it at all. It's a perfectly good phrase in English, too. It tickled my funny bone, though. Like a package in the store labeled Jumbo Shrimp. In English, calling someone a shrimp means they're small so Jumbo Shrimp seems like an oxymoron.
(05-19-2018 11:01 PM)rprosperi Wrote: [ -> ] (05-19-2018 07:25 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote: [ -> ]“The building was pretty ugly and a little big for its surroundings.” John Steinbeck, Nobel Prize for Literature (1962).
Steinbeck? Are you trying to bring some culture and class to this group? Nice start, but it's a big job.
Yeah, I'm still trying to get through
The Cat in the Hat and
Green Eggs and Ham! Now
that's some writing there!
(05-19-2018 03:18 PM)grsbanks Wrote: [ -> ](*) there is some debate as to whether it should be Bisschen with a capital B or just bisschen.
No wonder, because "Bisschen" is contained in the list of "
orthographically difficult words" maintained by
the authority concerning German orthography, the "Duden" encyclopedia:
https://www.duden.de/Liste-der-rechtschr...en-Woerter
And to make things even more complicated, I (amongst many others) would spell it a "Bißchen" instead because I learnt German before the reform in 1996 and in private conversations we are allowed to spell according to the old rules :-)
BTW: The Ti Voyage 200 would be an ideal platform for an electronic dictionary - plenty of memory and a large screen. I wonder if one exists (couldn't find one with a quick internet search)?
I’ve bought today a Voyage 200 at a garage sale for 5€. It was the first time I saw one in 10 years !
(05-19-2018 11:01 PM)rprosperi Wrote: [ -> ] (05-19-2018 07:25 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote: [ -> ]“The building was pretty ugly and a little big for its surroundings.” John Steinbeck, Nobel Prize for Literature (1962).
Steinbeck? Are you trying to bring some culture and class to this group? Nice start, but it's a big job.
No pedantry intended. I just wanted a literary example and Steinbeck’s was the first one I could find. I fail to perceive these as “funny”, though. To me, “pretty” and “little” above sound like ordinary adverbs, not the antonyms of “beautiful” and “big”. I tend to use “somewhat” instead of “little” (somewhat big), and to interpret “pretty” as “very” (very ugly), but Merriam-Webster says it’s equivalent to “quite”, which is less intense than “very” (quite ugly).
(05-20-2018 08:18 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote: [ -> ]No pedantry intended. I just wanted a literary example and Steinbeck’s was the first one I could find. I fail to perceive these as “funny”, though. To me, “pretty” and “little” above sound like ordinary adverbs, not the antonyms of “beautiful” and “big”. I tend to use “somewhat” instead of “little” (somewhat big), and to interpret “pretty” as “very” (very ugly), but Merriam-Webster says it’s equivalent to “quite”, which is less intense than “very” (quite ugly).
I tend to agree with Merriam-Webster; I think "pretty" is a bit less intense than "very", but I also believe this is subjective and up to each individual. However, my wife tells me I am right about my opinion, so I wanted to a) document this, and b) bask in the mild glow for a little while.
(05-20-2018 03:04 PM)badaze Wrote: [ -> ]I’ve bought today a Voyage 200 at a garage sale for 5€. It was the first time I saw one in 10 years !
Really a bargain!
And I thought I had a good deal at 40 € including Manuals, cable and shipping for mine (yet to arrive)!
(05-19-2018 01:37 PM)jebem Wrote: [ -> ] (05-19-2018 09:13 AM)toml_12953 Wrote: [ -> ]For some reason, this struck me as very funny!
"A little big" is a direct translation from a very common Portuguese expression that we, the Camões's language speakers, use when we want to say that a object is bigger than the average for that object class:
In Portuguese: "Um pouco grande"
I don't know the correct native English speakers equivalent idiomatic expression for that, though.
Thanks Jebem, sometimes, especially when I'm lazy, I think in Portuguese and write in English.
(05-20-2018 12:39 AM)toml_12953 Wrote: [ -> ] (05-19-2018 01:37 PM)jebem Wrote: [ -> ]"A little big" is a direct translation from a very common Portuguese expression that we, the Camões's language speakers, use when we want to say that a object is bigger than the average for that object class:
In Portuguese: "Um pouco grande"
I don't know the correct native English speakers equivalent idiomatic expression for that, though.
There was nothing wrong with it at all. It's a perfectly good phrase in English, too. It tickled my funny bone, though. Like a package in the store labeled Jumbo Shrimp. In English, calling someone a shrimp means they're small so Jumbo Shrimp seems like an oxymoron.
Wow, I'm happy I didn't make a mistake!
Always when we speak a foreign language, with different cultures, we have to be careful with what we say, so to not offend anyone with our ignorance.
(05-20-2018 12:34 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote: [ -> ] (05-19-2018 03:18 PM)grsbanks Wrote: [ -> ](*) there is some debate as to whether it should be Bisschen with a capital B or just bisschen.
No wonder, because "Bisschen" is contained in the list of "orthographically difficult words" maintained by the authority concerning German orthography, the "Duden" encyclopedia: https://www.duden.de/Liste-der-rechtschr...en-Woerter
But the Duden distinguishes between
Bisschen, which is a noun meaning "small bite," and
bisschen, which is a pronoun meaning "a little." Nouns are capitalized, pronouns are not, so that actually makes sense, provided you can remember which words-that-seem-to-be-nouns are actually not. Another example is Paar, meaning "pair" or "couple" (exactly two) vs. paar, meaning "a few."
(05-19-2018 03:18 PM)grsbanks Wrote: [ -> ](*) there is some debate as to whether it should be Bisschen with a capital B or just bisschen. "Ein Bisschen" is a noun that means "a little bite" and all nouns are written with capitals in German. However, in general usage many people use "bisschen" instead.
No, Bisschen (a little bite) and bisschen ( a little bit) are two different class of words. Bisschen would be a noun, but I've never seen it used and my German Dictionary (Duden, Deutsches Universalwörterbuch) doesn't list it. While bisschen is either an adjective/adverb or a pronoun, depending on the context. Thus "bisschen groß" is correct.
Das "b" in bisschen ist kein bisschen groß
Günter