What Does A Fat Cat Do In The BBC?

AUG.11.2013 -

Johnny and I were sitting  in the train when he drew my attention to one of the headlines in the freebie that was lying about. It took me a few seconds to decipher that title. Then it occurred to me that those  kind of titles were incomprehensible to many of the tourists who were travelling with us in that London train.

Teaching my students how to write the topic and the main idea sentence of a passage, I instruct them first to look at the title and the subtitle of the article. We usually practice this skill on articles from newspapers such as the New York Times and even The Guardian.

But this technique would never work with the Metro and the Evening Standard, which are full of puns, idioms and slang.  As they belong to the culture and the history of the people who speak the language, puns and idioms are the hardest to learn and to use correctly in a foreign language.

I was discussing with my students an article which appeared in several newspapers in the US, the title of which was, “Would your child pick up a gun? Don’t kid yourself.” Perhaps because of the gravity of the subject, some editions refrained from including the pun.  It seems to me that, in contrast to most American publications, the British freebies never resist a good pun.

When I first came to Britain in the late 70s I was fortunate to meet the grandfather of an English friend. He was a real Cockney who used to work on the Thames docks.  He taught me  some Cockney rhyming slang: a beer was “Pig’s ear” and a sister was “a skin and blister.” The issue became more complicated when a beer was replaced with “pig’s,” and a sister with a “skin.”  I had to know the whole phrase in order to decode the part which didn’t rhyme. Like Alice in Wonderland, I felt confused. It was a though I was introduced to a secret language, which in a way was what this Cockney rhyming slang was.

 London is full with tourists most of the year, and many of them have a good enough mastery of the English language. But  if they happen to look at the freebies they would  lose all confidence in their language skills. Perhaps this is the sweet revenge of the British, whose island is conquered every year by millions of foreigners: in their own quiet and understating way they make sure that we remain outside.

Oh, and I almost forgot, so what does a fat cat do in the BBC? She draws a fat-cat pay cheque of course.

   

http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/

Kafka And The Art Of Glossing Over A Blunder

 AUG.23.2013 

Back when we were at university, a time when life was simpler, my husband  and I spent 2 months hitchhiking through Europe. Since I studied art history, Italy was our natural destination. We were a young and clean looking couple and never waited long for a ride. Drivers were extremely kind to us and always wanted to talk. For example, on the way to the tiny republic of San Marino, a woman slightly older than us gave us a ride. We started a conversation and she invited us to stay the night at her house. She said that she too had been traveling, and people had invited her to the their houses.

Another place which I wanted to visit was Riva Del Garda. In addition to art history I also studied literature, and the town Riva on Lake Garda is the setting for Kafka’s short story "The Hunter Gracchus.” On the way there we got a ride from a distinguished looking Italian gentleman, in his late forties. Perhaps he was younger but to us he seemed very old. He told us that he was a lawyer and asked what we studied. Upon hearing that I studied literature he said that he loved to read. Tzvi, looking for something to talk about, said “my wife is going to Riva del Garda because of a short story,” "Who is the author?" he asked me "Franz Kafka and the story is 'The Hunter Gracchus.'” "I have never heard of Kafka." he said. We felt very bad, as we were his guests and our job was to entertain him so he would feel happy that he had given us a ride. Suddenly I heard my husband  saying “Ah Kafka, he is a minor Jewish author, only Jewish people have heard of him."

We were relieved to step out of the car. After that unfortunate exchange we were quite worried that we would say anything which would make our driver uncomfortable.

When we went to see the lake in the late afternoon, I could imagine Gracchus’s lost boat getting into Riva del Garda. Gracchus the hunter insists that he has been dead for hundreds of years, but he is the protagonist and the narrator of this short story and his restless and endless death seems very much like life.

Throughout the years I have read this story many times without seeming to understand this exercise in futility any better. My memory of the story is mixed up with images of a hazy afternoon on the lake in Riva, the park by the lake, the driver who became anxious because he didn’t know who Kafka was, and poor Gracchus who is still looking for a port.

When I looked for some information about the story I came across this statement by Karen Bernardo, “Gracchus's role as a dead man in the world of the living ironically parallels Kafka's position as a Jew in a Christian and anti-Semitic society. He is an outsider, and there is nothing to be done about it.”

So now I have finally figured out the convoluted connection between Gracchus, Riva del Garda, a young Israeli couple and “a minor Jewish author.”

  

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Meanwhile in Berlin: Some Personal Recommendations

In 1996 I visited Berlin for the first time with my father. He has left that city in 1934 and until our visit hasn't been back. Although he was already 83, we walked everywhere together and he showed me his Berlin. Since then, I have returned many times, and here are some of my personal recommendations for things to see and to do in the city.   

1)      Staying-- I prefer the West, specifically the area around Ku'damm (short for Kurfürstendamm). It consists of the main shopping streets, and the Tauentzienstraße and Fasanenstraße, which are adjacent to the Ku'Damm. There are many small pensions in that area which offer a good room, with a lovely breakfast for a decent price.

2)       Walking--- is one of my favorite activities in Berlin. The area of Ku’damm is also within a walking distance to Potsdamer Platz and  even to Mitte through the beautiful Tiergarten.

3)   Touring by bus--  The number 100 bus is a great way to see the city and to get to the East side.  Its route was created after the reunification of Germany and it connects East and West Berlin passing through many of the sightseeing attractions.

4)      Museums--From the  more well-known ones I always go back to the Gemaldegallerie which is beautifully planned, and to the Egyptian museum with Nefretiti sculpture.

5)  Other favorite museums--A. The Berlin Musical Instrument Museum,where you get to hear the different and unusual instruments being played through the audio guide. B. The Kathe Kollwitz Museum which has the largest collections of works by the German artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945). C. The Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design, which has art pieces, items, documents and literature related to the Bauhaus School. D. The  Bröhan Museum which  is devoted to Art Nouveau, Art Deco and functionalism

6)      Short excursions-- A. To the quaint historic town Kopenick, which is situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of of Berlin.  B. In Wannsee, The Lieberman Villa: the house of the painter Max Liberman is a lovely destination.

7)   Food-- In Berlin I usually eat Vietnamese food, which I hardly get in Israel: Pho, Summer Roll, and Banh.  Vietnamese  restaurants are usually very good, they are everywhere and are  inexpensive.   I also recommend the pizza and the atmosphere at 12 Apostel, there are two locations in the east and in the west, they have a lunch special.

Bon Voyage!

In the photo a sculpture by Kathe Kollwitz