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mc32

People will leave them alone, as long as they're not filled with jelly.

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hahahaha

For those not in the know, JFK immortalized the pastry from Berlin in his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.

"Ich bin Berliner" -> I'm a citizen of Berlin

"Ich bin ein Berliner" -> I'm a jelly donut.

Interesting. I have heard about this famous speech many times but I have never made the connection to the pastry "Berliner" (or heard anyone mention this association).

Also, as a native German speaker, saying "Ich bin ein Berliner" is not unusual if you are talking about being a citizen of Berlin.

I don't think that was a common association at the time as well. Especially since (pastry) "Berliners" are not called "Berliners" in Berlin but "Pfannkuchen" instead.

It's just an urban legend. Most people don't speak German so you can tell them anything you want :-).

Speaking of which, good thing Kennedy never visited Hamburg.

Well, you're in luck, he did visit Frankfurt.

And Wien... (Vienna)

Oh, if he’d only made it to Denmark, it’d be deliciously confusing.

I suppose that raises the question, if people from Berlin do indeed call themselves Berliners - do people from Hamburg call themselves Hamburgers? (genuine question)

Yes.

Compare "Danish" as an American term for a Viennese pastry, "he's Danish" doesn't sound odd.

We don't generally abbreviate foods named after places, but:

"Cheddar is 200 miles from both Sandwich and Stilton."

These are all places in England.

I don't see why not. Hamburger means "of Hamburg". If you're thinking about the food item, it isn't a funny coincidence or anything, its name is derived from Hamburg.

I'm not German nor a linguist, YMMV.

Yes. Hence also the names Frankfurter and Wiener (Wien is Vienna, in German).

Or Frankfurt!

Berliner and Pfannkuchen are very different pastries (at least in the Northwest of Germany). Pfannkuchen literally implies it is made in a pan, whereas a Berliner is typically deep fried. It often has a fruit jelly filling, but you will also find those without a filling.

I agree that no native speaker would think of the pastry when hearing "Ich bin ein Berliner." Just like I wouldn't think of a sausage if someone were to say "Ich bin ein Frankfurter."

> There is a widespread misconception that Kennedy accidentally said a malapropism that he was a Berliner, a German doughnut specialty. This is an urban legend which emerged several decades after the speech, and it is not true that residents of Berlin in 1963 would have mainly understood the word "Berliner" to refer to a jelly doughnut or that the audience laughed at Kennedy's use of this expression.[2]

Especially because in Berlin they are known as "Krapfen" and not as Berliner.

Buying a Berliner in Germany can be very challenging if you travel a lot. There are so many words for it depending on the region. At least: "Berliner", "Krapfen", "Pfannkuchen", "Kräppel", "Küchli" and probably others I don't know..

Try buying a hogie, sub, hero, Italian, grinder, wedge, or spuckie in the US.

For all its faults, we can thank Subway for partially solving this problem.

Wedge will get you a salad most places in the us. Hero might get you a gyro or ask for clarification. Grinders seem specities in much of the us.

A 'hero' is just a gyro with bastardized spelling.

I have seen Heroes that are much more like hoagies and I am seeing Heroes like the Greek rap depending on where you are in the countrymy point overall is there doesn't seem to be definitive things or just a lot of regional uses and spellings of these differentfood types by region so if you're cleaning that there's only one it probably means you haven't traveled enough

The terms are unrelated [a sandwich named hero predates the appearance of the Greek item]; though they may sound the same depending on how they are pronounced. A hero is just a submarine sandwich by another name. A gyro is a pita-wrap --mostly pronounced like the 'gyro' in gyroscope but also like /yirou/ or /hirou/

Ich bin ein Hoagie

Spuckie?

Apparently from spucadella, an italian-american word for a type of bread.

I've never heard anyone use it myself, but then I've never tried to order the sandwich otherwise known as a sub in the parts of the country where that name is used.

Weird, I always have seen them in my nearest Rewe advertised as “Berliner”. Never thought it was a problem in other stores.

Has anyone made a map, like they do for eg soda/pop in the US?

Pfannkuchen in Berlin not Krapfen, I think?

That's what someone who grew up in Berlin would probably say, but the city being what it is it genuinely depends on which shop you're standing in. I've seen it every which way.

I've seen them sold here in Berlin under the names "Pfannkuchen" (not to be confused with pancakes), "Krapfen" (not as rude as it sounds in English), "Amerikaner" (not to be confused with an oversized iced soft cookie), and "Berliner" (not to be confused with the alcohol).

Sometimes they're even sold as "Donut".

Yes, Pfannkuchen is the name used in Berlin.

Indeed, Pfannkuchen in Berlin

This isn't true.[0] The difference between "Ich bin Berliner" and "Ich bin ein Berliner" is that the former says that you literally are from/living in Berlin, and the latter means you are figuratively speaking as like a Berliner. "Ich bin Clown" means that your job is to entertain people with face-paint on, whereas "Ich bin ein Clown" means that you sometimes behave clownishly.[1]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#%22I_am_a...

[1] https://language.mki.wisc.edu/essays/ich-bin-ein-berliner/

The source [1] is misleading to the point of being wrong. It is perfectly valid German to say "Ich bin ein Student" meaning that one is indeed a student. "Ich bin Clown" is not grammatical at all.

It's funny how (presumably) native speakers make judgments about their own language.

Of course you can say "Ich bin Clown" just as you can say "Ich bin Kaminfeger" or "Ich bin Physiotherapeut"

Actually, the traditional stuffed donut-shaped fried pastry without hole is called pancake (Pfannkuchen) in Berlin whereas at other places of Germany a Pfannkuchen is the sweet soufflé-like thing you make yourself in the pan called Eierkuchen in Berlin and elsewhere. Just saying, as native Berliners won't understand or take orders for "Berliners".

Edit: what chiki said

OP here.

FWIW, I'm not a native speaker but I did study German in high school and college, and used my moderate proficiency extensively while traveling in Germany (including Berlin in 1990), and Austria, and living in Prague. I've laughed with native Germans about the JFK speech (which story was first related to me by my hs German teacher), and regardless of its provenance / veracity, it makes for an interesting discussion. :)

There's also a European liquor, bright blue in color, aptly named "Blau" (which word, "blau", is slang for drunk or intoxicated).

As for varieties of sausage, "wieners" (Wien/Vienna), and Frankfurters (Frankfurt) were referred to as "hot dogs" by Parisian college students jokingly(?) describing their mysterious ingredients... (citation needed, but I did read that in a seemingly-reputable magazine.)

Can you not propagate urban legends please.

Dit heest Pfannkuchen

Du liegst falsch.

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