Aus dem Haus
Unterwegs!
You’ll have to bear with me here, as I am about to undergo the 30+ hours’ travel that it takes to get to New Zealand. You see, I am paying a quick visit to family and friends on those little islands down there, and it just so happens that it is pretty much the EXACT opposite side of the world from here. Therefore, one must endure about a day and a half in a plane and in airports to get there. Never the mind, it’s always worth it to see those smiling faces at the airport.
When I described this hellish travel itinerary to an English-speaker (not in Germany), I said I would be “soooooooo long unterwegs.” Not “on the go”. Not “in the air”. Not that I would be “travelling for a long time.” Unterwegs. The German word. It just slipped in there! Do you speakers of another language find that this happens from time to time? I sure do, it’s how Deutschlisch was born. Unterwegs is just such a great word, there’s no English one like it. I guess I’ll just have to start realising that when Englischers are staring at me blankly, it’s time to get translating!
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I like being unterwegs…always.
If you point to a woman’s belly and say “Da ist etwas unterwegs” or as question “Ist da etwas unterwegs?” it means the woman is pregnant and something is on the way.
My translator says “unterwegs” means “on the way”. But this time the German is much shorter and I agree much cooler with just “unterwegs”.
By the way, I am also unterwegs…next Tuesday…similar direction…only 20 hours…to your neighbouring country.
Bon voyage and save travels!
For unterwegs when travelling, ‘on the road’ has about the same connotation. Oder?
Gute Reise!
Have a safe trip. I think that on the go would be a fitting word there, but I agree unterwegs and embedding that specific German word is a good example of how languages can be mushed up. And I’m a fan of that.
Don’t you think that languages evolve by experiments like that?
PH
Travelling is nice, so have a pleasant trip and come back safely.
You see smiling faces at the airport? Must be your family - or is NZ such a happy country? When I came back from Japan I was rather shocked about the earnest and cramped faces of my fellow German citizens. Pure culture shock.
But, yes, languages do mix easy when you realise that there are very convenient expressions in the language you are aspiring to learn. Like I use the word “natsukashii”, which means “to fell nostalgic” = “ein nostalgisches Gefühl haben”, which is a rather complicated expression. At least I cannot think of something short in German now.
I stay in Germany, but I from Singapore… Yes.. I do always have problem in communication…
http://sggeratberlin.blogspot.com/