Bertrand had been working for several months as his country's trade representative on the island. One morning he received, in the mail, a hastily-printed notification from the General.

General Sweet Daddy invites you to a pancake breakfast at the Palace...Driftwood Lounge, rue 19 Novembre ... Monday 12.V.10 07:00 hrs

It's usually “cordially invites”. That's the formula. But General Sweet Daddy doesn't do that. General Sweet Daddy speaks and writes plainly. The General tells you a thing, or asks you; his verbs need no modification.

Labels: Celebrations

This incredible book Deutsches Neologismenwörterbuch (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2007) contains new German words, but an interesting thing is that each entry has its own little graph showing how many instances of the term the editors were able to find for each year, from 1995 to 2006.

For example, Brötchentaste (p. 122) is recorded only for 2003-2006 (with 378 instances), reaching its peak usage in 2004. (Brötchentaste, or “Breadroll key”, is a key on the parking meter that allows you to park for free very briefly in order to pick up a roll or bagel or something.)

Labels: Celebrations