Today, a German guy came into the place where I work. Eager to use the German that I'd learned from my immigrant mother and her family, I started a conversation. Things were going well until the term I grew up thinking meant "Africa" turned out to be racist, translating as "Ape Land." FML
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By
StanSmith2013
| 26
Africa in Deutsch, is Afrika.
By
bach2121
| 13
Now you know your family is racist!
COMMENTS
By
xoAbiox
| 18
Wow....
By
StanSmith2013
| 26
Africa in Deutsch, is Afrika.
Reply
prinzess_fml
| 25
Affenland was not used for Africa as a whole but for the colony Germany held in West Africa (now Namibia) from 1884 to 1915. It's quite an old word actually. The only reason why it survived in OP's family is because of emigration, for sure. People back then, especially the colons themselves, called the place Affenland instead of the long official name "Südwestafrika" (just like there is Alpenland, Frankenland etc.). Nobody uses that word in Germany anymore, not even the racists.
Reply
JanisEvans
| 10
I grew up in Germany. I've never even heard the word until today.
Reply
prinzess_fml
| 25
You can find it a few times if you search: "affenland" & "südwestafrika" (don't forget the quotation marks) in Google Books.
Reply
interesting33
| 36
It might not actually be racist, it could just be because that is where people believe the monkeys/apes to come from?
Reply
TheDrifter
| 23
Since OP is learning new vocabulary to replace what his white supremacist parents taught, just as it's Afrika, not Affenland, the people are Afrikaans, and calling them Affen will get your ass whooped if they understand you.
Reply
picante72
| 24
The use of the word Affenland is outside Mein Kampford zone. Ann Frankly its very racist.
By
untouchable763
| 10
Well it could of been worse if you know what I mean.
Reply
HKCgrimmjow
| 15
Not sure I know what you mean, please explain ^_^
Reply
sens3sfailing
| 24
They mean that it could have been the holocaust, cuze, you...it was bad...
Reply
mega20913
| 8
no I think this is bad enough already
Reply
isallwaysme
| 27
He could've been black. That would've been an awkward conversation from thereon out.
By
JJ_Rokk
| 10
This is why we have Google Translate buddy.
Reply
Zomg_Okay
| 26
Google Translate just makes it more confusing.
Reply
Geometric
| 18
Google Translate is horrible. A better online translator is Free Translation.
Reply
Voij
| 16
Google Translate is not yet supposed to correctly translate sentences.
It also generally does not work well with single words, mainly because most of them have various meanings depending on context and yet Google only offers a single translation.
What you should use Google Translate for is to get a rough grasp of what it is that you're reading if you don't know the language.
For everything else you should use dictionaries, so that you can find the translation you are looking for.
It also generally does not work well with single words, mainly because most of them have various meanings depending on context and yet Google only offers a single translation.
What you should use Google Translate for is to get a rough grasp of what it is that you're reading if you don't know the language.
For everything else you should use dictionaries, so that you can find the translation you are looking for.
Reply
capslockisgood
| 19
Even if google translate worked, why would OP use it if he thought he knew how to say Africa?
By
lishajoy777
| 14
Why you gotta be racist!? Da hell!
Reply
isallwaysme
| 27
I hope this was sarcasm.
Reply
iAlissa
| 34
I thumbed that guy up because of his picture. ^
By
Incredidanny
| 5
Mistakes happen. Be glad you caught it early in your German studies.
Reply
picante72
| 24
He did Nazi that error.
By
Zebediabolical
| 37
Never heard of the AfrikaKorps?
Reply
airforce987
| 20
Unless you are a WWII historian, you probably haven't.
Reply
bimbim_fml
| 6
In Europe knowledge that such troops existed is considered general knowledge. Probably same as some civil war facts in USA.
Reply
TheDrifter
| 23
That fact is even stuck in my Canadian brain from some long ago mandatory world history class. I thought it was common knowledge most everywhere.
Reply
Zanquis
| 22
Common knowledge for the world and common knowledge for the USA are two very different things. Where some importent history facts are not that importent for the USA as it happend so far away from them. Most europeans could not tell more about the american civil war other then it was north against the south and that it had to do with slaves amongst other things.
Reply
VasilisaUzhasnaj
| 29
Honestly, most Americans could tell you just about as much.
Reply
botanistjessica
| 24
Ugh. Hate these America generalizations coming from people outside the US.
Reply
jaime1480
| 12
I live in the US and sadly they're mostly true...
Reply
little_one
| 20
I had a whole class on European history we learned a lot in that class even saw a video with footage from Auschwitz. I'm Canadian though and a lot of people from where I live (including me) have German parents or grandparents or are a different European background they still embrace. We also fought in WW1 and WW2. It's sad that the US doesn't teach it's people more about other countries (from what I've heard) maybe if they did when they travel they'd be treated better.
Reply
airforce987
| 20
Yes, I was trying to say that such information is not common knowledge in the US. I happen to know because I love studying WWII, but if I asked anyone else, they wouldn't know what it is. I didn't realize it was such common knowledge in Europe.
By
vivian_rae
| 8
So is that the term your mother's side of the family uses for Africa...?
Reply
klutz44
| 28
That is the implication
By
bach2121
| 13
Now you know your family is racist!
By
ViviMage
| 38
As long as you don't start with "der mist blahblah" insults. Ya didn't know. Ignorance is no excuse, though...
Afrika is something I knew and I speak very little German.
Afrika is something I knew and I speak very little German.