Was geit's Nui's

This is the weekly parish newsletter produced and distributed by the parish council officials.

The language is that used in these parts - Allgäuerisch. Even though we are in part of Bavaria, we don't speak Bavarian but  this form of Swabian, which derives from a form of Allemannic which is one of three forms of Upper German and thus linked to Bavarian which together with other  dialects such as Yiddish and Luxembourgish form High German which as we all know is West Germanic and includes Afrikaans, Dutch and ...... wait for it ........just a moment ........ ENGLISH.

I have mentioned it before that the man employed by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities to be the editor-in-chief of the Bavarian Dictionary and thus continue the research into the languages used in Bavaria, is an Englishman, Anthony Rowley. When he was appointed in 1988 there was no objection from the Bavarians but in fact greeted by "anyone, so long as they aren't Prussian".In fact, he now has a workday slot on Bavarian TV explaining a word and it's origins.

So I guess in the thinking of dear Mr Trump we are all sh**holes and he only picked out Norway because he knew that they spoke East Germanic and therefore had no African connections.

Having Trinidad on my passport as Place of Birth has automatically given me the Sh**hole title and if he finds out that I can understand a bit of Allgäuerisch, there is no chance of even a 30-day visitor's Visa to the USA.

Why this stupidity, ignorance, prejudice, racism is tolerated from the "Leader of the Free World" is beyond belief.

Until I heard of Mr Trump's words late in the night I was going to give a lecture on Germans love of rules and how it actually makes life much easier, once you learn to live with them.

So for today, I will spare you how 2500 chickens drink the same amount of water as 1 adult horse or cow and why that is crucial for the amount you are charged for going to the toilet. In fact, this calculation has even had a drastic negative effect on the amount of motor tax I pay on my tractor.


All things that you learn about in the latest newsletter titled "What's new?" in High German. In fact the main news this week is the annual inhabitant's statistics - births, deaths, marriages, new residents, residents who have left, Catholics, Protestants and "others" and that divided up by the two villages in the parish.

The good news for the parish is that the numbers have increased last year by 104 to a total of 2,697. Brings in more tax money and helps to secure the future of the kindergarten and junior school but there is still the "Sorgenkind", the problem child, of the village supermarket which is still struggling.

More another day........ Yes, I know you can't wait but be patient, my dears.

PS The following day, Prof Rowley was on Bavarian TV as it was the 10th Anniversary of his appearance and they are in the process of choosing the Bavarian Word of the Year 2017. In the course of the conversation at 18 minutes in this video of the show, mention is made of the "Franconian" Bavarian word for Smartphone. It is "Wischkästla" translated "Wipe Box"!  Bavarian, a truly modern language.