Are you intimidated by the thought of learning another language? Think again! You might know more "German" than you think!

Your ability to read some "German" has little to do with the fact that I used to teach German. (In fact, I taught a grammar class as a substitute at the University of South Alabama just a couple of years ago.) No, your ability to understand some German is actually because of what the Germans call "Denglisch" a mix of German and English. Just take a look at the ad on the right for German mobile phone provider Vodafone. You can click on the image to see a full-size image of the ad. I bet that you will immediately recognize about 10 or 11 words on the page – even though you might not know any German words other than "danke" and "Bier". Some people here are upset about the use of "Denglisch" and criticize large companies that choose to use English words instead of German words that mean exactly the same thing. Despite the occasional protest, the trend will continue. Maybe I can just preach here in English in a few years!