谁拥有最复杂的语言【1】（笑话，译文）
译自德文by me，英文由gemini proofread过
Who has the most complicated language
A Frenchman, an Englishman, and a German are arguing about who has the most complicated language.
The Frenchman: "My God, it's obviously us French. We write 'Monsieur'【2】 and we say 'Musjö'."
The Englishman: "Well, we Brits lay claim to the title. We write 'Elevator' and we say 'Lift'."
The German: "That's easy, of course we Germans are the winners. We write 'Excuse me please, I didn't correctly understand your last sentence, would you be so kind as to repeat it?' and we say 'Hä?'"
谁拥有最复杂的语言
一个法国人，一个英国人和一个德国人争吵谁拥有最复杂的语言。
法国人说：“我的上帝，答案自然是我们法国人。我们写’monsieur’【2】，我们说‘musjö‘“。
英国人说：“我们英国人对此题是当之无愧的主人。我们写’elevator’, 我们说’lift’.”
德国人说：“这很容易，我们德国人当然是赢家。我们写‘打搅您了，我没听懂您的最后一句话，您能费神再重新说一遍吗？‘ 我们说’Hä?’”
【1】. p. 74. Wer hat die komplizierteste Sprache? Dr. Wagner. Learn German through Jokes Lachen und Lernen. Ernest Publications. 2025.
【2】. mister, 先生。
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参考, 由Gemini提供：
- 最长的德文字由多少字母组成：
The title of "longest German word" is a bit contested because German, as a compounding language, can theoretically create infinitely long words by stringing together nouns. However, there are a few notable candidates that are frequently cited.
- Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (63 letters): This word, which means "beef labeling supervision duties delegation law," was officially the longest word used in a German law. While the law itself was repealed in 2013, the word remains a popular example.
- Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft (79 letters): This is another famous, though more of a novelty, word. It translates to "Association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services." It's less of a word in common use and more a demonstration of the language's compounding capabilities.
- Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung (36 letters): This word, meaning "motor vehicle liability insurance," is often cited as the longest word in everyday use and is officially recognized in the Duden German dictionary.
The reason German words can be so long is due to the principle of compounding, where multiple nouns are combined to form a single, more specific noun. This is why many of the longest words are found in legal, technical, or bureaucratic contexts.
- 德语是最复杂的语言吗：
No, German is not generally considered the most complicated or difficult language to learn, especially for native English speakers. While it has a reputation for being challenging, particularly due to its grammar, many other languages are widely regarded as being more difficult.
Here's a breakdown of why German is often considered tricky and why other languages are ranked as more complex:
Why German is Challenging (Especially for English Speakers)
- Grammatical Cases: This is often cited as the biggest hurdle. German has four grammatical cases (nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive) that change the form of nouns, articles, and adjectives depending on their function in a sentence. This is very different from English, which has largely lost its case system.
- Noun Genders: German has three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and the gender of a noun is not always intuitive. For example, Mädchen (girl) is neuter.
- Verb Placement: In some sentence structures, particularly subordinate clauses, the verb is moved to the very end of the sentence. This can be confusing for new learners.
- Long Compound Words: As we discussed, German's ability to create long compound words can be intimidating, though they are often just a combination of simpler words.
Why German is Not the Most Difficult
Despite these challenges, German has a few features that make it relatively accessible, especially for English speakers:
- Shared Roots: English and German are both Germanic languages, so they share a significant amount of vocabulary. Words like Haus (house), Freund (friend), and Wasser (water) are easily recognizable.
- Consistent Pronunciation: Unlike English, German pronunciation is very consistent. Once you learn the sounds of the letters and letter combinations, you can generally pronounce any word correctly.
- Relatively Simple Verb System: German has fewer tenses than English, and its verb conjugation is more consistent than in many other languages, such as Romance languages like Spanish or French.
The Most Difficult Languages (for English Speakers)
Organizations like the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI) rank languages based on the time it takes for a native English speaker to reach proficiency. German is typically in Category II, meaning it takes about 30 weeks or 750 hours of study.
The languages at the top of the difficulty scale (Category V), which can take over 88 weeks or 2,200 hours to learn, are:
- Mandarin and Cantonese: These are tonal languages, meaning the pitch of a word can completely change its meaning. They also use complex writing systems with thousands of characters.
- Arabic: The Arabic alphabet is very different from the Latin alphabet, and the language has sounds that are not found in English. It also has a complex grammar system and multiple dialects.
- Japanese: Japanese has three different writing systems (Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji), and its grammar and sentence structure are very different from English.
- Korean: Korean has a unique writing system (Hangul) and is considered a language isolate, meaning it's not related to other languages, which can make it hard for learners to find familiar patterns.
In conclusion, while German grammar can be a challenge, it's far from the most complicated language in the world. Its similarities to English and its consistent pronunciation make it more approachable than many of the languages found in Asia and the Middle East.
