Sunday, June 1, 2014

German "oder" = "and"


Last year, I wrote about how the Germans (mis?)use their word for "or" to mean "and." Not everyone was convinced; see the comments below these articles.

Today, I present clear evidence – a sentence from German television (the nightly news, in fact) that must've been rehearsed, had definitely been edited, was probably read off a prompter, and drew no German's attention:

"Wenn Sie oder ich das Handy der Kanzlerin abhören, dann begehen wir gemeinsam eine Straftat." (If you or I spy on the Chancellor's cell phone, we commit a crime together.)

This sentence makes no sense with the word "or"; it only works with "and." I rest my case.