# I am the Watcher. I am your guide through this vast new twtiverse.
# 
# Usage:
#     https://watcher.sour.is/api/plain/users              View list of users and latest twt date.
#     https://watcher.sour.is/api/plain/twt                View all twts.
#     https://watcher.sour.is/api/plain/mentions?uri=:uri  View all mentions for uri.
#     https://watcher.sour.is/api/plain/conv/:hash         View all twts for a conversation subject.
# 
# Options:
#     uri     Filter to show a specific users twts.
#     offset  Start index for quey.
#     limit   Count of items to return (going back in time).
# 
# twt range = 1 5
# self = https://watcher.sour.is/conv/a6nrqza
bender
twtxt.net
View Thread
@lyse lovely! I especially like the frosted leaves ones.

Kind of on a tangent, but slightly related... do German words like "Waldspaziergang" have a name? You know, the "all-encompassing words that mean a lot" kind of words. Do you know of any site that has a comprehensive list of them? I would love to use them as richly as I can on my communication at work! :-)
lyse
lyse.isobeef.org
View Thread
@bender These are called compound nouns, or in German "zusammengesetzte Substantive". In this case, "Wald" means "forest" and "Spaziergang" is "stroll" or "walk". It basically works with any nouns. You just take two or more existing nouns and put them together. Unlike English, where you often invent completely new words, in German you just reuse what you already have. With globalization, though, English terms are often just adopted. Sometimes you need a linking "s" or "Fugen-s" as the Germans call it. E.g. in "Abfahrtszeit" (departure time). I'm sure there are rules when to put one, but I honestly have no clue, I just know when I have to use one. :-) It's the thing with mother tongue.

If compound nouns get long and hard to read, one can also put hyphens between them. "Wald-Spaziergang" would also be valid. But, I usually prefer the version without the dashes, especially if only two nouns are involved. Unfortunately, a looot of people neither use a dash nor write them together, but they place a space in between instead, just like lots of other languages, English included, do. But that's wrong, it's called a "Deppenleerzeichen" (funnily also a compound noun), literally a "fool's space".

There are a few cases where a space completely changes the meaning. My most favorite one is a advertisement for a mobile phone contract saying "Ohne Grund Gebühr". That means "Charge for no reason". What they meant instead was "Ohne Grundgebühr", "Without basic fee". :-D

Unfortunately, I do not know of any lists explaining German compound nouns, but let's see what I can dig up. :-)
lyse
lyse.isobeef.org
View Thread
@bender So here are a few introductions to compounds in the German language that you might find interesting or useful. They also list common examples. Of course we not only join nouns to make new nouns but can also combine verbs and nouns etc.

* https://www.thoughtco.com/german-compound-words-1444618 (the bullet points seem to be broken, though, don't get confused)
* https://www.thegermanprofessor.com/german-compound-nouns/
* https://www.thegermanprofessor.com/longest-words-in-german/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_nouns
* https://www.visualgerman.com/updates/german-compound-nouns
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2h4dmn/revision/7

Maybe this is also interesting:

* https://www.germanpod101.com/blog/2019/06/28/untranslatable-german-words/ (even adresses the Ohrwurm we had yesterday
* Another term the English language borrowed from German is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abseiling which I first encountered on a prohibition sign at a dam I was visiting in Australia
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_expressions_in_English*
bender
twtxt.net
View Thread
Wow, @lyse, as always you have gone above and beyond to provide plenty of information. Thank you so much! Compound nouns are amazing, and I wish more languages would adopt them. I know English has adopted some (like kindergarden, and wandernlust come to mind), but I want more!

I will sure stump co-workers with a few next year. I am going to handpick them, and use them for impact. LOL. Thanks again!
lyse
lyse.isobeef.org
View Thread
@bender Anytime mate! Let us know how that goes. :-)