Spotlight - 10.2019

(coco) #1

74 Spotlight 10/2019 FEEDBACK


Dear Spotlight team
In the June issue of Spotlight, I was con-
fused by something in the vocabulary
section. For the present simple, Anna
Hochsieder gives the following example:
“I usually clean the house on Saturday
and meet friends on Sunday.” I learned
that one has to say, e.g., “on Saturdays” to
express samstags, whereas “on Saturday”
means am Samstag.
So in my opinion, “on Saturdays”, and,
respectively, “on Sundays”, would be the
right choice in this sentence and context.
Could you address this question,
please? Best wishes
Katja Pomp, by e-mail

Dear Ms Pomp
Thank you very much for your observant
question. English is often far more flex-
ible and varied than one might expect
from the material presented in a class-
room setting or in a coursebook. What
you are pointing out is a perfect example.
If you take “on Saturday” and “on Sat-
urdays” out of context, yes, most native

speakers of English would agree with
what you have written: “on Saturdays”
is used to mean samstags. However, one
has to look at the context of this specific
sentence. It has an important “indicator
word”: “usually”. That and the chosen
tense (simple present) clearly define the
meaning of the sentence: you immedi-
ately get the sense that the action being
taken is happening over multiple Satur-
days and Sundays. Therefore, you do not
have to make those days plural. The na-
tive speakers I have asked — and I have
consulted all of our editorial team on this
— have said that both options are correct.
Best regards
Petra Daniell, language editor

Hello, Spotlight
I just want to tell you that I enjoy your
amusing articles so very much. Please
keep it up! I’m just looking forward to
reading your next article about English
and German words. Best wishes
Brigitte Wagner, by e-mail

Dear Ms Wagner
Thank you so much for the kind feedback
about the “...and then I went to...” series
of articles by Dagmar Taylor. We will be
certain to pass along the praise to her
when she visits our editorial offices this
week. Also: please look out for Dagmar’s
upcoming book, a compilation of her fine
essays, entitled ...and then I stepped in the
Fettnäpfchen. To order a copy, please go to
http://www.spotlight-online.de/fettnaepfchen
Best regards
Inez Sharp, editor-in-chief

Many of us are familiar with the word
“singleton” from Bridget Jones’s Diary star-
ring Renée Zellweger (who plays a fasci-
nating role in the recent Netflix thriller
What/If). In the hit film from 2001, Bridget
goes to great lengths to find a life partner.
The Economist reports that Singapore wish-
es its singletons would do the same.
The island nation has one of the lowest
fertility rates in the world. A recent survey
shows that married couples want more
kids, but fear the high cost. Many single-
tons don’t date for fear that any ensuing
commitment could damage their careers.
The government hopes to make parent-
hood more attractive with better housing
benefits. Right now, though, the average
woman in Singapore has 1.14 children.
The high rate of immigration does much to
keep the population (four million) stable.

Example:

“...a survey [in Singapore] finds that 83% of
young singletons intend to get married.”
— from The Economist

An informal word meaning “single
person or thing”.
MEDIUM

singleton


FEEDBACK


WORDPLAY


by Claudine Weber-Hof

ensuing [In(sju:IN]
, darauf folgend
fertility [f§:(tIlEti]
, Fruchtbarkeits-; hier:
Geburten-
lengths: go to great ~
[leNTs]
, sich sehr bemühen

housing benefits
[(haUzIN )benIfIts]
, Wohngeld
parenthood
[(peErEnthUd]
, Elternschaft
star [stA:]
, eine Hauptrolle spielen
Free download pdf