232 CultureShock! Austria
number 20. For example, 21 is read as ‘one and twenty’ or
einundzwanzig. When writing a number, it is always good
practice to leave plenty of space and start writing the number
backwards as it is read off.
The next challenge is to tell the time. If it is 8:30, the time
is read as halb neun and sometimes written as ½ 9. If it is
8:15, it will be read as viertel neun and sometimes written
as ¼ 9. Take note that Austrians may also write or say the
time using the 24-hour clock.A COMMENT FROM MARK TWAIN
Mark Twain, the famous American writer and satirist, felt
very strongly about the German language. This is what
he wrote:
‘Surely there is not another language that is so slipshod
and systemless, and so slippery and elusive to the grasp. One
is washed about in it, hither and thither, in the most helpless
way; and when at last he thinks he has captured a rule which
offers firm ground to take a rest on amid the general rage
and turmoil of the ten parts of speech, he turns over the page
and reads, ‘Let the pupil make careful note of the following
exceptions.’ ... There are ten parts of speech, and they are all
troublesome. An average sentence, in a German newspaper,A little knowledge of German will help you fi nd your way around a number
of cultural venues where no translations are offered.