Explanation: Germans used to (apparently only in my bubble) call cellphones “Handy” and many people still do that. My friends from america found that quite hilarious.

        • klingelstreich@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          I also do that but I think „Handy“ is still the most common term. When there is any need for clarification for what you mean by „phone“, „handy“ will clear it up for everyone.

          • GigglyBobble@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            Definitely still the most widely used word. I guess it is changing because the younger generations speak better English in general and prefer using correct words.

          • Netto Hikari@social.fossware.spaceOP
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            1 year ago

            I feel that mostly older folks still use the term? Maybe it’s just my friends and I. Ever since I realized what it means in english-speaking countries, I stopped saying it.

            Maybe, I’m wrong. But again, I rarely hear the term “Handy” any more.

            • Lumidaub@feddit.de
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              1 year ago

              Ever since I realized what it means in english-speaking countries, I stopped saying it.

              Why? Why would it matter what a word means if interpreted via another language? I mean, you go ahead and do what you want, I don’t care, but I’d like to understand the reasoning behind that.

              • Netto Hikari@social.fossware.spaceOP
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                1 year ago

                Because I use english during most of the day. Many of my friends are from abroad and only speak english. I consume a lot of content in english, etc.

                And in German, I’d even prefer Mobiltelefon over Handy. Ever since I know that “Handy” could be interpreted as “Handjob” in the US, it feels really stupid to use this word. To me, the word now feels like a “boomer invention” and even though it’s in the Duden, I don’t consider it to be correct any more. At least for my own language. There are several words in the German and English languages that fit better.

                I don’t understand why it’d be hard to understand that.

                • Lumidaub@feddit.de
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                  1 year ago

                  It’s not “hard to understand”, I was just interested in your reasons because I thought it was curious. I still don’t agree that it’s a big deal - I also consume mostly English-language media and most of my communication online is in English but I’m still typing this on my Handybildschirm. But you do you.

                  Sent from my Handy.

                • marron12@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  FWIW, “handy” in the sense of “handjob” isn’t that common (U.S., over 25). I mostly hear it and use it in the sense of “useful, good to have or know.” That’s pretty handy, that could come in handy.

                  Plus, I can’t imagine I would ever interpret Handy as a handjob if you pronounced it the German way (Hendy). I would just go “huh” because that doesn’t register as a word in English. I’ve been told that the vowels in the German Handy and the English handy sound really similar to native German speakers. But as a native English speaker, they’re worlds apart.

                  Not trying to change your mind or anything. Just thought I’d give you a different perspective.

        • geissi@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          phone

          You mean, your German peers literally use the English word ‘phone’ or do they say ‘Telefon’?

      • shortwizard
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        1 year ago

        would you use the german equivalent of the work handy or the actual english word handy? and if so whats that word, could you use it in a sentence lol

      • Johanno@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Well you have basically three options in my bubble.

        1. Handy

        2. Wischkästla (translates roughly to swipe box)

        3. Mobiltelefon (mobile phone) this one needs to be pronounced very precisely in order to get the sarkasm of using the old correct German word.

      • Holzkohlen@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Weird. Everyone I know calls it Handy. I do not think that is ever going to change.

        • Netto Hikari@social.fossware.spaceOP
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          1 year ago

          Maybe. Again, most people (except old people) in my friends circle has stopped calling it like that. Why? I don’t know. But I definitely noticed it.

      • sci@feddit.nl
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        1 year ago

        The term ‘Handy’ for mobile phones started to become common around 1992. There are various different theories about the origin of the term but none of them has been conclusively proven.

        1. In WW2 Motorola produced a Handie-Talkie (SCR-536) that could actually be hold in your hand (the famous Walkie-Talkie was strapped to your back). There have been plenty of successors with the same name but researchers doubt that this was really that widely known at the beginning of the 90s. Yet, one of the first GSM phones by Loewe was subsequently named HandyTel 100.

        2. German-speaking CB radio circles used the term already before 1992 for hand-held transceivers. There are actually magazines and other things from as early as 1986 where the term is used.

        It must have spilled over from these circles to maybe a marketing department (Telekom claims it was theirs, without prove though) to public consciousness.

  • dabnpits@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My parents recently got a hummingbird feeder and my dad was bragging about how many “Hummers” he was getting in the yard.

        • Netto Hikari@social.fossware.spaceOP
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          1 year ago

          I have a bro in the US @Zengen@social.fossware.space. He visited me a couple times in Germany (even for my wedding) and I visited him in the US two times. Last time with my wife and my kids, in April. When we explained to his family what a Handy is in Germany, they all laughed and this is what ultimately led me to the creation of this meme.

          Also, he and I frequently make jokes about it.

  • Ddhuud@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Duolingo says it’s handy, and I have no reasons to doubt my green master

    Er… I mean teacher!

    • rob64@startrek.website
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      1 year ago

      Reminds me of my first day studying abroad in Germany and trying to ask a random guy at the train station to borrow his lighter.

      Me, miming lighting a cigarette: “Wie sagt man—” Him: “Man sagt FEUER!”

        • Netto Hikari@social.fossware.spaceOP
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          1 year ago

          I already noticed that Duolingo isn’t very good for learning languages after taking a glance at it’s Japanese course. I need to take a look at the German one, as well.

          • Hyperreality@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            It’s not that bad. The problem is that as you reach the later stages it often wants one particular (sometimes incorrect) answer, when multiple alternatives are correct or better.

            So, for example, I’m a dutch native speaker, and sailed through the duolingo course until the later stages. Then it gets pretty bad and I got bored of trying to complete it.

            Use duolingo for the basic stuff, but it’s not the same as a language course.

          • sabreW4K3@lemmy.tf
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            1 year ago

            Oh that’s interesting. Do you mind sharing why you scorn the Japanese course? It was my initial course and then I switched to German and have been doing it for a couple of years

            • Lumidaub@feddit.de
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              1 year ago

              Duolingo in general isn’t very good for learning a language. Their approach doesn’t work because what explanation there is is sparse and not in depth enough. They expect the user to recognise patterns on their own but that frequently causes people to see patterns that aren’t there and to misunderstand grammar points. It might be an okay-ish tool to practice what you already know.

              If you were successful with Duolingo, congrats, you were lucky.

              • sabreW4K3@lemmy.tf
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                1 year ago

                Duolingo leans very heavily into memory based learning. I would love to see us do away with this model, but it’s what they do in schools.

                That said, I have basic reading and writing comprehension after two years, so it’s not all bad. I still believe a toddler would best me though.