by liberal japonicus
Hartmut can correct that German, I hope, but this Guardian story about genetically manipulated cats that glow in the dark had me singing 'Shine little glowpuss, glimmer, glimmer', which led me to the wikipedia entry for that song, which is originally from the German operetta Lysistrata by Paul Lincke.
The Mills Brothers made "Glow-Worm" a hit in 1952. For the sake of extending the post: Among the other tidbits I looked up about them, the Mills Brothers were the first African-American act to have their own radio show on a major network (CBS, in the early 1930s), and had both the nous and the popular capital to pick and choose the songs of the day that showcased their range and sound to best effect. They performed for the British royals, were popular in South America and Australia, and survived into the rock 'n' roll era.
One thing that would make an interesting post in itself was the number of popular songs in America based on European, more often than not Jewish, sources that were popularized by black artists over a number of genres in the pre-rock 'n' roll era.
Posted by: sekaijin | September 12, 2011 at 12:48 AM
Almost correct, just the a should be an ä.
Die Katze, das Kätzchen. All diminutive forms in German are neuter. As a result girls (Mädchen*) have no sex (OK gender) ;-)
*which formally also means 'little maggot'
Posted by: Hartmut | September 12, 2011 at 04:22 AM
Up until this very moment I had suspected that young German women were not considered female until married.
Amateur linguistics; dangerous when taken seriously.
Posted by: Slartibartfast | September 12, 2011 at 08:03 AM
Well, given that the traditional word for 'married woman' is 'Weib', which is also a neuter, there is no change from pre-martial to married status ;-)
Also traditional is 'Fräulein' for adult but not married women. Also a diminutive and therefore a neuter.
Does Mrs.Smith miss anything, Ms.?
Posted by: Hartmut | September 12, 2011 at 01:56 PM
Children in general are sexless over here: Das Kind.
A special case is Der Mensch (the human being). If the male article is replaced by the neutral (Das Mensch), it turns into an insult for women.
An old joke says that the moon is male in German because women are not supposed to walk around outside alone at night.
Posted by: Hartmut | September 12, 2011 at 02:02 PM