Manfred Papst

Description

About the Book What is so special about words like «gäbig» or «gvätterle»? Why do we say «unflätig», but not «flätig»? Which blanket do we stretch towards: the one in the room or the one in the bed? What are portmanteau words? And why do our northern neighbors misunderstand us when we say we were «im Ausgang»? Manfred Papst addresses such questions in his column Zugabe, which has been appearing in the NZZ am Sonntag for 24 years. For this volume, the author has selected 99 texts that revolve around language, its stories, secrets, and challenges. With clever wit, Manfred Papst describes the curiosities of language in his short texts, encouraging laughter and amazement. Following Karl Kraus's dictum: «The closer you look at a word, the farther it looks back.» About the Author Manfred Papst, born in 1956 in Davos. After studying Sinology, German studies, art history, and history in Zurich, he worked as a teacher, proofreader, translator, and editor, and as co-editor of the prose and letters of Friedrich Glauser. As a founding member of the «NZZ am Sonntag», he was for many years its culture editor, then a permanent author. Manfred Papst has received various awards, including the Alfred Kerr Prize for Literary Criticism in 2015. Source: thurgaukultur. ch - the cultural portal for Thurgau, with dates, topics & people that give cause for discussion.