I learned French at school, but not very well. I now wish I'd tried much harder. The school had two French teachers and one German teacher and so it all depended which form (determined by the 11+ results) you fetched up in. I sometimes wish I'd studied German as I have been to Germany much more often than to France. I might have found it hard, however, to master all those compound nouns. A few came to my notice the other day in The Times:
Verdrossenheit (a sullen frustration or disenchantment)
Verunsicherung (a feeling of insecurity)
Unbehagen (unease) – A favourite of Frau Dr Merkel
That's it: verdrossenheit. All three featured in an article about the all-pervading angst felt by ordinary Germans as many of the country's certainties unravel and net zero policies are abandoned. The pictures were of farmers driving their tractors through the heart of Berlin – blocking it more like. I read that the French farmers are off to Paris soon with their straw bales and slurry. Just in time for the Olympics. I wonder when our farmers will rise up against Defra. On the 12th of Never, I hear.
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