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MfG - an explanation of the German abbreviations Includes sound files!

Below is a list of the abbreviations used in the "MfG" rap, which have been provided in the order that they appear in the song. After you have tried to work them out, click on the abbreviations on the left of the page to surf to an appropriate website.

Click here to listen to the soundsClick here or on the sound icon on the left of this paragraph to watch the promotional video for the track, which is hosted on the website of Fanta 4 band member Smudo. The lyrics for the song appear below. Once you are confident that you can sing all the abbreviations accurately and in time with the music, click here for an instrumental version of the track that Smudo has put on his site for you to rap over.

First verse
ARD - Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Öffentlich-Rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten Deutschlands
(Germany's first public broadcasting network)

ZDF - Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen
(Germany's second television channel)

C&A - Clemens & August
(The clothes store C&A, in full Clemens & August)

BRD - Bundesrepublik Deutschland
(Federal Republic of Germany)

DDR - Deutsche Demokratische Republik
(The former German Democratic Republic (GDR))

USA - United States of America
(Or in German: Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika)

BSE - Bovine Spongiforme Encephalopathie
(Mad cow disease)

HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(Human Immunodeficiency Virus)

DRK - Deutsches Rotes Kreuz
(The German Red Cross)

GbR - Gesellschaft des Bürgerlichen Rechts
(Form of private company under German law)

GmbH - Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung
(A limited company)

Ihr könnt mich mal - Ihr könnt mich mal
(You can go to hell!)

THX - Tomlinson Holman's Experiments
(Quality standard for cinema sound)

VHS - Video Home Systems
(Video tape standard)

FSK - Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle
(Voluntary self-regulation of the German film industry. Also the name of a German band.)

RAF - Rote Armee Fraktion
(Red Army Fraction (German left-wing terror organisation))

LSD - Lysergsäurediethylamid
(The hallucinogenic drug LSD)

FKK - Freikörperkultur
(Naturism)

DVU - Deutsche Volksunion
(Extreme right-wing German political party)

AKW - Atomkraftwerk
(Nuclear power station)

KKK - Ku Klux Klan
(Ku Klux Klan)

RHP - Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt
(Frankfurt rap project)

USW - Und so weiter
(Et cetera, etc.)

LMAA - Leck mich am Arsch
(You can kiss my...!)

PLZ - Postleitzahl
(Postcode. Germany's postcodes have five figures.)

UPS - United Parcels Services
(Parcel delivery company)

DPD - Deutscher Paketdienst
(Another parcel delivery company. As of 1. January 2008 DPD as been renamed "Dynamic Parcel Distribution")

BMX - Bicycle Motocross
(BMX bicycles)

BPM - Beats per minute
(All DJs need to know the speed of a record)

XTC - Ecstasy
(Designer amphetamine drug)

EMI - Electrical and Music Industries
(The music publishers behind the "Fantastischen Vier")

CBS - Columbia Broadcasting System
(Record label behind the "Fantatischen Vier")

BMG - Bertelsmann Music Group
(German-based record company)

ADAC - Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club
(German equivalent of the RAC or AA)

DLRG - Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft
(German Lifesavers Society)

Ojemine - Oh Jesus domine!
(Oh our Lord Jesus!)

EKZ -Einkaufszentrum
(Shopping centre)

RTL - Radio Television Luxemburg
(German broadcasting company)

DFB - Deutscher Fussball-Bund
(German Football Association)

ABS - Antiblockiersystem
(Anti-lock braking system)

TÜV - Technischer Überwachungs-Verein
(German organisations that test product safety. Best known for regulating the MOT system for cars.)

BMW - Bayerische Motorenwerke
(The motor manfuacturers BMW)

KMH - Kilometer pro Stunde (Km/h)
(Kilometres per hour)

ICE - InterCity Express
(Flagship train of the German railway company "Deutsche Bahn")

Eschede - Eschede
(Town in Lower Saxony in Germany where an ICE train crashed in June 1998)

PVC - Polyvinyl-Chlorid
(The man-made material polyvinylchloride)

FCKW - Fluorchlorkohlenwasserstoffe
(Fluorohydrocarbons (= cause of greenhouse gas))

Is' nich' OK - Is(t) nich(t) OK
(...is not OK)


Refrain and song title
MfG - Mit freundlichen Grüßen
("With best wishes". This is the standard way of closing a German business letter.)


Second verse
HNO - Hals Nasen Ohren
(Throat, nose and ears (= area of medicine). Also the name of a Swiss rap group! In English, it's the other way round - ear, nose and throat)

EKG - Elektrokardiogramm
(Electrocardiogram)

AOK - Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse
(German health insurance company)

LBS - Landesbausparkasse
(German building society)

WKD - Wirtschaftskontrolldienst
(Police department in Baden-Württemberg which monitored food provision and food hygiene. The department was dissolved in January 2005.)

IHK - Industrie- und Handelskammer
(German Chambers of Commerce)

UKW - Ultrakurzwelle
(VHF, the radio frequency range from 30 to 300 Mhz. Also the name of a music group from the Neue Deutsche Welle (see below))

NDW - Neue Deutsche Welle
(German New Wave. Pop movement of the 1980's)

Hubert Kah - Hubert Kah
(Popstar of the German New Wave)

BTM - Betäubungsmittel
(Anaesthetics)

BKA - Bundeskriminalamt
(Federal Criminal Police Office based in Wiesbaden)

Hahaha - Ha ha ha
(The universal sound of laughter.)

LTU - Lufttransport-Unternehmen GmbH
(International airline)

TNT - Trinitrotoluol
(Trinitrotoluene. High explosives)

IRA - Irish Republican Army
(Irish paramilitary organisation)

N-TV - N-TV
(24-hour German news channel)

THW - Technisches Hilfswerk
(Federal Agency for Technical Relief)

DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
(German news agency)

H&M - Hennes & Mauritz
(German clothing chain)

BSB - Backstreet Boys
(American boy-band)

FDH - Friss die Hälfte
("Eat half of it". An unscientific means of losing weight)

SOS - Save our souls
("Help" in morse code)

110 - The telephone number 110
(Emergency telephone number in Germany)

tatütata - tatütata
(Dingalingaling! This is the warning siren sound made by fire-engines, ambulances etc.)

SED - Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands
(The ruling political party in the former GDR)

FDJ - Freie Deutsche Jugend
("Free German Youth" - GDR youth organisation)

KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens
(Europe's biggest department store, situated in Berlin)

FAZ - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(German daily newspaper based in Frankfurt)

BWL - Betriebswirtschaftslehre
(Business management studies)

FDP - Freie Demokratische Partei
(German liberal party)

EDP - Elektronische Datenverarbeitung
(Electronic data processing)

IBM - International Business Machines
(Computer manufacturers)

WWW - World Wide Web
(The internet)

HSV - Hamburger SV
(North German football club)

VfB - VfB Stuttgart
(The German football league champions in 2006/07. VfB stands for Verein für Bewegungsspiele)

Oleole - Oleole
("Olé! Olé!". A football terrace chant)

ABC - ABC
(1980s British pop group fronted by Martin Fry.)

DAF - Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft
(Düsseldorf pop group. The name translates as "German-American friendship".)

OMD - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
(A 1980s electropop group who enjoyed great popularity in Germany)

TM3 - TM3
(A German TV station that was targeted at women. It changed its name in 2001 to 9Live.)

A&O - A&O
(Supermarket chain from the 1970's.)

AEG - Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (also:"Aus Erfahrung gut")
(Manufacturers of household appliances)

TUI - Touristik Union International
(German travel company)

UVA - UVA
(Ultraviolet light rays in the range 400-320nm)

UVB - UVB
(Ultraviolet light rays in the range 320-290nm)

THC - Tetrahydrocannabinol
(The active substance found in hemp, and used for cannabis and hashish)

OCB - Odet Cascadec Bolloré
(Manufacturer of cigarette papers made of hemp)

Is' was ich dreh' - Is(t) was ich dreh(e)
(THC in OCB)... is the cigarette that I roll)




Web links  Alphabet and Pronunciation Exercises  Web links

  Alphabet exercises
Spelling your name Listen to some German names being spelled and see if you can write them down.
German abbreviations Read out some German abbreviations and then hear how they should sound.
MFG - mit freundlichen Grüßen Watch a video for a German rap video made up of abbrevations and then sing along to the instrumental!
 
  Pronunciation exercises
Anglicized German words How to pronounce German words that have made their way into the English language.
Similar words in English and German These words in this exercise may look familiar to us, but are spoken very differently in German.
Anglicized German names How should the names of these famous people from the German-speaking countries actually be pronounced?
German names for cities How do native German speakers refer to the following towns and cities?
German tongue-twisters Listen to and then try to repeat a collection of German tongue-twisters.



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