John F. Kennedy's words "
Ich bin ein Berliner" are standard German for "I am a Berliner". Mentioned in
Len Deighton's 1983 novel
Berlin Game, an
urban legend has it that due to his use of the indefinite article
ein,
Berliner is translated as "jelly doughnut", and that the population of Berlin was amused by the supposed mistake. This is incorrect, insofar as when leaving out
ein, the meaning only changes slightly (compare
I am Berliner and
I am a Berliner). The normal convention when stating a nationality or, for instance, saying one is from Berlin, would be to leave out the indefinite article
ein. Throughout the 1980s, the legend was spread even by reputable media like
The New York Times,
The Guardian,
BBC and
NBC.
However, Kennedy used the indefinite article here correctly to emphasize his relation to Berlin.
[8][9] Additionally, the word
Berliner is not used in Berlin to refer to the
Berliner Pfannkuchen. These are simply called
Pfannkuchen there
[10] and therefore no Berliner would mistake
Berliner for a doughnut.