European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                S Ito files. Luden inges is Bowski topic Lew to lavs. Mpg Raics. By Jem. All its he tier a Lis Pjaca is Naii Nai Call occasionally the two genders coincide. For example the word for father takes the masculine article  the word for Mother is preceded by the feminine article  and the Neutral article a a dash goes in front of the word Lor child. Most of the time however its anybody a guess. Mark Twain once noted that in German a turnip has sex but a Young woman does not. He was referring to a die Steck Ribic Quot and a Adas  a in general you can to predict the gender Quot Drosdowski says. A you just have to learn  not All words that enter the language have to wait so Long for an assigned article. Many of what Drosdowski Calls a loaned Quot words Are More easily equipped. For example the sports term Quot sudden death Quot has started to show up on the sports pages of German newspapers a direct steal from the american term for an extra period of play in a sporting event that ends with a lie score. Since the German term for death is Quot Tod a preceded by the masculine article a a Der a a sudden death receives the same article. Quot we always try to say How could we translate it into a German word a then we take the article of the German word a Drosdowski says. Two russian words that have become prominent across the world a a a perestroika and a a glasnost a both received the feminine article a die Quot Why a a perestroika is similar in meaning to the German word for a change Quot which is a Veran Derungs and uses the article  a a glasnost is close to the German word for a transparency a which is a  and also takes the feminine article. Eventually the words and their articles will find their Way into the newest edition of the Duden the German equivalent of America s Webster s dictionary. Quot the responsibility is very great a Drosdowski says a but we arc a great team of in quilts. And we done to do it by ourselves. Konrad Duden the Noah Webster of the German language the final on language Mil Hue in the 19th Century the i German language was a Hodge a podge of regionalism. Was the German word for bread. A Abr old or a Chr Odly was it a canal Quot or Quot Kanal Quot the answer depended on which area of Germany the speaker or writer was  a there were so Many differences that it was a problem for pupils who had to change schools or got new  says Werner Scholze Slu Ben Recht an editor with Duden Verag a publishing House in Mannheim West Germany. To the Rescue came a bearded bespectacled schoolteacher from bad a Irsfeld. A town in Central Germany. Konrad Duden in an Elloul to help his students collected words and their Spellings definitions and pronunciations. His work eventually became the Duden dictionary. Familiar to school age children in Germany since the turn of Floc Century. The Dudyn Verag which publishes the dictionary bears his name. Duden was Horn in Wesel a Rhine River town on Ian. 3. 1829. Educated in Bonn he began his leaching career tutoring the children of Rich families from 1848 to 1854. He taught in westfalen and Thi Ringen before becoming the director of the gymnasium in bad Hersheld. A school for the academically elite. Duden walked into an unruly situation. Students drank Beer lots of it. Some came to class on mondays still drunk or with terrible hangovers. They were known to sing songs with Raunchy f Ries. Quot the first thing he did was bring discipline to the school Quot says  Wright a Tom guide in bad a Irsfeld. A for bad a Irsfeld Konrad Duden was very  but it is most lasting influence was his attempt to bring some consistency and discipline to the language. His collection begun in i 880, was without regional preference. He gathered words Irum Prussia Austria and Bavaria noting their differences and developing a uniform style Tor usage. 11 is Early colled Ion eventually included nearly 30,000 words. Quot after he completed it for his own use he thought he could publish it Quot says a Clio a Slu Hon Redit. A the thought there was a need. He was right. It turned out to be a commercial  in 1901, a conference in Berlin proposed creating a Standard for the language. A they did not especially say that the Duden volume was now valid bul they did sort of Compromise Between the major Stales he says. Bul Duden was a member of the con civil e be immediately adjusted his Book to the requirements established in Berlin. Soon after the conference the seventh edition of his Book was published. "1 lie people who bought his Book bad the feeling that this was something valid Quot says Sciole stube Rechl because u was published not by the authorities bul by a private publishing House. The Duden now is As recognizable to germans As the Webster s is to americans. Noah Webster spent the first Quarter of the 1 9th Century compiling Quot an american dictionary of the English  Lake Duden he began his career As a schoolteacher but he moved away from the classroom As his reputation As an expert on the English language grew. Duden continued to work on his dictionary during his Days As director old the gymnasium m bad a Irsfeld. He retired in 1905, moving to a town near Wiesbaden. He died there in 19 1 i and is buried in bad Hersheld. Son Jensen is a stars and stripes reporter. Sunday c Page