I.E.

i.e.
Function- abbreviation
Etymology: Latin - id est
that is

‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ and sounding like ‘a’ as in neighbor and weigh. I learned that rule in grade school spelling and it has certainly helped me with spelling thru the years. But it also has me reviewing the whys and wherefores of the English language since I’ve recently started to learn German. The rules of English grammar have been dormant in the back recesses of my mind, but now I have to drag them out and try to make sense of the new language constructions. The pronunciation of ‘ei’ in German is not like ‘a’ as in neighbor and weigh, but like ‘eye’.

My interest in German started when I began to play chess on a German chess server where players from around the world meet 24/7 to play chess. I am unrated and play for fun in the beginner’s room. I enjoy the game, win, lose or draw, and have an appreciation of my opponent’s ability to maneuver his pieces around the board. Many high rated players also play in the beginner’s room. They know all the tricks and practice their skill in unrated games with peons like me.

User names and the flag of their country identity each player and a rating is listed if the player has one. Players can choose to play either rated or unrated games. The number of players often peaks at over 6000 with the common language being chess. German dominates the chat line but players who know the smiley codes often type ‘sad’ or ‘happy’ text messages, which seem universal.

I’ve kept a German to English translation page minimized behind the server screen so I could satisfy my curiosity about some of the remarks on the chat line. As my interest in the language increased, I bought a unique beginning German book by Charles Berlitz that has every sentence and dialog written three times, first in German, then in easy to read syllables that show how to pronounce it and finally in English. I also subscribed to the online BBC German course. I’ve made enough progress in the language to understand some of the words written in the chat line, but still have to use the translation web site to get the total meaning of a comment. I myself never chat or make remarks.

That is……. until now.

A high rated German player has begun a flirtation with me. He uses his first name followed by what I assume to be his age, 38. It started when he frequently challenged me to games which he consistently won. My chess playing is strictly trial and error and a win on my part is almost always by accident and tickles me no end!!! Eventually I did win a game or two and he began watching as I played other opponents.

One day he got my attention by sending me a bell tone and wanting to chat. I told him I didn’t speak German. He doesn’t speak English. He asked about my job and my age, but I ignored all his questions. Our dialogs began by his saying Hi and me replying Hi. My initial forays in German were phrases like, Gutten Tag, Gutten Abend, Danke and Bitte. I never refused to play him when he challenged me to a game but I never invited him to play. As the quality of my games improved our games lasted longer and I made him work for his wins. He was always courteous and sent smiley kisses.

That is…….

Until the day I won two games in a row. Up to this point we had played only one game on any given day. On this particular day my first win must have irritated him because he IMMEDIATELY challenged me to a second game. I happened to win the second game in short order which surprised me as much as it did him! I sent him the usual ‘thx’ for the win, but there was only silence from his end. 20 minutes later he posted a naughty word on the chat line which I knew was a reaction to his losses. I was shocked that he would let his losses cause him to react as he did. Three or four days went by before he spoke to me again.

Our greetings have been reduced to an exchange of ‘Hi’ but as of yesterday, I doubt seriously he will ever want to play chess with me again. Yesterday I won THREE games in a row from him and I haven’t stopped laughing. I think our flirtation is over. I’ll miss the bell tones, the chats and the smiley kisses.

I think if he knew I only took up chess as a diversion a couple of years ago, and that I was an old lady closer to being 86 than 85, he would really swear!!!!