Last weekend, we talked about birthdays and other situations where people congratulate someone and noticed that it’s somehow paradoxical to say… well, at least it’s the case in the German language… “Herzlichen Glueckwunsch zum Geburtstag” to that someone, because, actually, we have to congratulate his/her parents with “Herzlichen Glueckwunsch”, because THEY made it happen that this someone found his/her way to the world and not this someone him-/herself. In the same way, it’s a paradox to say “Glueckwunsch!” to someone who has won a prize in “Who is the loudest-farting person in the world?” or whatever… because, Glueck or luck, respectively (to stick to the English language), is something we wish that someone BEFORE he starts the competition/game/exam and tries to win/make it… and that someone has already had (G)lu(e)ck after he has won or made it.
It’s interesting… it just came to my mind that this is not the case when we look at the same expressions in the English language… where we would say “Happy Birthday!” (= GlueckLICHEN Geburtstag) or just “Congratulations!” and “Best wishes!”… okay, “Best wishes” is ambivalent either.
I hope I could describe this paradox reasonably… ?!
