This morning, as I made my cup of Murchie's Prince Charles Blend tea, I thought about the famous "Bonnie Prince Charlie" of history and wondered, what other famous figures from history had nicknames that would never translate.

I mean, did the Italians have a "Neat-o Prince Vito"?

By the afternoon, this had bugged me to the point that I needed to settle the "Ich bin EIN Berliner" debate once and for all. I mean, was JFK a Jelly Donut or not?

This was a sensitive subject for some Berliners. Many Berliners really have a soft spot for Kennedy for what they see as firmly defending them from Soviet annexation, so they are bound to be forgiving.

Here is a synposis:

A common urban legend asserts that Kennedy made an embarrassing grammatical error by saying "Ich bin ein Berliner," referring to himself not as a citizen of Berlin, but as a common pastry.

The legend stems from a play on words with Berliner, the name given to a doughnut variant filled with jam or plum sauce that is thought to have originated in Berlin. While this "jelly doughnut" is indeed common to Berlin, it is only known as Pfannkuchen (pan cake) in the city and nearby regions. Other parts of Germany picked up the pastry under the name of Berliner Pfannkuchen, shortened to Berliner.

According to the legend, Kennedy should have said "Ich bin Berliner" to mean "I am a person from Berlin." By adding the indefinite article ein, it is claimed, his statement implied he was a non-human Berliner, thus "I am a jelly doughnut." In the legend, the statement was followed by uproarious laughter. Those retelling the legend will often claim to know someone who knows a German who misunderstood the statement due to its grammatical error.

When you start splitting grammatical hairs, however, the story doesn't quite as good. As a German speaker myself, I know you do not say "Ich bin EIN anything" when you are referring to yourself, but apparently you can say "Ich bin ein Brandenburger" or 'Ich bin ein Arzt". Indefinite articles can be used from emphasis. For example to say "Er ist ein Schauspieler", means not so much that someone is an actor by trade, but that they are acting like they are an actor.

Here is a German teacher' s take on it.

Now one Berliner I talked to about this had a story along the lines of: Kennedy's quote has been truncated. He really sadi something like "Ich bin ein Berliner Staatsburger" or something like that, which makes more sense, but the historical record has cut him short to poke fun. This appears to be untrue. Full speech.

Footnote: One thing I disagree strongly with is that Berliner Pfannekuchen are not called "Berliners" in Berlin. They are. Berliners joke about "warme Berliner" being homosexual Berliners, rather than freshly baked pastries. My advice to you: don't declare "Ich bin warm" when you really mean temperature rather than orientation.