THE LETTERMEISTER

Sprechen Sie Buttafuoco? That's the hope of the German satellite and cable network Premiere, which began airing undubbed, unsubtitled, day-old episodes of Late Show With David Letterman on Jan. 3. If references to President Clinton's ordering Belgian waffles ''over there in Europe'' seem a bit disorienting to Late Show's new fans, Dave has at least thrown in a few German words. When guest Sandra Bernhard uttered a profanity, he ad-libbed, ''What a coincidence-the first night we're on in Germany you start talking about their old fighter plane, the Fokker.'' Germany is the first European country to receive Dave (his show can also be seen in Canada, Mexico, and Australia), though late-night talk shows aren't new to the Continent. Premiere broadcast Johnny Carson's final Tonight Shows in 1992, and the NBC Super Channel beams Jay Leno to 56 million Europeans (Letterman reaches 19 million on Premiere). Deutschland even has its own self-proclaimed ''German Johnny Carson,'' Thomas Gottschalk, whose Late Night Show airs at 11:15 p.m., 50 minutes earlier than Dave. Gottschalk may decide to end his show in April-possibly due to the new import. ''Letterman is considerably wittier,'' says Andrea Rink, 32, deputy editor of the hip Hamburg mag MAX. ''He's not afraid of making jokes at the guests' expense.'' ''It's completely different from a German talk show,'' adds Frankfurt adman Heimar Schroter, 42. ''The language is quick, brassy, smart. And Americans are less apprehensive about making sex-related jokes on TV.'' Danke schon, Dave.