WHOSE

LANGUAGE

IS IT,

ANYWAY?

Anette Schroeder-Rossell

Different categories:

• Words shared by several languages

• Foreign words borrowed by a language

• Words lent to another language

• Word creations that sound like a word from another language but are in fact not used there or not used in the same way.

Standard German

Old High German

Neder-landske

Afrikaans Old Saxon Old English English Germanic

Vater fater vader vader fadar fæder father *fađer

Mutter muoter moeder moeder modar modor mother *mōđer

Bruder bruoder broeder broer brođar brođor brother *brōþer

Schwester swester zuster suster swestar sweostor sister *swester

Tochter tohter dochter dogter dohtar dohtar daughter *duχter

Sohn sunu zoon seun sunu sunu son *sunuz

ONE “URSPRACHE”?

Finnish kuningas rengas

Germanic *kuningaz *hrengaz

German König Ring

“LEHNWÖRTER”

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION

A PURE LANGUAGE?

Hans Jakob Christoffel

Von Grimmelshausen

(1622 -1676)

• Abbreviiren

• Activ• Aparat

• Barometer• Beatificati

on• Bedlamit

→ abkürzen→ thätig→ eine Sammlung

von Werkzeugen→ Wetterglas→ Seeligsprechung → Tollhäusler

(Bedlam)

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz(1646 -1716)

Jacob Grimm (1785-1863)Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859)

Bad BankExzellenzclusterFlatratepartyNacktscannerNo-go-AreaIt-Girltwitternbloggern

GERMAN GRAMMAR?

• Das Handy (n), die Handys (pl.)

• Googeln: Ich habe gegoogelt!

• Ich surfe wir surfen• Du surfst ihr surft• Er/sie/es surft sie surfen

Do you mind the use of Anglicisms in the German Language?

•Bratwurst (sometimes abbrev. brat), type of sausage

•Kirshwasser, spirit drink made from cherries

•Pretzel (Standard German spelling: Brezel), flour and yeast based pastry

•Rucksack (more commonly called a backpack in U.S. English)

•Dachshund, literally badger dog; a dog breed (usually referred to as Dackel in German usage)

•Doppelgänger, literally double-goer, also spelled in English as doppelganger; a double or look-alike. However, in English the connotation is that of a ghostly apparition of a duplicate living person.

•Schadenfreude, joy from pain (literally harm joy); delight at the misfortune of others

•Wanderlust, the yearning to travel

Grammy Awards: Funny how the comedy category has changedDeborah Vankin 11:52 a.m. CST, February 9, 2012

The comedy category at the Grammys is a funny thing…In a flash-and-pop show that's all about music, the comedy category has always been something of a square peg. But in the 1960s and 1970s, a heyday for comedy albums, the category was particularly reflective of the zeitgeist.

GERMAN LANGUAGE POLICY

• Opinions differ widely about how the German language should be regulated. Some ideas:

• Germany needs a language promotion policy

• The German language as a cultural asset should be included in the German constitution

• Recent opposition to “Denglisch” in the German media

• A quota for German language music on the radio

Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache

Verein Deutsche Sprache e. V.

Stiftung Deutsche Sprache