Denglisch Dictionary When Languages Collide

As cultures intersect, their languages often collide. We see this often between English and German and the result is what many people have come to refer as Denglish.   Languages often borrow words from other languages and English has borrowed many words from German, and vice versa. Denglish is a slightly different matter. This is the mashing of words from the two languages to create new hybrid words. The purposes vary, but we see it often into todays increasingly global culture. Lets explore the meaning of Denglish and the many ways its being used. Definition While some people prefer Denglish or Denglisch, others use the word Neudeutsch. While you may think that all three words have the same meaning, they really dont. Even the term Denglisch has several different meanings. The word Denglis(c)h is not found in German dictionaries (even recent ones). Neudeutsch is vaguely defined as, die deutsche Sprache der neueren Zeit (the German language of more recent times). This means it can be difficult to come up with a good definition. Here are five different definitions for Denglisch (or Denglish): Denglisch 1: The use of English words in German, with an attempt to incorporate them into German grammar. Examples: Downloaden (download), as in  ich habe den File gedownloadet/downgeloadet. Or the English words as used in Heute haben wir ein Meeting mit den Consultants.*Denglisch 2: The (excessive) use of English words, phrases, or slogans in German advertising. Example: A German magazine ad for the German airline Lufthansa prominently displayed the slogan: Theres no better way to fly.Denglisch 3: The (bad) influences of English spelling and punctuation on German spelling and punctuation. One pervasive example: The incorrect use of an apostrophe in German possessive forms, as in Karls Schnellimbiss. This common error can be seen even on signs and painted on the side of trucks. It is also seen for plurals ending in s. Another example is a growing tendency to drop the hyphen (English-style) in German compound words: Karl Marx Straße versus Karl-Marx-Straße.Denglisch 4: The mi xing of English and German vocabulary (in sentences) by English-speaking expats whose German skills are weak.Denglisch 5: The coining of faux English words that are either not found in English at all or are used with a different meaning than in German. Examples: der Dressman (male model), der Smoking (tuxedo), der Talkmaster (talk show host). *Some observers make a distinction between the use of anglicized words in German (das Meeting  is anglicized) and Denglischs mixing of English words and German grammar (Wir haben das gecancelt.). This is especially noted when there are already German equivalents which are shunned. There is a technical difference as well as a semantic one. For instance, unlike Anglizismus in German, Denglisch usually has a negative, pejorative meaning. And yet, one can conclude that such a distinction usually draws too fine a point; it is often difficult to decide whether a term is an anglicism or Denglisch. Language Cross-Pollination There has always been a certain amount of language borrowing and cross-pollination among the worlds languages. Historically, both English and German have borrowed heavily from Greek, Latin, French, and other languages. English has German loan words such as angst, gemà ¼tlich, kindergarten, masochism, and schadenfreude, usually because there is no true English equivalent. In recent years, particularly following the World War II, German has intensified its borrowings from English. As English has become the dominant world language for science and technology (areas that German itself once dominated) and business, German, more than any other European language, has adopted even more English vocabulary. Although some people object to this, most German-speakers do not. Unlike the French and Franglais, very few German-speakers seem to perceive the invasion of English as a threat to their own language. Even in France, such objections seem to have done little to stop English words like le weekend from creeping into French. There are several small language organizations in Germany that see themselves as guardians of the German language and try to wage war against English. Yet, they have had  little success to date. English terms are perceived as trendy or cool in German (English cool is cool  in German). English Influences on German Many well-educated Germans shudder at what they view as the bad influences of English in todays German. Dramatic proof of this tendency can be seen in the popularity of Bastian Sicks 2004 humorous book entitled Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod (the dative [case] will be the death of the genitive). The bestseller (another English word used that is used in Germany) points out the deterioration of the German language (Sprachverfall), caused in part by bad English influences. It was shortly followed up by two sequels with even more examples arguing the authors case. Although not all of Germans problems can be blamed on Anglo-American influences, many of them can. It is in the areas of business and technology in particular that the invasion of English is most pervasive. A German business person may attend einen Workshop (der) or go to ein Meeting (das) where theres eine Open-End-Diskussion about the companys Performance (die). He reads Germanys popular Manager-Magazin (das) in order to learn how to managen the Business (das). At their Job (der) many people work am Computer (der) and visit das Internet by going online. While there are perfectly good German words for all of the English words above, they just arent in (as they say in German, or Deutsch ist out.). A rare exception is ​the German word for computer, der Rechner, which enjoys parity with der Computer (first invented by the German Conrad Zuse). Other areas besides business and technology (advertising, entertainment, movies and television, pop music, teen slang, etc.) are also riddled with Denglisch and Neudeutsch. German-speakers listen to Rockmusik (die) on a CD (pronounced​ say-day) and watch movies on a DVD (​day-fow-day). Apostrophitis and the Deppenapostroph The so-called Deppenapostroph (idiots apostrophe) is another sign of the decrease in German-language competence. It too can be blamed on English and/or Denglisch. German does use apostrophes (a Greek word) in some situations, but not in the way often misguided German-speakers do so today. Adopting the Anglo-Saxon use of apostrophes in the possessive, some Germans now add it to German genitive forms where it should not appear. Today, walking down the street of any German town, one can see business signs announcing Andreas Haar- und Nagelsalon or Karls Schnellimbiss. The correct German possessive is Andreas or Karls with no apostrophe.   An even worse violation of German spelling is using an apostrophe in s-plurals: Autos, Handys, or Trikots. Although the use of the apostrophe for the possessive was common in the 1800s, it has not been used in modern German. However, the 2006 edition of Dudens official reformed spelling reference allows the use of the apostrophe (or not) with names in the possessive. This has provoked a rather vigorous discussion. Some observers have labeled the new outbreak of Apostrophitis the McDonalds effect, alluding to the use of the possessive apostrophe in the McDonalds brand name. Translation Problems in Denglish Denglisch also presents special problems for translators. For instance, a translator of German legal documents into English struggled for the right words until she came up with case  Management for the Denglisch phrase technisches  Handling. German business publications often use English legal and commercial jargon for concepts like due diligence, equity partner, and risk management. Even some well-known German newspapers and online news sites (besides calling  die Nachrichten  the news) have been tripped up by Denglisch. The respected Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) incorrectly used the incomprehensible Denglisch term Nonproliferationsvertrag for a story on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. In good German, this has long been rendered as  der Atomwaffensperrvertrag. German TV reporters based in Washington, D.C. often use the Denglisch term Bush-Administration for what is correctly called  die Bush-Regierung  in German news accounts. They are part of a disturbing trend in German news reporting. Case in point, a German news web search, pulls up over 100 results for Bush-Administration versus over 300 for the better-German Bush-Regierung. Microsoft has been criticized for its use of anglicisms or Americanisms in its German-language publications and software support manuals. Many Germans blame the vast U.S. firms influence for computer terms such as downloaden and uploaden instead of normal German laden and hochladen. No one can blame Microsoft for other forms of deformed Denglisch vocabulary that is an insult to both Deutsch and English. Two of the worst examples are Bodybag (for a shoulder  backpack) and Moonshine-Tarif (discounted telephone night rate). Such lexical miscreations have drawn the wrath of the  Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V.  (VDS, the German Language Association), which created a special award for the guilty parties. Each year since 1997, the VDS prize for  Sprachpanscher des Jahres  (language diluter of the year) has gone to a person the association considers that years worst offender. The very first award went to the German fashion designer Jil Sander, who is still notorious for mixing German and English in bizarre ways. The 2006 award went to Gà ¼nther Oettinger,  Ministerprà ¤sident  (governor) of the German state (Bundesland) of Baden-Wà ¼rttemberg. During a TV broadcast entitled Wer  rettet  die  deutsche  Sprache (Who will save the German language?) Oettinger declared: Englisch  wird  die Arbeitssprache, Deutsch  bleibt  die Sprache der Familie und der Freizeit, die Sprache, in der man Privates  liest. (English is becoming the  work  language. German remains the language of family and leisure time, the language in which you read private things.) An irritated VDS issued a statement explaining why it had chosen Herr Oettinger for its award: Damit  degradiert  er  die  deutsche  Sprache  zu  einem  reinen  Feierabenddialekt. (He thus  demotes  the German language to a mere dialect for use when one is not at work.) The runner-up that same year was Jà ¶rg von Fà ¼rstenwerth, whose insurance association promoted the Drug Scouts to help get German youths off of drugs with slogans like Dont drug and drive. Gayle Tufts and  Dinglish  Comedy Many Americans and other English-speaking expats end up living and working in Germany. They have to learn at least some German and adapt to a new culture. But few of them earn a living from Denglisch. American-born Gayle Tufts makes her living in Germany as a comedienne using her own brand of Denglish. She coined the word Dinglish to differentiate it from Denglish. In Germany since 1990, Tufts has become a well-known performer and book author who uses a blend of German and American English in her comedy act. However, she takes pride in the fact that although she is using two different languages, she does not mix the two grammars. Unlike Denglisch, Dinglish supposedly uses English with English grammar and German with German  grammar. A sample of her  Dinglish: I came here from New York in 1990 for two years,  und  15 Jahre spà ¤ter bin ich  immer  noch  hier. Not that she has made complete peace with German. One of the numbers she sings is Konrad Duden must die, a humorous musical attack on the German Noah Webster and a reflection of her frustration over trying to learn Deutsch. Tufts  Dinglish  isnt always as pure as she claims, either. Her own Dinglish utterance about  Dinglish: It’s basically what most Americans speak for the  zehn, fà ¼nfzehn Jahren that we  wohn  here in Deutschland.  Dinglish  is not a  neue  Phà ¤nomen, it’s  uralt  and most New Yorkers have been speaking it  zeit  Jahren. As Deutschlands Very-First-Dinglish-Allround-Entertainerin Tufts lives in Berlin. In addition to her performing and TV appearances, she has published two books: Absolutely Unterwegs:  eine  Amerikanerin in Berlin (Ullstein, 1998) and  Miss Amerika (Gustav Kiepenhauer, 2006). She has also released several audio CDs. G.I. Deutsch or Germlish Much more rare than Denglisch is the reverse phenomenon sometimes called Germlish. This is the forming of hybrid German words by English-speakers. Its also called this G.I. Deutsch because of the many Americans stationed in Germany who sometimes invented new words from German and English (Germlish). One of the best examples has long been a word that makes Germans laugh. The Germlish word  Scheisskopf  (sh*t head) does not really exist in German, but Germans who hear it can understand it. In German the  Scheiß-  prefix is used in the sense of lousy, as in  Scheißwetter  for lousy weather. The German word itself is much tamer than the English  s-word, often closer to English damn than its literal translation. ÃÅ"ber-German A variation of G.I. Deutsch is à ¼ber-German in English. This is the tendency to use the German prefix  Ãƒ ¼ber-  (also spelled uber without the umlaut) and is seen in U.S. advertising and English-language game sites. Like Nietzsches  ÃƒÅ"bermensch  (super man), the à ¼ber- prefix is used to mean super-, master-, or best- whatever, as in à ¼bercool, the à ¼berphone, or the à ¼berdiva. Its also much cooler to use the umlauted form, as in German. Bad English Denglisch Here are just a few examples of German vocabulary that use pseudo-English  words or those that have a very different meaning in German. die  Aircondition  (air conditioning)der Beamer (LCD projector)der Body (body suit)die Bodywear (underwear)der Callboy (gigolo)der Comic (comic strip)der Dressman (male model)der Evergreen ( a golden  oldie, standard)der Gully (manhole, drain)der Hotelboy (bellboy)jobben  (to work)der McJob (low-pay job)das Mobbing (bullying,  harassment)der Oldtimer (vintage car)der Overall (overalls)der Twen  (twenty-something) Ad English Denglisch These are just a few examples of English phrases or slogans used in German advertisements by German and international companies. Business flexibility - T-Systems (T-Com)Connecting people - NokiaScience for a better life. - Bayer HealthCareSense and simplicity - Philips  Sonicare, the sonic toothbrushRelax. Youre dressed. - Bugatti (suits)Make the most of now. - VodafoneMehr (more) Performance - PostbankTheres no better way to fly - LufthansaImage is everything - Toshiba TVsInterior Design fà ¼r die Kà ¼che (book) - SieMaticThe spirit of commerce - Metro GroupO2 can do - O2 DSL  You Us - UBS bank (also used in U.S.)So where the bloody hell are you? - Qantas (also used in U.S.)We speak image. - Canon printerTheres more to see. - Sharp Aquos TVImagination at work. - GEInspire the next. - HitachiExplore the city limits - Opel Antara (car)