 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Denglisch (German pronunciation:[ˈdɛŋlɪʃ]ⓘ) is a term describing the increased use ofanglicisms andpseudo-anglicisms in the German language. It is aportmanteau of the German wordsDeutsch (German) andEnglisch. The term is first recorded from 1965.[1] The use of Denglisch words within language may also be referred to as Denglicism.[2]
The word has been adopted in English in an anglicized form asDenglish, recorded from 1996.[1]
The term is particularly used bylanguage purists in all German-speaking countries to refer to the increasingly strong influx of English or pseudo-English vocabulary (and other features of the language such as grammar and orthography) into German.[3] The standard German reference workDuden defines it as "a pejorative term for German with too many English expressions mixed in."[4]
Other sources use words with aggressive, hostile, or negative connotations to describe it such as "a persistent infiltration",[5] an "invasion", "onslaught", or "attack",[6][7] or that it is "corrupting the language"[8] or is an "infectious disease".[9]
Other slang terms in German which refer to the same phenomenon include:McDeutsch ("McGerman"),Dummdeutsch ("dumb German"),Dönerdeutsch (kebab German).[9]: 308
In English there are numerous colloquial portmanteau words. One set is based on the wordDeutsch. These include (chronologically)Deutschlisch (first recorded in 1970),Deutlish (1977),Deutschlish (1979) andDinglish (1990).[10] Another set of terms is based on the wordGerman. These include (chronologically)Germenglish (first recorded 1936),Germanglish (1967),Gerglish (1968),Germish (1972),Germlish (1974),Genglish (1977),Ginglish (1989),Germinglish (1996), andGernglish (1996).[11]
Some influence of English on German is expected as part of normallanguage contact. The termDenglisch refers to abundant or excessive use ofanglicisms orpseudo-anglicisms in German.
The introduction of Englishbuzzwords peaked during the 1990s and the early 2000s. Since then, the ubiquity of the practice has made it much less fashionable or prestigious, and several commentators have argued against it.Zeit Online (whose title is itself an example of the prevalence of anglicisms in German IT terminology) criticized the ubiquitous use of English in a 2007 article.[4] Although the article acknowledged the risks of excessivelinguistic purism, it condemned the fashion of labeling information desks at train stations, formerly simply known asAuskunft, with the anglicismService Point. The choice of the pseudo-anglicismBrain up! by then-minister for educationEdelgard Bulmahn as a campaign slogan in 2004 was highlighted as an extreme case byDie Zeit.[12]Frankfurter Allgemeine satirized this choice at the time of its introduction,[13] and later wrote that even the English-speaking sphere was mocking "German linguistic submissiveness".[14]
Words and expressions labeled as Denglisch can come from various sources, including loanwords, calques, anglicisms, pseudo-anglicisms, or adoption of non-native grammar, syntax, or spelling.
| This sectionmay containoriginal research. Per WP:V, unsourced material in this section may be challenged and removed Pleaseimprove it byverifying the claims made and addinginline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.(May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
German vocabulary has numerous cases of English loanwords now fully "naturalized" as German words, including full inflection. English had only very limited influence on German before the mid-19th century. Such loanwords as there are mostly concern nautical vocabulary, loaned intoLow German (e.g.tank, ultimately from Indo-Aryan;Tanker (tanker (ship)) is early 20th century).
In the 19th century, it was still more common to useloan translation for the vocabulary of industrialisation (Dampfmaschine for "steam engine",Pferdestärke for "horse power", etc.). To some extent, this continued in the early 20th century:Wolkenkratzer for "skyscraper",Kaugummi for "chewing gum",Flutlicht for "flood light",Fernsehen for "television".
English loanwords became more common in the early 20th century. A notable example from this period isTest (ultimately from Old Frenchtest "earthen pot").Test was compatible both with German phonology and orthography so its nature as a loan is not evident.
Early loanwords (19th to early 20th century) often describe garments or foodstuffs:Jumper (19th century),Curry (19th century loan from English, ultimately from Tamil),Pyjama (early 20th century loan from Englishpyjamas, ultimately from Urdu),Trenchcoat (1920s). Other loanwords areboykottieren "to boycott" (1890s) andStar.
Direct influence of English, especially via US pop culture, became far more pronounced after the end ofWorld War II, withallied-occupied Germany and later by association with 1960s to 1970s UScounterculture:Jeep,Quiz,Show,Western,Rock,Hippie,Groupie.
The newest and most prolific wave of anglicisms arose after 1989 with the end of the Cold War and the surge of the "Anglo-Saxon" smack ofeconomic liberalism in continental Europe and the associated business jargon ("CEO" became extremely fashionable in German, replacing traditional terms such asDirektor,Geschäftsführer,Vorsitzender during the 1990s). At the same time, the rapid development of information technology pushed many technical terms from that field into everyday language.
Many of the more recent loans have developed in the spoken language and are still clearly felt to be English words, so their English orthography is retained in written communication, which leads to awkward spellings combining German morphemes with English word stems, as in gebootet ("booted up" of a computer) orgecrasht orgecrashed ("crashed", of a computer),downgeloadet,gedownloadet orgedownloaded ("downloaded"). They also retain English phonology in many cases, including phonemes that do not exist in Standard German (such as the /eɪ/ in "update").
Apseudo-anglicism is a word in another language that is formed from English elements and may appear to be English, but is not used by native English speakers.[15][16][17]
| Pseudo anglicism | Meaning | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Basecap[18] | baseball cap | |
| Beamer[19] | overhead projector | |
| Fotoshooting[20] | photo shoot | |
| Handy[21] | mobile phone | It could be derived from handie-talkie or handy-talky, a more convenient, handheld form of the military radio introduced in World War II, better known as "walkie-talkie" or "walky-talky", which was previously carried on the back. Since in German only the word Walkie-Talkie is known, rather unlikely |
| Showmaster[22] | TV-show host/emcee | |
| trampen[23] | hitchhiking | |
| Youngtimer | an old, but not yet vintage or classic car | derived from the GermanOldtimer, meaning vintage or classic car (or aircraft),[24] itself derived from the more general (non-car-specific) Englisholdtimer.[25] |
Another form of Denglisch consists ofcalques of popular English expressions which replace German words andidioms. Common examples are:
Although this is considered incorrect by many native speakers as it violates German grammar, it can be found even in German newspapers.[26]
Another phenomenon is the usage of the possessive construction 's (generally used in English but also correct in German in sundry cases), often calledDeppenapostroph orIdiotenapostroph ("Idiot's apostrophe" or "Idiot's inverted comma") instead of the traditional German constructions. For example, a Denglisch speaker might writeWikipedia's Gestaltung ("Wikipedia's design") instead of eitherWikipedias Gestaltung ordie Gestaltung der Wikipedia. Less often, it is used incorrectly to mark a plural s (Greengrocers' apostrophe); pluralizing with an apostrophe is correct inDutch, not in German or English.
or for adverbial expressions, such as
The apostrophe is also frequently confused with other characters, with stand-aloneacute orgrave accents being used in its stead.[31]
Denglisch may combine words according to English rules by writing them in succession. According to the Standard German grammar and spelling rules, that is incorrect.
The first spelling, with two separate words, makes no logical or grammatical connection between the words but simply juxtaposes them. The second combines them into one word, anAnnahme (in this case a place where something is received) forReparaturen (repairs). That is often calledDeppenleerstelle, orDeppenleerzeichen which meansidiot's space, incorrectly separating parts of a compound word.
Many words are taken over as is from English, with little or no change in spelling even if it doesn't fit the German orthographic system. One German source laments the presence of Denglisch as an "infectious disease" of "raging anglicitis" in the German language, which manifests as a kind of "hybrid communications medium". It gives as examples the wordsevents,economy,performance,entertainment, orelectronic cash[a] appearing in German.[9]
Some major companies such asDeutsche Bank now conduct much of their business in English, while several departments of the major German telephone companyDeutsche Telekom were known as "T-Home" (formerly "T-Com"), "T-Mobile", "T-Online", and "T-Systems".
Reinventing titles for English-language filmsdubbed into German was once a common practice so, for example,Paul Landres' 1958 WesternMan from God's Country becameMänner, die in Stiefeln sterben (i.e.Men Who Die with Their Boots On.), whileRaoul Walsh's 1941 filmThey Died with Their Boots On becameSein letztes Kommando (His Last Command) orDer Held des Westens (The Hero of the West). Most current American film titles are no longer translated into German, (Ice Age) although they still often receive German appendages likePrometheus – Dunkle Zeichen (Prometheus – Dark Signs) or include puns not present in the original title, such asClerks – Die Ladenhüter forClerks – The Shelf-Warmers. Menus of many global fast food chains also usually go partly or completely untranslated: "Double Whopper (formally:Doppel-Whopper) mit leckerem Bacon und Cheddar Cheese."
Advertising agencies in German-speaking countries have such a need for skills in English that they want ads for new employees to contain plain English such as "Join us".[32]KFC Germany's recruitment slogan is "I Am for Real", and its website shows very heavy use of English coupled with nonstandard German.[33]
German commercials or, more often, written advertisements are likely to use many English terms:
The verb "downloaden" is alleged to have been coined by Microsoft, as there is a native, common German word ("herunterladen"). Microsoft Windows Update uses the phrase "Downloaden Sie die neuesten Updates" ("Download the latest updates") instead of the standard "Laden Sie die neuesten Aktualisierungen herunter". The latest interface guidelines suggest that the term "herunterladen" should be used again because many users complained. However,Aktualisierungen (unlikeherunterladen) would not be idiomatic German in this usage or would at least have to be explained asSoftwareaktualisierungen orProgrammaktualisierungen, the former involving the new Anglicism "Software".
The use of ("Handy") has its roots in a commercial name, too. It is related to the handheldWalkie-talkie, a commercial name for the two-way radio transceiver to be transported in a bag, later in hands and so called ("Handie-talkie"). A correct translation could be ("Handsprechfunkgerät"). Germans used to cite the word ("Handy") as an example of Denglisch.
Advertising in the field of personalhygiene tends to use much English:
The same applies to detergents:
Larger national and international companies based in Germany also use English to describe their services. The television broadcasterProSieben uses the slogan "We love to entertain you" whileZurich Financial Services advertise with the slogan "Because change happens". The fastest trains run by the German state-owned railway systemDeutsche Bahn (German Rail) are named "IC" and "ICE", abbreviations of "Inter City" and "Inter City Express", while information booths are namedServicePoints, first-class waiting areas are referred to asLounges,[34] and words likeKundendienst (customer service) andFahrkarte (ticket) are quickly losing out to their respective English counterparts. As an official stance against this rampant use of Denglisch, the Deutsche Bahn in June 2013 issued a directive and glossary of 2200 Anglicisms that should be replaced by their German counterparts.[35]
Sometimes such neologisms also useCamelCase, as in theDeutsche Telekom's newest rates called "Fulltime", "Freetime", "Call Plus" and "Call Time" offering additionally such features as "CountrySelect". Services are offered at certain 'Callshops', using both languages by building a German-style compound, capitalizing it and using two English words in a new context. It has become common for travel agencies to offer "last minute" bookings or manufacturers to adopt "just in time"; perhaps driven by international commerce and economic interests.
The phrase "Test it" is increasingly common as an English phrase idiosyncratic to German, meaning roughly "Try it out". That is thought to have originated with advertising copy forWest cigarettes, exhorting consumers to "Test The West".
Notes
References
This is the phenomenon of Denglish, a persistent infiltration of English words and expressions into the German language.
German suffers from a kind of infectious disease, a raging Anglicitis. A mishmash is emerging, a hybrid means of communication, popularly called Denglish. Everywhere you look it's overrunning our native vocabulary.
Das deutsche leidet an einer Art Infektionskrankheit, an gassierender Anglizitis. Eine Mischsprache ist im Entstehen begriffen, ein zwitterhaftes Kommunikationsmittel, populär Denglisch genannt. Allenthalben überwuchert es unseren einheimischen Wortschatz.
Welcher Teufel trieb eine deutsche Wissenschaftsministerin zu einer Kampagne mit dem Motto »Brain up«, was weder auf Deutsch noch auf Englisch Sinn ergibt?
Neubildungen der deutschen Sprache mit Englischem Sprachmaterial.
