Across the Fence

What struck my eyes first at The Cascade Mountain Men’s annual Muzzle Loading Arms Show at the Enumclaw Expo Center in March was that intricately beaded dress she wore. I have never seen such workmanship in such abundance and with such fine taste. I simply had to make sure: Did she make this dress herself? […]

Today’s Germanism in the English language is used slightly differently from how Germans would do: Meister (pronounce: ‘mice-tah, i.e. master). First off, Meister derives from the antique Greek and Latin and simply means teacher, as in mastering a subject. Essentially, it describes somebody who has successfully finished the apprenticeship in a trade and been certified […]

Never did I ever hear this Germanism in the English language. Yet, it seems to exist: Bandsalat (pronounce: ‘bunt-zu-luut, meaning ribbon salad, aka tape salad). It is something that will probably fall more and more out of use in the future. For it relates to objects that are not much around anymore: tapes of any […]

Have you ever found yourself thinking of something as kitsch (yep, pronounced like you know it in the English language)? It’s a Germanism, and – let’s face it! – it’s a very subjective term. Nobody really knows whence it came; there are assumptions that it first came up in the 1870s in the German art […]

Before you scream “Eww!” and scroll on, give this little critter a chance to be presented! Because you are most likely never to encounter one in your life, Germanism in the English language or not. Let me introduce you to the olm (pronounce with an “o” as in odd). Etymologically, it is totally unclear what […]

Have you ever run into a turnverein (pronounce: ‘toorn-fuh-ine) or a turner (pronounce: toornah) over here in the U.S.? The former means gymnastic club, the latter gymnast. And both are Germanisms in the English language. I haven’t met any so far. In the U.S., the connotation has become something different from that in Germany. As […]

Today’s Germanism in the English language is probably most interesting for all of those among you who have a sweet tooth. A Mozartkugel (pronounce: Mo-tsart-koogle, meaning Mozart ball) is made from chocolate, pistachio, marzipan, and nougat. But this is where the similarity between Mozartkugeln (plural!) ends. Because it has become a generic name for ball-shaped […]

I bet you stumbled while you were trying to read this German word. Actually, it’s a Germanism in the English language. And even longer words like these (which is not even long for any Germans) are actually easy to read if you simply take time and take every letter or letter combination by itself. Verschlimmbessern […]

Every once in a while, literature plays into Germanisms in the English language, such as the term Vorlage (pronounce: ‘for-laa-gah, meaning original model/template). In fact, there is the claim (and I think, rightfully so) that no author ever writes anything without including a Vorlage in one way or another. There are archetypes we use that […]