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 […]
Across the Fence
Across the Fence: Verschlimmbessern
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 […]
Across the Fence: Vorlage
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 […]
Across the Fence: Schlieren
If you have ever been dealing with glass, you might know this Germanism in the English language: Schlieren (pronounce: ‘shlee-ran, meaning streaking). Interestingly, the English language only knows of the Germanism as of an inconsistency in a transparent material, so-called inhomogeneities. A Schliere in a glass breaks the light in a different way. There is […]
Across the Fence: Umwelt
Today’s Germanism in the English language is quite a philosophical one. But don’t be daunted – I’ll try to deal with it as I’m tearing the term apart. Umwelt (pronounce: ‘oomm-valt, meaning the world around) is a word that has become a big political, ecological, and economical topic. Interesting enough, its roots are in the […]
Across the Fence: Darmstadtium
Admittedly, chemistry has never been my forte, though in ninth grade I started out quite passionate and strong about it. Nothing prepared me for a chemical element of the name of Darmstadtium (pronounce: darm’shtutty-oom), but I would have recognized immediately that this Germanism was to be found on the periodical table. Why? Because Darmstadt is […]
Across the Fence: Schwedenschanze
Today’s Germanism in the English language is quite baffling to me: Schwedenschanze (pronounce: ‘shvay-den-shun-tsah, meaning Swedish entrenchment). Even historically, not every bulwark that is called a Schwedenschanze was even built by the Swedish. And as those structures that can be traced back to the Swedish, are all in Central Europe, and the British were pretty […]
Across the Fence: Ansatz
Todays’ Germanism in the English language is a rather philosophical, but also a very hands-on one when it comes just to the German language: Ansatz (prounounce: ‘un-zuts, meaning beginning, approach). Scientists of any field will have dealt with this from the very start of their profession. If a bigger problem is to be solved, you […]
Across the Fence: Schuss
Never did I know that the German word Schuss (pronounce: shoos with a very short oo, meaning shot) made it into the English language. Well, I was only just born when the mascot Schuss of the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, made its one-season appearance. As there is a copyright on the image, I […]