Across the Fence

There are places on earth that are simply unique – and yet it happens that one doesn’t hear about them at all. It was by mere coincidence that I watched a TV series with my husband that I learned about a place in the middle of Los Angeles that is such a unique destination, and […]

“Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. May God help me. Amen.” This is the translation of one of the most famous announcements uttered by no other than German reformer Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms in 1521. Did you know that his original quote (pronounce: here ‘stay-hah ih, ih cun nih-t unders) is […]

It never occurred to me that the German term Jugendstil (pronounce: ‘you-gant-shteel, i.e. youth style) might have made it into the English language. On the other hand, I knew that Art Deco was NOT the equivalent; neither was Nouveau Art. When I was a child and teenager, one of my favorite books was a history […]

Have you ever come across the Germanism Hausfrau (pronounce: ‘howse-frouw, literally house woman) in the English language? I have to admit I haven’t. I only learned the English terms housewife and the much prettier one, homemaker. Housewife and Hausfrau to me have a different vibe from homemaker. The first two seem to focus on a […]

You have most certainly heard if not used this Germanism in the English language, Zeitgeist. Germans pronounce it with a “ts” in the beginning, ‘tsite-guy-st. It translates as spirit of the time and means exactly that. The term itself has not always been around, though the phenomenon has. I would almost go so far as […]

It gets quieter on Puget Sound these days. With Labor Day a month behind us and crabbing season long over, most boaters have started wintering their vessels. Sometimes, on a windy day, you might glimpse one or another sailboat between the islands or a motorboat speed up the Narrows. Now is the time to contemplate […]

You probably have heard this Germanism in the English language before: Schadenfreude (pronounce: shah-den-froy-duh, meaning glee bout damage). And probably hardly anybody is immune against it, unless they are saints. Though, allegedly, there are such people. Apparently, the term turned up in the German language around 1740, about a century later in the English language. […]

If you are familiar with dog breeds, you might have come across another Germanism in the English language: Spitz (pronounce: shpits, meaning pointed). Indeed, the dog race is named for the shape of its muzzle. Apparently (thank you, Wikipedia!) Spitz dogs have already been depicted in ancient Egypt around 2600 B.C. and in ancient Greece […]

September is the hiking season at its best. At least in moderate climate zones. And as hiking is of such importance in German history – even as to being considered political protest by specific movements during the Empire and, later, in the Third Reich – my guess is that this is the reason that the […]