Across the Fence

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 […]

Among my favorite candies as a child were Haribo Gummibärchen (pronounce approximately: goommy-bear-hen), meaning small gummi bears, today’s Germanism in the English language. My mother bought them for us kids, every once in a while, probably because they could be dealt out in small amounts. They came in two sizes, but I’m not sure whether […]

Of late, I have encountered quite a few fun discussions in Facebook groups that dealt with the meaning of some English terms. Some simply said that specific terms didn’t even exist for a specific item or meaning. E.g. one American-English speaker said that pasty was not a term for baked goods, and that those were […]

I ran into the English Germanism Seltzer during my very first visit in the U.S. as a fifteen-year-old. My uncle in Maine loved to drink Seltzer with just a hint of natural fruit flavor. I tasted it and cringed. When I returned to Germany and told my mother about it, she stated, “You must have […]

The English Germanism I am going to scrutinize today takes us into the musical era of the 1980s in Austria. Back then, the Neue Deutsche Welle (prounounce ‘noy-ah ‘doytsh-ah ‘vellah, meaning New German Wave) was celebrating one success after another – the sound was based of punk and rock elements, the language was German, and […]

“Apply today for the Lakewood Police Citizens Academy” – this article ran this last May 2 in The Suburban Times, and it electrified me. I had known about the program for a while, but hadn’t been ready to apply in the past. I had always wanted to know how law enforcement works – not just […]

Have you ever used the English Germanism Dasein (pronounce approximately: ‘dah-zine, meaning existence)? I found this one on my incredible list and wonder now, how often I have ever used it in German … It sounds so very philosophical – and actually, it is. Before I venture into anything that relates to philosophers, I want […]