Denglisch
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Denglisch, a portmanteau of the words Deutsch and English, also referred to as Denglish, Engleutsch, Genglish, Germish, Germanglish, or Ginglish describes language based on the German grammar that includes a jumble of English and pseudo-English idioms, or vice versa.
Used in all German-speaking countries, Denglisch owes its existence in part to the cultural predominance of English language pop music, to the international computer slang, and to the use of English as the lingua franca of politics, business, and science (see also: Euro-English).
Because of discrepancies in their pronunciation, syntax, grammar and word use, imported English words must adapt to the German language, or German language patterns must adapt to English usage.
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Germanization of English words
Due to lack of rules for proper declension and conjugation forms, English words within Denglisch will have a flexion added to them, so they often come out in some twisted form. One may hear from native German speakers:
- Ich musste den Computer neu booten, weil die Software gecrasht ist.
I had to reboot the computer because the software crashed.
or
- Hast Du schon die neuste Mozillaversion downgeloadet / gedownloadet?
Have you already downloaded the newest version of Mozilla?.
Twisting of German idioms and grammar rules
The adaptation also takes the other route, where literal translations from popular English expression slowly but insistently swamp out the correct German words and idioms. Widespread examples of this evolution are:
- Was passierte in 2005? (What happened in 2005?)
Formerly: "Was passierte 2005, was passierte im Jahr 2005?"; recently upcoming way of making German language even more complicated by using an extra "in". Although it is considered wrong by most native speakers and German grammar doesn't allow this phrase, it is used even in German newspapers.
Those literal translations originate from translated English movies and became adopted in everyday language. Some of those constructs will only be found in youth language, where it has become common, for example, to talk about coole Events which captures almost, but not quite, the respective meaning in English.
An other phenomenon is the wrong using of the genitive building with 's, for example Wikipedia’s, instead of Wikipedias or der Wikipedia or using von + dative.
Involuntary and voluntary blunders
Of course, a decent type of Denglisch can also result from English-speaking people trying to converse in German. The unrivalled master of to-the-point German, Kurt Tucholsky, gave a parody of possible mishaps:
- Wären Sie so kindlich meine Briefmarke am Hintern anzulecken?
Literally: Would you be so childish as to lick my stamp's bottom?
whereas the intended meaning could have been: "Would you be so kind as to lick the reverse of my postage stamp?" (arguably a rather contrived example). Here, the two prominent linguistic accidents are the notorious false friend Kind/child and the Hintern/backside.
The reverse also works. For instance, this can allegedly sometimes be heard from Germans in fast-food restaurants (in English speaking countries):
- I want to become a hamburger!
It derives its humor from the fact that the English verbs "to get" or "to obtain" translate as the German verb "bekommen", which is in turn similar to the English word "become" (in German, the word for "become" is "werden"). So what the customer actually wanted to express was the wish to purchase a hamburger, not to become one.
Another example of unintended consequences in Denglisch the use of the word body bag for backpacks, although the proper German word Rucksack would be perfectly acceptable in many dialects of English.
A 'correct' Denglisch sentence can always be built by simply combining English and German words:
- You kannst not have das da 'cause it is too teuer für me.
Which actually means:
- You cannot get that because it is too expensive for me.
- Du kannst das nicht haben, weil es mir zu teuer ist.
This is mostly done for comic effect by adults fluent in both languages, but can also be heard from bilingual infants who have moved beyond the "babbling" stage. The languages get mixed up in a way that is determined by expressions from either language that first come to mind. The distinguishing feature of such speech is its grammatical correctness - which is not ensured when adults try the same.
During the 1990s, younger people comfortable speaking English would sometimes replace the main word of their sentence with the English equivalent:
- Example: "Hey, der wird ja richtig enthusiastic."
- In English: "Hey, he's getting really enthusiastic."
- In "proper" German: "Hey, der begeistert sich ja richtig (dafür)."
- Example: "Es war einfach unbelievable."
- English: "It was simply unbelievable."
- German: "Es war einfach unglaublich."
To the youth of today this sounds rather ridiculous.
German and English often use the same preposition for describing abstract actions or concepts. However, this is not always the case. For example, native English speakers are reminded of something, whereas native German speakers are reminded on something. But a Denglisch speaker may directly translate a preposition without respect for such subtlety. Thus, incorrect sentences such as these may be constructed:
- That reminds me on a book.
- Das erinnert mich von ein Buch.
Pseudo-anglicisms
Some German words look and sound like anglicisms, but do not actually exist in English, or have a different meaning. Examples include:
List of Pseudo-anglicisms in German
| German word | Meaning (in German) |
|---|---|
| Back Shop | "Bakery" from backen (to bake) |
| Beamer | video projector |
| Body Bag | waist bag, "bum bag" or "fanny pack" |
| Body | tight fitting article of women's clothing worn during working-out |
| Box (plural Boxen) | Stereo speaker |
| catchen | professional wrestling |
| checken | to understand (also commonly used withe the English meaning 'to check (on)' |
| Dressman | male model |
| Evergreen | golden oldie |
| Freeway | prepaid package (brand name) |
| Funeralmaster | funeral director, undertaker |
| Handy | mobile phone, cell phone |
| Job floater | fixed-income bond (in conjunction with unemployment countermeasures) |
| Looser | loser, with the 'o' sound exaggerated for effect |
| Oldtimer | vintage car, classic car |
| Overview | summary (overview is a word sometimes heard in America) |
| Payback | rebate organization (brand name) |
| Peeling | facial or body scrub |
| Pullunder | sleeveless pullover, slipover |
| Shampooing | not now used - was the name used for Shampoo on packaging until the early 1990´s |
| Shooting star | rising star |
| Slip | briefs, knickers, panties |
| Smoking | tuxedo, dinner jacket |
| Showmaster | TV show host |
| Talkmaster | talk-show host |
| Twen | twenty-something |
| Wellness | well-being (this word is actually quite common in America as regarding exercise and health) |
Influence on grammar and spelling
Of late there is a German trend to combine words according to English rules by writing them in succession. Following the German grammar rules this is wrong.
- Reparatur Annahme instead of Reparaturannahme
Another phenomenon is the wrong use of the apostrophe. It is often used in the English way (which in German is wrong) for the genitive:
- Manuel's Tasche instead of Manuels Tasche
Or even for the plural:
- Handy's, Dessou's
The false use of the apostrophe, also quite common with native English speakers, is sometimes very rudely referred to as Deppenapostroph which means moron's apostrophe. Its counterpart is the Deppenleerstelle (as in Deppen Leerstelle).
Translations
Even when the desired effect is not comical, automatic literal translations of idioms or idiomatic language like those produced by AltaVista's Babel Fish can result in language that will most probably sound hilarious. Take the sentence from the German Wikipedia for instance:
- Bitte beachten Sie, dass alle Beiträge zur Wikipedia automatisch unter der "GNU Freie Dokumentationslizenz" stehen. Falls Sie nicht möchten, dass Ihre Arbeit hier von anderen verändert und verbreitet wird, dann drücken Sie nicht auf "Speichern".
The German to English Babel Fish machine translation (as of 2004) of this is:
- Please you note that all contributions stand automatically to the Wikipedia under the "GNU free documentation license". If you did not like that your work is changed here and spread by others, then you press not on "memory".
Instead of the (correct) English sentence:
- Please note that all contributions to Wikipedia are considered to be released under the GNU Free Documentation License. If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then don't submit it here.
For completeness, the English to German Babel Fish machine translation (as of 2004) is as follows:
- Merken Sie bitte, daß alle Beiträge zu Wikipedia betrachtet werden, unter der GNU frei Unterlagen Lizenz freigegeben zu werden, wenn Sie Ihr Schreiben gnadenlos redigiert werden und nicht am Willen neuverteilt werden wünschen, dann einreichen ihn nicht hier.
Arbitrary Denglisch
Of course, this approach to a sort of interlingua can also be taken to the extremes, like in this long-famous warning sign (the German equivalent of the Blinkenlights sign) where the influence of the German tongue is now restricted to parts of the spelling and partial literal back translations which results in a faint impression of a German computer administrator trying to make himself understood:
Attention! This room is fullfilled mit special electronishe equipment. Fingergrabbling and pressing the cnoeppkes from the Computermashine is allowed for the experts only! So all lefthanders stay away and do not disturben the brainstorming von here working intelligencies. Otherwise you will be outthrown and kicked elsewhere. Also: please keep still and only watchen astaunished the shufting operator!
The German equivalent - almost without any anglicisms at all - can also be found. It will invariably be written in a transcription of some southern German dialect (Hessian, say) for comic effect:
Achtung, Kombjuderraum! Dieser Raum is full bis unner die Degg mit de modernste elegdrische un fullelegdrohnische Anlaache. Gugge und staune, des derf jeder, ewwer rumworschdele und Gnebbscher drigge uff die Kombjuder, das derffe nor mir - die Eggsberdde.
Non-translation
It is notable that some companies such as Deutsche Bank now do much of their business in English, and that even many American children's films such as Ice Age do not translate their titles into German. This is a matter of some controversy, as are the mostly untranslated menus of many global burger chains.
Advertising language
There seems to be a common notion that English substitutes for plain German words somehow make phrases sound more engaging and technically top-notch. German commercials or - more often - written ads thus are likely to overuse English terms:
- Mit <brand name deleted> können Sie Klingeltöne, Logos und Spiele direkt aufs Handy downloaden.
- Wählen Sie aus Tausenden coolen Sounds, aktuellen Games und hippen Logos.
The term "downloaden" is supposed to have been coined by Microsoft, as there is a proper and often-used German word ("herunterladen"). Microsoft Windows Update uses the phrase "Downloaden Sie die neuesten Updates" (Download the latest updates) instead of the correct "Laden Sie die neuesten Updates herunter".
Truly marvellous inventions can be found in the field of personal hygiene:
- Double Action Waschgel
- Vitalisierendes Peeling
- Energy Creme Q10
- Oil Control Gel Creme
- Oil Control Waschgel
- Neutrogena Visibly Clear Anti-Mitesser Peeling
- Megaperls
Even some of the traditionally conservative companies tend to adopt neologisms that they consider to sound more international than their original German counterparts. Thus, the venerable "Deutsche Bahn AG" (German Rail) did not mind calling their information booths/stands "ServicePoints" (also an example for the widespread semi-Germanization of Anglicisms). The word "Kundendienst" (customer service), in contrast, has almost completely fallen out of use now (probably because it actually sounds like more of an effort to German ears than the rather noncommittal "service"). Sometimes such neologisms also use CamelCase, as in the German Telecom's former rate "GermanCall".
Some advertisements are often misunderstood or cannot be translated at all by the majority of customers:
- Come in and find out (Douglas) = Come in and try to find a way out?
- Drive alive (Mitsubishi Motors) = Survive driving?
- One Group. Multi Utilities (RWE) = One group, ...?,
A remarkable marketing example, countering all advocates of English as the prime advertising language, was produced by Audi in their "Vorsprung durch Technik" - campaign that earned Audi international renown even though the slogan might have been untranslatable to most people outside Germany. An oddity is that in UK advertisements the company name Braun is pronounced Brawn to sound like the English word which can mean muscle, rather than Brown which is not only a literal translation of the German word but also sounds similar to the German pronunciation.
See also
- Engrish, Franglais, Spanglish, macaronic, Dunglish, globish
- Wienerschnitzel
- List of German expressions in English
- False friends
- Pseudo-anglicism
- Fahrvergnügen
- Mock German
External links
- ‘Denglish’ is on the march, a December 2004 article from the International Herald Tribune
- Opinion: Desperately Ditching Denglish, a November 2004 article from the Deutsche Welle website
- Don't fret, it's only Denglish, a DaF student's view on the topic, from Freie Universität Berlin, 2002
- Denglish definition and citation, from a February 2001 article on a "lexpionage" (lexical espionage) website
- Wir haben ge-partied, a 2001 article from an Irish "women's web portal"
- Gayle Tufts, a Berlin-based American performer whose comedy is often based on Denglish.
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