Denglisch
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Denglisch, sometimes spelled Denglish, is a portmanteau of the words Deutsch and English. It is also referred to as Germish, which is a portmanteau of German and English. It describes a language based on 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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[edit] 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 neueste Mozillaversion downgeloadet / gedownloadet?
Have you already downloaded the newest version of Mozilla?.
Such use of language is not restricted to colloquial German only: The German version of Microsoft Windows XP will inform the user of the fact that it is currently downloading updates with the words:
Updates werden gedownloadet: 16 %,
even though the same can easily be expressed in uncompromised standard German:
Aktualisierungen werden heruntergeladen,
avoiding any linguistic confusion.
[edit] Twisting of German idioms and grammar rules
The adaptation also takes the other route, where literal translations of popular English expressions 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?)
Formally: "Was passierte 2005?" or "Was passierte im Jahre 2005?" Although this usage is considered wrong by most native speakers and it is forbidden by the official German grammar, it can be found even in German newspapers.
These phrasings may have originated from English-language movies and other media translated literally into German, but they have made it into 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 same meaning as the respective English phrase.
Another phenomenon is the usage of the English genitive (possessive) construction 's (often called Sächsischer Genitiv, which means (Anglo-) Saxon genitive), instead of the appropriate German constructions. For example, a Denglisch speaker might write Wikipedia’s instead of either Wikipedias, der Wikipedia, or using von + dative.
[edit] Involuntary and voluntary blunders
Another example of Denglisch's potential for causing confusion is the German use of the word body bag (meaning, in English, a bag in which a dead body is placed) for "backpack" – even though the genuinely German word Rucksack is a perfectly acceptable synonym of "backpack" in many varieties 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.
Or:
- I have keine Idee.
Which means:
- I have no idea.
- Ich habe keine Ahnung.
This is sometimes 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. Children, searching for the appropriate expression, will often use the first to come to mind, regardless of language. The distinguishing feature of such speech is its grammatical correctness - which is not ensured when adults try the same. It is often heard in bilingual schools, because the students are too lazy to think of the word in the proper language, if the word is already in their mind, and they know that their friends can understand them anyway. Sometimes they have problems talking to people outside school, who don't understand denglisch, because they have to stop and think of the word, which is not very easy if the other word is stuck in their head.
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)." or "Hey, der wird ja richtig enthusiastisch."
- 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
- That reminds me on a book.
may be constructed.
The word Denglisch is not listed in German dictionaries. The closest German word for it is "Kauderwelsch". It is used when the two languages are intentionally mixed together. It assumes that both parties are fluent in both languages. Used intelligently one picks the word or phrase from the language that best fits the situation or substitutes expressions that are clumsy in one of the languages or where there is no simple translation. Because of the their versatility the verbs are usually expressed in English.
[edit] Pseudo-anglicisms
Some German words look and sound like anglicisms, but do not actually exist in English, or have a different meaning. Examples include:
[edit] List of Pseudo-anglicisms in German
| German word | Meaning (in German) |
|---|---|
| Back Shop | "bakery" from backen (to bake) |
| Beamer | video projector |
| Black Music | historically "black" genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, hip-hop, and rap |
| Body Bag | rucksack, backpack, waist bag, "bum bag" or "fanny pack" |
| Body | tight-fitting article of women's clothing worn during working-out |
| Bowle | punch (the beverage) |
| Box (plural Boxen) | stereo speaker |
| Brainstorming | brainstorming session |
| Casting | casting call, audition |
| catchen | professional wrestling |
| checken | to understand (also commonly used with the English meaning "to check (on)") |
| City | downtown, central business district |
| Date | "hook up" (slang term for undefined physical contact of a sexual nature) |
| DJane | female DJ |
| Dressman | (male) model |
| Drive-In | drive-through |
| Ego-Shooter | first person shooter (FPS) |
| Evergreen | golden oldie |
| Fitnessstudio | gym or fitness club |
| Freecall | toll-free call |
| Fun | "action," "play," or "some" (slang term for sexual congress) |
| Handy | mobile phone, cell phone |
| Happy End | happy ending |
| jobben | to do casual or short-term work, e.g. to have a summer job |
| Jump ’n’ run | instead of Platform game |
| Looser | loser, with the 'o' sound exaggerated for effect |
| Manager | Executive |
| Minijob | low-paid work |
| Oldtimer | vintage or classic car, or aircraft |
| Papers | rolling papers |
| Peeling | facial or body scrub |
| Pullunder | sleeveless pullover, slipover |
| Recyclingpapier | recycled paper |
| Servicepoint | customer service desk |
| Shooting | photo shoot |
| Shootingstar | rising star |
| shoppen | to browse or window shop |
| Slip | briefs, knickers, panties |
| Showmaster | TV show host |
| Stepptanz | tap dance |
| Talkmaster | talk-show host |
| Tischset | placemat, doily |
| Twen | twenty-something |
| Wellness-Hotel | Closest translation would be "spa", although often used to describe hotels that simply have a pool or sauna. |
[edit] Influence on grammar and spelling
Of late there is a German trend to combine words according to English rules by writing them in succession. According the German grammar rules this is wrong.
- Reparatur Annahme instead of Reparaturannahme
Another phenomenon is the incorrect use of the apostrophe. It is often used in the English way (which in German is wrong) for the genitive:
- Rita's Imbiss instead of Ritas Imbiss
For an even more striking effect, the two may be freely combined:
- Werner's Wurst Bude instead of Werners Wurstbude
Or even for the plural (Greengrocer's apostrophe):
- 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), also called Deppenleerzeichen.
[edit] Non-translation
It is notable that some companies such as Deutsche Bank now do much of their business in English.
The major German telephone company known as Die Deutsche Telekom is written properly with a k. Its major departments though are known as "T-Com", "T-Mobile", "T-Online" and "T-Systems". Nearly all of their titles in advertising and within their web pages drop the customary Germanic k in favor of an English c. (See www.telekom.de). It is considered more modern and in step with the general trend but from a linguistic point of view calling it an "improvement" is debatable. The company's phone call rates, discussed below, have long had pseudo-English names.
Even many American children's films such as Ice Age do not translate their titles into German. This is a matter of little controversy, as are the mostly untranslated menus of many global fast-food chains.
[edit] Advertising language
Advertising agencies have such need for both languages that their want ads for new employees contain plain English such as "Join us". (Wetzlarer Neue Zeitung 26th of August 2006). 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 Jamba! 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 Aktualisierungen herunter". The latest interface guidelines suggest that the correct term "herunterladen" should be used again, because many users complained.
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
- Ariel Sproodles
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 television broadcaster Pro 7 uses the slogan "We love to entertain you". The venerable Zürich Versicherung advertises "Because change happenz" (www.zurich.de) and the "Deutsche Bahn AG" (German Rail) did not mind calling their fastest trains "ICE" an abbreviation of "Inter City Express". Their information booths/stands "ServicePoints" (also an example of the widespread semi-Germanization of Anglicisms). The words Kundendienst (customer service) and Fahrkarte (ticket) are quickly losing out to their respective english counterparts. Sometimes such neologisms also use CamelCase, as in the German Telekom's newest rates called "Fulltime", "Freetime", "Call Plus" and "Call Time" offering additionally such features as "CountrySelect" (www.t-com.de). Travel bureaus offering "last minute" bookings or manufacturers adopting "just in time" deliveries has become general use probably required by international commerce and economic interests.
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, ...?,
- Powered by emotion (SAT1) = Strength through Joy (popular Nazi slogan)?
A remarkable marketing example, countering all advocates of English as the prime advertising language, was produced by Audi in their "Vorsprung durch Technik" (roughly: an edge through technology) campaign that earned Audi international renown even though the slogan might have been untranslatable to most people outside Germany.
[edit] See also
- Dunglish, Engrish, Franglais, globish, macaronic, Poglish, Spanglish
- False friends
- Fahrvergnügen
- Language interference
- List of German expressions in English
- Mixed language
- Mock German
- Pseudo-anglicism
- Quelia
- Wienerschnitzel
[edit] 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.
- Denglish, at Languagehat.com
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| Internet slang - 1337 - Hong Kong Leet - Japanese Leet - Greeklish - Arabic Chat Alphabet - Denglisch - Volapuk encoding |
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Pseudo-dialects |
Engrish | Globish | Greeklish | Franglais | Internet slang | Leet | Valspeak |
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Mixed languages |
Chinglish | Denglisch | Finglish | Hinglish | Inglés de escalerilla | Konglish | Llanito | |
