Germanism (linguistics)

A Germanism is a loan word or other loan element borrowed from German for use in some other language.

Linguistic domains

* The military or public administration
** Russian (, from German ), " running the gauntlet")
** English ''blitz'' (from German , lit. "lightning war")
* German culture (or concepts that were first made notable in a German context)
** French (from German "forest dieback")
** English uses of ''gemuetlichkeit'', ''wanderlust'' or ''schadenfreude'' (from )

Technology and engineering have also provided Germanisms, as in the English ''bremsstrahlung'' (a form of electromagnetic radiation), or the French (literally, "submarine snorkel", a type of air-intake device for submarine engines).

Examples in different languages

Afrikaans

In Afrikaans, a colloquial term for ethnic Germans is , from German ("come on, now!"), possibly due to the frequent use of that phrase by German farmers or overseers in exhorting their workers.

Albanian

Albanian has many loan words brought back from Germany by migrant workers. for "beer mug", for example, is borrowed from the Austrian German term . The German word has been borrowed in both its meanings ("(office) counter" and "(electric) switch") as Albanian .

Arabic

In the early 20th century, German film directors participated in the creation of the Egyptian cinema and usually concluded their work with the word (done). Their local staff kept that word in the form and soon used it in other contexts.

In connection with the football World Cup, the German team is called ''farik el Mannschaft'', with the German meaning team – wherein ''farik'' is already the Arabic term for "team" and is supplemented by the article ''el''. When at the football World Cup of 2006 the German team lost to Italy, a saying went ''el Mannschaft khessret!'' ("The Mannschaft lost!")

In Sudan, the German word (colleague) acquired a very unusual importance. There it means straw, which was bound to a bundle for drying. The background to this important change is that colleagues are seen in the context of staying closely together.

Bassa

In Bassa, a tribal language in Cameroon, the word for "train station" is ''banop'' from the German ''Bahnhof'', which recalls the Germans building the first railway in their former colony.

Bosnian

Bosnian has a number of loanwords from German: (hit, from ), (make-up, from ), (tailor, from ), (ham, from ) etc. In the Bosnian language means the reverse gear of a vehicle that is best to be , stainless. The German equivalents are and respectively.

Bulgarian

German words which were adopted into the Bulgarian language include , "drill", from German , , "exhaust pipe" from , from and in the skiing sport the term , which is the same as the English "schuss", was adopted from , a steep and fast ride downhill.

Even the German word , "suit", is used in Bulgarian. However, it means "tracksuit" there.

Chinese

One of the very few German loan words in Chinese is the word for storm drain covers, ''Gullideckel'' in German. The common Chinese term for "rain water hole", 雨水口, ''yushuikou'', is called ''guli'', 骨瀝, in the Qingdao form – contrary to the rest of China. The Chinese learned of storm drains for city sewage in the German lease area of Jiaozhou. The approximately 40 German loan words that are in use in Qingdao still include the word 大嫚, ''daman'', for ''Damen'', "ladies" with 胶州大嫚 meaning "Jiaozhou-women".

Croatian

In the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, typical Austrian German words such as ( meaning ''from paradise'', for tomato, the verbatim translation is increasingly used), (, "food", used in the sense of "pantry"), (, "dumplings"), (, "butter", natively ), (, "currants"), (, "flat piece of meat", natively ), (, "fiacre"), (, "curtain", natively ), (, "Duke", natively ), (, "master", often in the sense of "repairman") or (, "carpenter", natively ).

Similarly, words such as (, "tin"), (, "pointer"), (, "saw"), (, "switch"), (, "screwdriver", natively ) or or (, "back" or "backwards", for the reverse gear) are common in Croatia. Especially in the technical fields there are almost no phonetic differences with the German words, and most Croats understand these without good language skills in German.

Other common Terms:
* - Piano (from German )
* - excavator/backhoe (from German )
* - Beer mug (from German )
* - I understand (from German ) (native )
* - German used like Italian to mean thing or Polish to mean lingo.

Less commonly, the terms (, "dining room"), (, "bathroom"), (, "hall"), (, "bedroom") and (, "free room") are used in the colloquial language, as these newer loans mainly appear in advertising aimed for German tourists.

The washing machine is often referred to colloquially as (, natively ). Somewhat odd is the use of the term (, "additional food") for a kind of vegetable stew.

Czech

The Czech language borrowed some words from neighbouring dialects such as (from for a little house) as a vulgar word for toilet. In (cemetery) comes from "hrob" (tomb), which comes from German .

German words were imported so frequently that already Jan Hus (1412) vehemently opposed them. There were words like from German for towel, from for apron, from , , German , for servant and from for waggoner. But Hus did not succeed. Knedlíky are still served, and in 1631, the school reformer Jan Amos Komenský did not object to translate the biblical term ''paradise'' with (German "house of joy").

In the late 19th century, many Czech craftsmen worked in the German-speaking area of the Danube monarchy. Czech adopted many loan words from this category: from German for arm hole, from German for darning and from for ironing.

In domestic disputes, German was a supplier of cuss words. Václav Havel used the word (German ) to denounce the forced bringing-into-line, and called his counterpart Václav Klaus an . (German vernacular literally "master Kasperle", "master buffoon"). He, in turn, called Havel a (German : approximately rascal, rapscallion). Sometimes opponents completely use German in order to insult each other. Such an insult may be, for example: , "you stupid duck" (in German, this animal, however, is usually not used as a cuss).

Other (sometimes used colloquially) Germanisms in Czech:

*: legs, from Austrian ''Haxen''
*: top tube of a bicycle, from German (rod, pole)
*: grimace, from (face)
*: heat, from
*: hole, from
*: bed, from
*: chamber, from
*: blotch, place, from
*: adhesive plaster, from
*: socks, from (German – foot + – socks)
*: feed, from
*: from , colloquial German for "gone", "broken"
*: friend, from
*: heart, from
*: to pay, from
*: swatting, from
*: through, from
*: place, from
*: continuously, from
* and : iron sheet, from - (beer) can.
*: orderly (an officer's servant), from Putzfleck ( – to clean + – spot), one who cleans stains
*: to work, from
*: sausage, from
*: yard/land, from
*: "Jesus!" or "Holy cow!" - cursing
*: railway worker, from

Danish

The modern Danish language emerged after centuries of heavy German influence due to the fact that Christianity was brought by German monks, and that nearly all clerks at the royal court were (literate) Germans. Thus well over half of the Danish lexical mass came in the 13th cent. and is of German origin, though not the basic grammatical structure, which remained Scandinavian. The same is true for Swedish, while the Norwegian in its most used form is in fact Danish, albeit with a very different pronunciation. It is in fact difficult to compile a full Danish sentence which would not include any old German words. This process was reinforced in the 18th cent. with a new wave of German clerks at the court of kings and queens who were to a great extent German princes.

The interesting words in this respect are those which were not integrated into the language, but are openly used as Germanisms. The German term ''Hab und Gut'', " Habseligkeiten", is used in the form of ''habengut'' to express one's possessions carried along. The word was introduced to Denmark by travelling journeymen who took all their possessions along with them.
"Fingerspitzgefühl" is commonly used in the original German sense: sensitivity, feeling with the tips of your fingers. The old German princely quote "So ein Ding müssen wir auch haben" (We should also have one of those things) is even the title of a TV show about electronics.
The expression "Det sker i de bedste familier" (It happens in the best of families) is a crude translation of the German "Es kommt in den besten Familien vor".

''Bundesliga-hår'' ("Bundesliga hair") is the Danish word for a mullet, because this type of haircut (as well as in Hungary) was regarded a characteristic of football Bundesliga players. Also the Italians saw this kind of connection and dubbed it ''capelli alla tedesca'' (German style haircut).

Dutch

The Dutch language includes many well established words from German, for example (at all, generally), (anyway/certainly). More specific terms include the word , which is used for something scary (in German only another form of this word is still used: ), and the sports term (in German the bird swallow, but also used for "diving" in football). Furthermore, calques such as ("all alone", from ) are quite common.

English

One notable German word in the English language is "kindergarten", meaning "garden for the children". The first kindergarten outside the German area was founded in 1851 in London. Five years later, Margarethe Schurz opened the first kindergarten in America in Watertown, Wisconsin. The language in the first kindergarten was German, as they were thought to be for the children of German immigrants. In 1882, the number of kindergartens in the US was 348. Meanwhile, the majority of Americans are no longer aware of the German origin of the word. The kindergarten teacher was first called "kindergartner", and later "kindergarten teacher". "Kindergartner" is now the child who attends the kindergarten. The verb "to kindergarten" means using the kindergarten method. Often, however, only the first letter 'K' of the word "kindergarten" is used, so a "pre-K" is a child who is not old enough for kindergarten.

In English, the German "" (hyper, over) is sometimes (often spelled "uber") used in compositions, as in ubergeek, to express extreme progression. In German the prefix "" is sometimes used, next to "", in the sense of superior, as in . The peculiar feature of the German language to build compound nouns contributes to proliferation of Germanisms and interesting neologisms.
American students often use the term "foosball" (German ) for the tabletop soccer, for which in Germany however the English term "kicker" is used.

If somebody is sneezing, one may respond " odbless you". Because many people do not want to use a blessing phrase with religious context, instead the German term "" is widely used. (Very seldom heard in the south or in Texas.) In German, means health, but is also used as response when someone sneezes. The same word is used in Yiddish, and thus came to be known also in the US.

The ''Concise Oxford English Dictionary'' lists the German word , defined as "forbidden by an authority". Other well known examples include words such as ''weltschmerz'', ''mensch'', ''rucksack'', ''schadenfreude'', ''kaput(t)'' and ''weltanschauung''. Another important psychological concept is "Angst".

Estonian

There are long-lasting contacts between Estonian and German languages. Estonia was conquered in the Livonian crusade by German and Danish crusaders already in the 13th century. Since then, Estonia was settled by priests, merchants and craftsmen from Germany. As a result, the Estonian language has borrowed nearly a third of its vocabulary from Germanic languages, mainly from German. Examples include: ''vein'' (Wein, wine), ''klaver'' (Klavier, piano), ''reis'' (Reise, trip) and ''kunst'' (art). Modern loans from the Germans include ''reisibüroo'' (Reisebüro, travel agency) and ''kleit'' (Kleid, dress).

French

In French, some Germanisms are due to the experiences in the Second World War, such as ''witz'' for a bad joke or threatening (in German, ''Witz'' is just joke) and ''ersatz'' for ersatz coffee (German ''Ersatzkaffee'', but more usually ''Muckefuck'', itself probably a Francesism from ''mocca faux''), or as an adjective meaning make-believe, fall-back, i.e. (as in German) some replacement used for lack of the authentic stuff.

The word ''lied'', same meaning in English and French, is derived from the German ''Lied'' which translates as "song". (In German, the term ''Lied'' refers to any kind of song, however for contemporary music in German also often the anglicism ''Song'' is used.)

In French the word ''vasistas'' denotes a skylight window. The word probably originates from the Napoleonic Wars, when French soldiers looking at the German skylight ask ''Was ist das?'' (What is this?) It then became the name for this kind of windows.

''Schubladiser'' is the Swiss French term for filing or procrastinating something. The noun is ''schubladisation''. ''Schublade'' is German for drawer, therefore these Swiss French terms can be literally translated as "drawering" and "drawerisation", resp.

In Swiss French, there are some terms derived from (Swiss) German such as ''poutzer'' instead of ''nettoyer'' (cleaning, in German ''putzen'') or ''speck'' instead of ''lard'' (bacon, in German ''Speck'').

Around the German-French border areas, inherently many words cross the language border, for example, in Lorraine: Instead of ''ça éclabousse'', ''ça spritz'' is used for "this sputters" – ''spritzen'' is "sputtering" in German. ''Spritz'' as a term for extruded biscuits (''Spritzgebäck'' in German) is known everywhere in France.

Greek

Modern Greek uses a few German loanwords for terms related to German or Austrian culture, such as ''snitsel'' (''σνίτσελ'', Schnitzel) and ''froilain'' (''φροϊλάιν'', from Fräulein, "Miss", used only for young women from Germany or Austria). Some loan words were introduced by the ''gastarbáiter'' (''γκασταρμπάιτερ'', German Gastarbeiter), who have spent part of their life in Germany or Austria, such as lumben (λούμπεν), meaning "riffraff", from German ''Lumpen'', "rogues".

Hebrew

Modern Hebrew includes several Germanisms, some coming directly from German, and some via the Yiddish language. In the artisanal sector, some German phrases such as (German for plug) and (German for dowel), the latter pronounced due to the missing " ü" umlaut


The German word (שטרודל) in Hebrew is used for the character " @" in E-mail addresses, after the appearance of the pastry in cross-section.

A Hebrew slang for siesta is ''schlafstunde'' (German literally "hour to sleep"), although it is not clear whether the Yekkes started that habit in Israel or brought it from Germany.

The modern month names in Israel correspond to the German names: ''Januar'', ''Februar'', ''März'', etc. The only modification is ''August'' which is – different from the German – pronounced "Ogust", because the vocal connection "au" in Hebrew is unusual.

Hungarian

The German vocabulary had already influenced the Hungarian language at the time of the marriage of the state's founder Stephen I of Hungary to princess Giselle of Bavaria in the year 996. An early example is the word ("Duke"). The Hungarian word formed as a result of vowel harmony, the alignment of vowels in a word. This Hungarian word was later borrowed into South Slavic languages and gave rise to the geographical name Hercegovina.

German clergy, farmers and craftsmen were linguistically influential, particularly in the 13th and 18th centuries, bringing their own terminology to Hungary. These include the job titles (, night watchman, train guard), (, cobbler) and (, a knacker) as well as the terms (, customer) and (, master). In some professions, a large part of technical terms came via German, e.g. in the field of carpentry (, glaze), (, lacquer), (, varnish), (, sandpaper) and (, foot rule).

Words were also loaned in the time of the monarchs from the House of Habsburg. This explains a number of German words that are mainly used in Austria. These include the words (Krampus, companion of Santa Claus), (, hand brooms), (, dumpling), and (, currant). derives from . Second-hand goods dealers were called (, merchant). Further examples include (Austrian German , minced meat) and (, hot dumplings).

Even a German sentence became a Hungarian word. , derived from the German greeting (How are you?) is the Hungarian word for a door-to-door salesman. The word (, Austrian German for ) is being used for the pantry.

The Hungarian phrase ("not a big what-is-it") is an informal way of belittling the complexity/importance of something (from German , ''what is it?'').

Italian

Sometimes linguistic communities borrow the same term for a word from each other's language. This is the case for razzia – the Germans taken their word ''Razzia'' from the Italians (originally Arab غزوة ghazwa = "razzia"), the Italians use the term ''blitz'' for this, from the German word ''Blitzkrieg''. ''Un lager'' in Italian is not a beer like in English, but short for ''Konzentrationslager''.

German tourists' demand brought ''il würstel'' to Italy (''Würstel'' is a German dialect word for sausages), and even ''il würstel con crauti'' (German ''Kraut'' short for ''Sauerkraut'').

Japanese

Japanese includes some words with German origin, such as アルバイト (''arubaito'') from the German ''Arbeit'' ("work", "job"); however, in Japan it is used to denote a minor job, e.g., a student's sideline.

Other words transferred into Japanese are related to climbing, like ヒュッテ (''hyutte'') from German ''Hütte'' for mountain hut, ゲレンデ (''gerende'') from German "Gelände" for terrain, アイゼン (''aizen'') from German ''Eisen'' (short for ''Steigeisen'') for crampons, エーデルワイス (''ēderuwaisu'') for Edelweiß, リュックサック (''ryukkusakku'') from German ''Rucksack'' for backpack and probably also シュラフ (''shurafu'') from German ''Schlafsack'' for sleeping bag. Also, the main Japanese mountain chain is called Japanese Alps.

During the Second World War, in Japanese weekly newsreels the military victories of the German Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel in Africa were frequently celebrated, thus establishing ''rommel'' as the Japanese term for victory or success. Even today, Japanese football mascots are called with this word.

Since the medical education initially was influenced by its German teachers, many German medical terms became part of the Japanese language. These include クランケ (''kuranke'') from German ''Kranke'' as a term for the sick ones, カルテ (''karute'') from German ''Karte'' (card) in the sense of a card to record the course of disease of a patient, ギプス (''gipusu'') from German ''Gips'' for an orthopedic cast, アレルギー (''arerugī'') from German ''Allergie'' for allergy, and ノイローゼ (''noirōze'') from German ''Neurose'' for neurosis. Even the word オルガスムス (''orugasumusu'') for orgasm originates from the German word ''Orgasmus''.

Of the typical German food items, the most commonly found in Japan are ザワークラウト (''sawākurauto'', Sauerkraut) and the cake specialties シュトレン (''shutoren'', Stollen) and バウムクーヘン (''baumukūhen'', Baumkuchen).

Kashubian

The German language also influenced Kashubian and other Slavic languages, for example from German for (ship) cabin, from German for mayor or from German for trade.
In Kashubian from German is a dressing-gown.
A Kashubian craftsman uses a (screw, from German ).

Kirundi

In Kirundi, the language of the African Great Lakes country Burundi, the word for German people (the former colonial rulers) is ''dagi''. That is derived from the German salutation ''Tag'', short for ''Guten Tag'' (literally " wish you agood day").

Korean

In order to remove the last relics of the occupation during the Second World War, in South Korea most Japanese loanwords are removed from the vocabulary. This does not include the word 아르바이트 (''areubaiteu'') which is still used both in the Korean and Japanese language. The Japanese アルバイト (''arubaito'') is derived from the German word ''Arbeit'' (work, job), but here denotes a student's sideline.

Although a majority of internationalisms (largely Latin or Greek-based) are borrowed from English, a considerable minority of internationalisms are borrowed from German, usually via Japanese, in the field of chemistry, medicine, philosophy, etc., such as 요오드 (''yoodeu'' < Iod), 망간 (''manggan'' < Mangan), 부탄 (''butan'' < Butan), 알레르기 (''allereugi'' < Allergie), 히스테리 (''hiseuteri'' < Hysterie), 이데올로기 (''ideollogi'' < Ideologie), 테마 (''Tema'' < Thema), etc. In addition, there are also loanwords of native German origin, such as 코펠 (''kopel'' (portable cooker), a corrupted form of Kocher, via Japanese コッヘル ''kohheru''), and hybrids like 메스실린더 (''meseusillindeo''

Macedonian

In Macedonian, the denotation of ''witz'' is виц, similar as in French.

Norwegian

The German word ''Vorspiel'' translates to "prelude", also with sexual connotation, and ''Nachspiel'' translates to aftermath. In contrast, in Norwegian the words ''vorspiel'' and ''nachspiel'' stand for the consumption of alcoholic beverages before or after a visit of bars or discothèques. In German again, these habits are called , a quite recent neologism reflecting the use of Glühwein (yet using the term which denotes the preheating of a diesel engine), and .

Polish

The German language also greatly influenced Polish and other West Slavic languages, especially due to German settlement, shared borders and the implied policy of Germanisation after the Partitions of Poland. The majority of all the borrowed words in Polish are of German or Germanic origin. For example, from German for (ship) cabin, from German for storm, from German for mayor, from German for ham, or from German for trade. Because most cities in Poland were founded on German Magdeburg Law in the Middle Ages many construction-related terms were borrowed, for instance, ( - square or place or market); - - square; - - brick; - - building (medieval High German) - with scores of derivatives on building materials, etc. (building) - from - a room.

In Polish, from German means night cap, but – as in German – also used in a figurative sense as sleepyhead. from German is a dressing-gown.

A Polish craftsman uses a (screw, from German ) and (paste/glue from German ). If he does not know the name of his tool, he may ask for a (thingamabob, from German meaning ''how is it called?''). He will receive the requested thing: (''Please give me the small thingamabot!'')
There is also the word (leisure-time, from German ). In a carousal, he can drink to someone (from German , fraternity) and disband with a (from German , inebriation).

In Polish Upper Silesia most of inhabitants speak standard Polish language but there is minority, who speak the Silesian dialect/language, they also use German words in every day life as either slang or as directly borrowed terms. In Upper Silesia and Katowice it is customary to use instead of for a flower (German: ), if someone speaks Silesian.

Other Germanisms commonly used in Polish include:

* : car, from
* : sheet of metal, from
* : tin, from
* : pair of compasses, from
* : roof, from
* : lid, from
* : wire, from
* : replacement, from
* : profession, from
* : something false, from
* : paint, from
* : bottle, from
* : botched job, from
* : municipality, from
* : hook, from
* : helmet, from
* : fair, from
* : yes (dialectal, used in Northern Poland) , from
* : toilet (dialectal), from
* : Knödel
* : bucket, from
* : line, from
* : foreman, from
* : master, as above
* : offer, from
* : armour, from
* : pipe, from
* : knight, from
* : rope, from
* : cake, from
* : slow run, from
* : vacation, from
* : big amount (Poznań dialect), from
* : typesetter, from

Portuguese

Portuguese incorporates German words such as '' diesel'' and .

In Brazilian Portuguese, German immigrants brought some German words. The word describes a traffic control (German is flash, also colloquial for traffic control due to the flash light.) Also known are , and , the latter from (German for a pint, in Brazilian Portuguese however denoting a draught beer). Also, in Brazil the German is a , spread on a bread in the Riograndian Hunsrückian became, via the German (grease), . In the areas of German immigrants, also and (Hunsrückian for kermesse) are celebrated. The word is derived from the German (shovel).

In the state of Santa Catarina and other regions of German immigration, the word means slingshot, from the German word .

Romanian

In Romanian, German loans are especially found in names for craft items: (drill, in German ), (plug, ), (screw, ), ( vernier caliper, ), (electric cord, German is cord in general), but there are also:
* (potato)
* (a scone)
* (beer)
*"" - - glass wall.
* (dogcatcher or executioner), Sax. ''Hoenger''/German
* (trench)
* (ham) dialect for German
* ( emery)
*"": - fly (of men's trousers)
* (esen)
* (playing trousers)
* (spear)
* (spiky)
*
* (split, flint)
* (spur)
* (spreader)
* "" - - electrical plug
*"" - () - screw
* "" - (, ) - half a liter of beer, a large beer.

Russian

After Tsar Peter the Great returned from Western Europe in the year 1698, the loan words were no longer taken from Greek and Polish. With Peter, transfers from Polish were replaced by transfers from Western languages. For the drastic reforms in the military and administration, economic and administrative experts were recruited from Germany. 1716 Peter ordered that the administrative writers learn German:
:''"Some 30 young officials should be sent to Königsberg for the purpose of learning the German language so that they are more suitable for the college."''
In some sectors of handicraft, the Germans were the majority; towards the end of the 18th Century, thirty German but only three Russian watchmakers worked in St. Petersburg.

The Russian language has taken many words regarding military matters from German, for example ''Schlagbaum'' ''шлагбаум'' (boom barrier) and ''Marschroute'' ''маршрут'' (route), and also ''Rucksack'' ''рюкзак'' (backpack), ''Maßstab'' ''масштаб'' (scale, extent), ''Strafe'' ''штраф'' (in German ''punishment'', in Russian in the meaning ''fine'', but ''штрафбат - штрафной батальон'' - punishment unit in the military), and ''Zifferblatt'' ''циферблат'' (clock face). Also ''фейерверк - Feuerwerk'' - fireworks. ''Вахта - Wacht'' - guard; Military ranks: ''ефрейтор: Gefreiter'' - corporal; ''лейтенант - Leutnant'' - lieutenant; ''комендант - Kommandant'' - commander; ''граф: Graf'' - count and ''Графство'' - county. Also ''плацдарм - Platzdarm'' - drill area in the military, also theater of operations - originally obviously from French ''place d'armes''. Apparently ''картофель - potato'' also comes from German: Kartoffel. ''Штат'' (''Staat'') means a state (like the United States), but not the concept of state in general. ''Штатный'' - means civilian (clothes), or employee (on the payroll). The origin of the word re: civilian clothes can be another German word: Stadt - city, i.e. city clothes. The word for soldier is ''солдат'' - from German ''Soldat'', albeit French at its origin. A screw is called ''винт'' - from German ''Gewinde'' - screw thread, apparently through Polish ''gwind''. From that ''винтовка'' - rifle. Also through Polish: ''казарма'' - barracks - from German ''Kaserne'' - via Polish ''Kazarma'', originally Italian ''caserma'' - arsenal.

Mikhail Lomonosov, who studied in Marburg and Freiberg, is regarded as founder of the Russian mining science, mineralogy and geology. In his writings about mining and metallurgy, he uses German words, the names of metals and minerals ''Wismut'' ''Висмут'' (bismuth), ''Wolfram'' ''Вольфрам'' (tungsten), ''Gneis'' ''Гнейс'' (gneiss), ''Kwarz'' (in German spelled Quarz) ''Кварц'' (quartz), ''Potasch'' (in German Pottasche) ''Поташ'' (potash), ''Zink'' ''Цинк'' (zinc), ''Schpaty'' (German Spat) ''шпаты'' (feldspar), and the expression ''schteiger'' (German ''Steiger'') (foreman of miners). Also the terms ''geolog'' (German Geologe) (geologist), ''gletscher'' (glacier) ''metallurgia'' (German ''Metallurgie'') (''metallurgy''), ''nikel'' (in German Nickel), ''schichta'' (German ''Schicht'' (layer), used both for ore layer and layer in a blast furnace), and ''schlif'' (German Schliff) (the grinding or cutting of a stone) fall into this category.

Terms from chess are ''Zugzwang'' ''цугцванг'', '' Zeitnot'' ''цейтнот'', ''Endspiel'' ''эндшпиль'' ( endgame), ''Mittelspiel'' ''миттельшпиль'' ( middlegame), ''Grossmeister'' ''гроссмейстер'' ( grandmaster).

Modern expressions are ''Strichcode'' ''штрихкод'' (barcode), ''Butterbrot'' ''бутерброд'', and even ''Brandmauer'', for which in German the English expression Firewall is used.

''Schram'' ''Шрам'' is a scar and originates from the German word ''Schramme'' (scratch, scar). A ''schtolnja'' ''штольня'' (German ''Stollen'') is an adit. A ''schpagat'' ''шпагат'' (German spelling Spagat) is a Split (gymnastics), ''schpinat'' ''шпинат'' (German spelling Spinat) spinach and a ''schpion'' ''шпион'' (German spelling Spion) a spy.

Even the hockey term for puck, ''schajba'' ''шайба'', originates from German ''Scheibe'', denoting a disk. The word ''schlang'' ''шланг'' for garden hose is derived from the German word for a snake, ''Schlange''. The word ''schtepsel'' ''штепсель'' originates from the German word ''Stöpsel'' (plug).

Serbian

An exhibition in Vienna about Gastarbeiter in Austria has the Serbian title ''gastarbajteri''. A particularly avid student is called ''štreber'' (German ''Streber'' is a striver or a nerd). ''Schlag'' for cream is derived from the Austrian short form for ''Schlagobers''.

The Serbian word for tomatoes, ''Парадајз'' ''(paradajs)'', is influenced from the Austrian ''Paradeiser''. One of the Serbian words for exhaust is auspuh (derived from German Auspuff).

Slovak

Examples of Germanisms:

* ''brak:'' Brack (rubbish)
* ''cech'': Zeche (guild)
* ''cieľ'': Ziel (goal/target)
* ''cín'': Zinn (tin)
* ''deka:'' Decke (blanket)
* ''drôt'': Draht (wire)
* ''faloš'': Falschheit (falsity)
* ''farba:'' Farbe (color)
* ''fašiangy:'' Fasching (carnival)
* ''fialka:'' Veilchen (viola)
* ''fľaša'': Flasche (bottle)
* ''fúra'': Fuhre (load)
* ''gróf:'' Graf (count)
* ''hák:'' Haken (hook)
* ''helma:'' Helm (helmet)
* ''hoblík:'' Hobel (hand plane)
* ''jarmok:'' Jahrmarkt (funfair)
* ''knedl'a:'' Knödel (dumpling)
* ''minca:'' Münze (coin)
* ''ortieľ:'' Urteil (verdict)
* ''pančucha:'' Bundschuh (stocking)
* ''plech:'' Blech (sheet metal)
* ''regál:'' Regal (shelf)
* ''ruksak:'' Rucksack (backpack)
* ''rúra:'' Rohr (pipe)
* ''rytier:'' Ritter (knight)
* ''šachta:'' Schacht (mine shaft)
* ''šindeľ:'' Schindel (roof shingle)
* ''šnúra:'' Schnur (cord)
* ''taška:'' Tasche (purse)
* ''téma:'' Thema (topic)
* ''vaňa:'' Badewanne (bathtub)
* ''Vianoce:'' Weihnachten (Christmas)
* ''vločka'': Flocke (flake)
* ''žumpa:'' Sumpf (cesspit)

Swedish

Swedes use the German word ''aber'' (but) in the sense of "obstacle" or "objection". A nouveau riche is called ''Gulaschbaron'' (colloquialism in German language, literally "goulash baron").

For undercover investigative journalism in the style of Günter Wallraff the verb ''wallraffa'' is used, which is even part of the Swedish Academy's dictionary.

Slovene

Slovene Germanisms are primarily evident in the syntax, lexicon, semantics, and phraseology of the language. There are few Germanisms in Slovene phonology and morphology. Many Slovene lexical Germanisms come from Austrian German.Reindl, Donald F. 2008. ''Language Contact: German and Slovenian''. Bochum: Brockmeyer.

Spanish

The Spanish language of some South American countries incorporates Germanisms introduced by German immigrants, for example, in Chile ''kuchen'' ("cake") and ''Frankfurter'' in Uruguay. The latter, however, sometimes is used for a hot dog – not as in German for the sausage only. In Argentine, the usage of the name ''Pancho'' is interesting: it's a popular nickname for ''Francisco'' or ''Franco'', and therefore also used for ''Frank''furter sausages. The Chileans pronounce ''kuchen'' as in German with the ach-Laut, not "kutshen", as a Spanish pronunciation would be.

In Chile, the German word ''suche'' ("searching") (pronounced in Chile ''sutsche'' instead of with the German ach-Laut) is used for house staff (gardeners, errand boys). After the German immigrants came to a certain prosperity, they posted job advertisements for local forces, which often started with the German verb ''suche'' in a large-size font (cf. Imperial German influence on Republican Chile).

In Mexico, ''kermes'', from the German word ''Kirmes'' ("funfair", " kermesse"), is used for a charitable street party.

Swahili

The dominant lingua franca in the African Great Lakes region, Swahili, has borrowed many words from Arabic and English. Borrowed from the German ''Schule'', however, is the word ''shule'' for school.

Tok Pisin

Even the Kreol Tok Pisin in the former German colony Papua-New Guinea has words borrowed from German language. These include ''balaistift'' from German ''Bleistift'' for "pencil", however today the English term is preferred. ''Raus'' (literally in German ''get out!'' means "Go!" or "From the way". Derived from ''raus'' is ''rausim'' meaning "empty", "dismissed away."

A reminder of the missionary by German Catholic lay brothers are the words ''bruda'' from German ''Bruder'' for brother and ''prista'' from German ''Priester'' for priests. A relic of German colonialists' behaviour are invectives such as ''rinfi'' from German ''Rindvieh'', literally cattle, but used also as invective for a silly person, and ''saise'' from German '' Scheiße'', shit.

Turkish

The Turkish word as signal for a railway to be ready to depart originates from the Baghdad Railway which was initially operated by German personnel. The Germans command (ready) became the Turkish and firstly also denoted the train conductor. Nevertheless, this word was only used in slang and became obsolete soon after the 1950s.

Another Germanism is from German for highway.

Impact on grammar

The Modern Hebrew for newspaper is modeled after the German word , using for "time" ( in German).

Derivations of German words

Germanisms in foreign languages may have gone through a change of meaning, appearing as a false friend to the learner's eye. For instance, in Russian is not a scarf (German literally: ""), but a tie, even though the modern German equivalent "" (Croatian neck tie) seems to be of a more recent date; nor would a (German literally: "") be a "wig-maker", but actually is a hairdresser. It seems, though, that the hair dresser was indeed called a wig maker, i.e. when wigs were in fashion and that was what they did. Thus both Italians (parrucchiere) and Spaniards (peluquero) still call all hair dressers, for gentlemen and ladies, wig makers.

Likewise, in Japanese, a ''messer'' is not a knife, but a scalpel. Two more examples would be Japanese アルバイト (transliterated to "arubaito", derived from German: ''Arbeit'' work"and abbreviated to "baito") and リュックサック (transliterated to "ryukkusakku"; derived from German "Rucksack"; abbreviated to リュック ryukku".

See also

*Loanword
*List of German expressions in English

References

Literature

*Karl-Heinz Best:
Deutsche Entlehnungen im Englischen
. In: ''Glottometrics''. H. 13, 2006, S. 66–72.
*I. Dhauteville:
Le français alsacien. Fautes de prononciation et germanismes
'. Derivaux, Strasbourg 1852.
* Jutta Limbach: ''Ausgewanderte Wörter''. Hueber, Ismaning 2007, . (Beiträge zur internationalen Ausschreibung "Ausgewanderte Wörter")
*Andrea Stiberc: ''Sauerkraut, Weltschmerz, Kindergarten und Co. Deutsche Wörter in der Welt''. Herder, Freiburg 1999, .

External links

"From 'Kaffeklatsching' to 'Wischi-Waschi'– when German Words Take a Trip around the World"
Cultural Diversity - Goethe-Institut. December 2006. By Bettina Levecke, translated by Ani Jingpa Lhamo.

)
* ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'':
Deutsche Wörter erobern die Welt
, May 11, 2004.
* ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'':
Die Fremdgeher
, January 7, 2001.
*
Phonologische Angleichung deutscher Lehnwörter im Japanischen

*
* ''Die Welt'':
Alleingang und Rudi Ratlos
, October 7, 1995, by Helmut Hetzel.


(Eine Liste Wörter deutschen Ursprungs in anderen Sprachen)

SpreadGermanisms.com
(Interactive collection of Germanisms)

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