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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

The real meanings behind German words that are used in English

Even the most ardent admirer of the language of Goethe would have to admit that the language is somewhat clunky at times. Luckily Germans have found a way around this, and the results have even seeped into English.

Published: 9 March 2018 17:12 CET
The real meanings behind German words that are used in English
Adidas. Photo: DPA

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Image if every time you had to talk about your flat share in German, you had to splutter out the word Wohngemeinschaft. Or, if when looking for said Wohngemeinschaft, you had to equip yourself with a Schutzgemeinschaft für allgemeine Kreditsicherung.

Let’s just say that things could take a while. That’s why (thankfully) some smart German once decided that their language was totally impractical and decided to invent the first Abkürzung (or Abkü as we at The Local like to call it).

Abkürzungen are abbreviations which Germans often create in a rather novel way by leaving in the vowels, creating quite pleasing results.

Thus, people who need to present a credit rating hand in their Schufa, not a Schutzgemeinschaft für allgemeine Kreditsicherung. And if they are lucky they will be able to move into a WG, not a Wohngemeinschaft.

Some of these Abkürzungen have even made it into English, meaning we use them while having no knowledge of the real meaning.

Here are some of our favourites.

The Gestapo and SS

Even Anglophones with no knowledge of German whatsoever tend to have a smattering of Nazi and military German. Thus, if you were to say “Hände hoch” or “Achtung” on the streets of a English town, you would probably make yourself understood (even if those nearby might be somewhat confused).

The names of Nazi institutions are also common knowledge in the English-speaking world. We all know that the SS were Hitler’s crack troops and the SA were his street goons.

What fewer people know is that SS stands for Schutzstaffel, meaning protective squadron. Originally called the Saal-Schutz, they took on the new name in 1925 under the suggestion of Hermann Göring.

Another word that many people outside Germany probably don’t even realize is an acronym is Gestapo. The name of the Nazi secret police is an abbreviation of the words Geheime Staatspolizei (secret state police).

Even the word Nazi is itself an Abkürzung, being short for Nationalsozialismus.

Stasi

Photo: DPA

The Nazis were not the only totalitarian German system that managed to imprint its vocabulary on the world’s consciousness. The communists who took power in East Germany at the end of the Second World War gave us the Stasi, a word synonymous with paranoia and potential betrayal by one's neighbours.

Stasi is itself an Abkürzung of Staatssicherheitsdienst, meaning the state security service.

Adidas

Luckily, Germany hasn’t just given us the vocabulary of terror, it has also exported brands known for the high quality of their products.

The name Adidas has spread to every corner of the globe. What is less well known is that Adidas actually an Abkürzung for the name of the founder of the company Adolf Dassler. Adi is a common nickname for someone with the name Adolf – so the company became Adi-Das.

Haribo and other brands

Naming companies after oneself via a nifty Abkürzung was clearly all the rage back in the early twentieth century. The founder of the confectionary company Haribo, Johann “Hans” Riegel did the same when he started out in 1920. He added a little twist by name dropping his hometown, so it was HAns RIegel BOnn.

Photo: DPA

The detergent company Persil took a slightly more impersonal approach, naming themselves after their ingredients: PErborate and SILicate.

Aldi founders Theo and Karl Albrecht thought they would take the best of both worlds and combined their name with what they stood for. Thus Aldi is an Abkürzung for Albrecht Discount.

Gesundheit

It is not just acronyms that have crept into our English lexicon from German, the real meanings of which we are blissfully unaware of. Gesundheit is commonly used in parts of the US as a polite thing to say when people sneeze. This is of course correct – Germans also use it in this way. But very few Americans know that the word actually means health.

Reading and eating

Book worms among us will also be familiar with the word bildungsroman, which is a type of novel dealing with a character’s coming of age. While many people are vaguely aware that it comes from German, few know that the word means development-novel.

And how many of us have used the word deli hundreds of time in our everyday lives and never realized it comes from German? Deli is short for the German word Delikatessen, a fine foods shop.

Dollars

The word “dollar” is a fair bit older than than the American currency. It's an anglicized form of “thaler”, or the name of coins first minted in 1519 from local silver in Joachimsthal in Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. The full name of the coins was Joachimsthaler, but they were abbreviated for simplicity's sake – a practice that, as we can see, goes back a long time. 

SEE ALSO: From cheering to sneezing: a chronology of Gesundheit in the U.S.

LEARNING GERMAN

‘Forget about bilingual Kitas’: Key tips for raising bilingual kids in Germany

With greater numbers of international workers choosing to settle in Germany and raise a family, the question of how to best raise bilingual children is often considered. 

Published: 25 April 2024 15:01 CEST
Updated: 28 April 2024 08:35 CEST
'Forget about bilingual Kitas': Key tips for raising bilingual kids in Germany

The Local asked its readers who have raised bilingual children in Germany to tell us how they managed to raise children who speak German in addition to their parent’s mother tongue. 

Trust the (school) system. 

One piece of advice was echoed by several readers: Trust the German education system to take care of teaching German through immersion. 

Siniša, 44, from Hesse, who speaks Croatian and English at home, told The Local: “Speak your native language at home. The school will ‘cover’ German and other languages.”

Steve, 55, who lives in Munich and speaks English and Spanish with his daughter agrees.

“Be consistent and raise your child in your native tongue. At a local school, they will learn German quickly,” he said.

Chris, 44, from Hamburg, who speaks English with his children, backed the idea of leaving kids’ schools to take charge of teaching them German.

“Get the kids into the German education system as early as possible and let them learn themselves from native speakers. As a bonus, they’ll pick it up quickly and not pick up a ‘non-German’ accent either,” he said.

Read more: ‘Multilingualism is an enrichment’ – The challenges of raisin bilingual kids in Germany

Readers also noted that even in the preschool stage, children can handle multiple languages. 

Julie, 41, who lives in Hamburg and speaks English and Italian at home, said: “Relax and go with the flow. Don’t get hung up on finding bilingual Kitas for toddlers if they already get significant exposure to the non-German language at home. Languages seem to develop in different spurts at different speeds.”

However, liaising with schools in Germany was noted as an essential skill. 

Kim, 46, based in Sindelfingen, with a family speaking both English and German, said: “It’s essential for at least one parent to understand German when children attend a German school. They can help explain language and cultural differences. They can also help with administrative matters and even homework.”

Maintain the mother tongue.

While readers were keen to encourage parents to trust the immersion process that German schools provide, they were also quick to advise a concerted effort to maintain speaking the mother tongue in and around the home. 

“For international parents, I think it’s very important that their children do not lose touch with their mother tongue, as it is a very special part of their identity,” said Prashanth, 42, who lives in Munich.

Anne-Marie, 52, from Frankfurt, who speaks ‘Singlish’ (Singaporean English) with her children, stated that it’s essential to be firm.

“Speak in your mother tongue to your kids from the day they are born. Be consequent about it, even in front of other people who do not speak your mother tongue,” she said.

Karl, 44, who lives in Celle and who speaks English and the indigenous American Ute language with his children, said getting family on board is important. 

“Communicate with all family members your decision, intentionally speak all of the languages, when possible provide translations so family members present are not excluded from conversations,” he said.

Charles, 40, from Berlin, even stated that speaking German at home may prove detrimental: “Don’t speak your own mediocre German with them. It may be hard to see them speaking another language as their more comfortable primary language than your own.”

Charles, who speaks English at home, added: “Find books and shows to share with them in your native language to continue the shared experience.”

Read More: What foreign parents should know about German schools

Just let it happen with the kids…

Sometimes, it seems, becoming bilingual takes care of itself. 

Paul, 40, from Munich, married to a German, said: “Our oldest just started speaking English one day around age 3. She had heard so much she could understand and just started talking. 

“The twins are starting to speak more and more English. It wasn’t a problem since she was fluent in both by age 4. I advise patience and not expecting perfection at a young age.

Crystal, 38, who lives in Nuremberg and speaks English at home, responded: “At first, my main concern was getting as much German into our lives as possible so my son would be ready for Grundschule. 

“Now I’m swinging the other way. My advice is to try to relax. There are always other things to worry about, and kids learn so much really quickly.”

…but also challenge yourself

Finally, respondents to The Locals’ survey repeated that raising bilingual children is something that requires a degree of effort – on the parent’s behalf. 

J.K, 40, who lives in Hanau and speaks English and Telugu at home, told The Local: “Language is very important for the kids to grow in a culture. 

“Parents should facilitate situations around the kid to better integrate locally. Parents (at least one) should be able to speak German at a level better than B1. 

“If not, supporting kids in their education is difficult, and this will hamper their chances of reaching a higher education level.”

Read More: Six surprising facts about Germany’s school system

Moreno, 40, who lives in Munich and speaks Portuguese with his children, was firm in his advice: “Don’t choose the easy way for you, parents. Don’t hide in your language community bubble. 

“If you intend to live in Germany for a long time, put your kids in German schools and get them in touch with the German community.

“If you don’t speak German like me, deal with it. But don’t transfer your problem to your kids.”

Have we missed any crucial advice for raising bilingual children in Germany? Tell us in the comments section below.

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