Archive for 'Language'
German Word Of The Year 2021 Posted by Constanze on Dec 30, 2021
Guten Tag! Today we will look at the Wort des Jahres in Germany. Each year, the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS) – The German Language Association – picks a word as their Wort des Jahres – ‘Word of the Year’. This is often a word related to a prominent topic in the country during the year, and is usually interesting from…
German Idioms 33: Procrastination Posted by Sten on Dec 29, 2021
It’s the holiday time, and we’re nearing Silvester (NYE), and a new year! And I have to say: the lazy holiday days are not the most motivating to sit down at your computer and write a post. But we tell ourselves to do the important things first, or to not procrastinate. So here we are! We have…
Austrian Word Of The Year 2021 Posted by Constanze on Dec 15, 2021
Guten Tag! It’s coming to that time of year when each country reveals its Wort des Jahres – its ‘Word of the Year’! What is the Word of the Year? The Wort des Jahres is voted in each year by a jury (die Jury), usually made up of linguists (der Sprachwissenschaftler: linguist) and people from…
Die Impfpflicht comes to Germany – but how do you say that? Posted by Sten on Dec 10, 2021
While we wrote about it almost a year ago, it seems like it is finally happening now: The German Bundestag voted for a specific Impfpflicht (f, vaccination mandate) today – the first law passed by the new Ampelkoalition (f, traffic light coalition)!. This affects first and foremost die Pflegekräfte (caregivers) in places like nursing homes and…
Waltersobchakeit: A German Word That Isn’t German Posted by Constanze on Dec 9, 2021
Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at a German word that isn’t actually a German word at all: Waltersobchakeit. Confused? Read on to find out more! Firstly, you may have heard of loanwords in the German language, where the word is borrowed from another language. A few examples of loanwords from the French language…
Germany almost has a new chancellor. But who is Olaf Scholz? Posted by Sten on Nov 25, 2021
Last month, I wrote about the Ampel (traffic light) that was likely coming to Germany. This isn’t an actual traffic light, but rather a coalition of three political parties: the SPD, Greens and FDP. They now concluded their coalition talks and presented their coalition – including a new Bundeskanzler (m, federal chancellor) – Angela Merkel‘s successor. After 16…
A little Cringe – Germany’s Youth Word 2021 Posted by Sten on Nov 22, 2021
A few weeks ago, the German Jugendwort des Jahres (Youth Word of the Year) was chosen. From a field with some strange contestants, one word clearly took the cake! What this word means and how it entered the German language, as well as the hilarious way the Tagesschau dealt with this news, let’s explore. A wide variety…