{"id":9802,"date":"2018-04-14T14:21:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-14T14:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=9802"},"modified":"2018-04-16T07:27:07","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T07:27:07","slug":"the-curiosity-of-the-word-usb-stick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-curiosity-of-the-word-usb-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"The Curiosity of the Word “USB-Stick”"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know the words\u00a0“flash drive”, “pen drive”, “thumb drive” – but “USB-Stick”? No, that is not a way to refer to the little, helpful memory – at least not in English. But in… German? How did such an English-sounding word make it in the German language, even though it is not related to the English language? Let’s find out!<\/p>\n

UPDATE: According to several comments, USB-Stick is\/was a perfectly fine synonym in English for flash drive. However, USB-Stick is still considered a pseudo-anglicism in Germany, so this article still makes sense.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previous installments of Curious Words<\/b><\/p>\n

The Curiosity of the Word “Cousin”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Curiosity of the Word “Hochzeit”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Where does USB-Stick<\/em> come from?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Flash drives? Flash Sticks? USB drives? USB Sticks? (Image by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

Obviously, USB-Stick\u00a0<\/em>is made of\u00a0USB\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Stick<\/em>. USB still makes sense, that is the same universal abbreviation around the world. But Stick? That word must be older. It is a Scheina<\/em>nglizismus\u00a0<\/em>(pseudo-anglicism), so a word that the Germans adopted from the English language, but with a different meaning. Let’s compare definitions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Duden:\u00a0Kleine, d\u00fcnne Salzstange\u00a0<\/em>\/\u00a0Stift als Kosmetikartikel\u00a0<\/em>\/ Kurzform f\u00fcr USB-Stick\u00a0<\/em>(small, thin pretzel stick \/ stick as cosmetics product \/ short form of USB-Stick<\/li>\n
  2. Oxford Dictionary:\u00a0A long, thin piece of something. (one of 6 definitions!)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, as you can see, German has a lot fewer, more specific use cases for the word\u00a0Stick<\/em>. In fact, it is even considered a short form for\u00a0USB-Stick<\/em>! And even though it sounds English, it has little to do with the English meaning, apart from the fact that it refers to objects that are thing and long.<\/p>\n

    However, since I cannot find a good theory on this, here is mine:<\/p>\n

    Stick\u00a0<\/em>became a more usual word in German. And then once flash drives became a thing,\u00a0<\/em>a new German word had to be made for it. In 2006, the German Duden<\/a> introduced\u00a0USB-Stick\u00a0<\/em>in its dictionary. Since USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, an English abbreviation, and for the fact that most early computer innovation for the mass market came from the United States, it made sense that\u00a0Stick\u00a0<\/em>was used instead of a more German word. Stick\u00a0<\/em>already referred to long and small objects, and a flash drive fits that description.\u00a0And so\u00a0USB-Stick\u00a0<\/em>was born.<\/p>\n

    Introducing a word like flash drive\u00a0<\/em>into German would clash with German pronunciation, whereas USB-Stick is much easier!<\/p>\n

    Is there another word for USB-Stick?<\/strong><\/h2>\n