Birte Priebe
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Word of the Week: GESUNDHEIT!

29/7/2013

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Gesundheit is "health" in German, which is why it can also be used as the equivalent of "Bless you!" when somebody has just sneezed. In (American) English, Gesundheit is often used for that purpose, too. I still remember coming across it for the first time - I was walking up a street in Monterey, California, when I had to sneeze. A stranger on the other side of the road reacted by saying "Gesundheit!", and my initial reaction was to think: how on earth does he know I'm German?

The cartoon is from http://godheadpost.wordpress.com.
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Word of the Week: SPITZEN

22/7/2013

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This week's German word was amputated in its adoptive language, resulting in a term that could cause some confusion for German speakers. In German, pointe shoes for ballet dancers are called Spitzenschuhe. In Dutch, only the first half of the word - spitzen - is used. At first glance, a German speaker will probably be tempted to think that this refers to lace (Spitze). The pronunciation is slightly different, too: whereas sp is pronounced "shp" in German, it's "sp" in Dutch.

The picture is from http://cattys.files.wordpress.com.
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Word of the Week: ZIFERBLAT - ЦИФЕРБЛАТ

15/7/2013

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This week's pick lost two letters that have no importance for how the word is pronounced in Russian, but otherwise Zifferblatt (dial, clock face) has remained intact. Another nice example for a rather technical term that was adopted from German. 

The picture is from http://arheemed.ru/catalog/nachalnoe_obrazovanie1/nachalnoe/chasovoj_ciferblat_razdatochnyj/
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Word of the Week: STEIGEISEN

8/7/2013

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As with langlaufen, it's probably not a surprise that the flatlanders don't have their own word for crampons or climbing irons. This week's Word of the Week lost its capital letter, but otherwise the Danes have left Steigeisen untouched with regard to both spelling and meaning.

Personally, I'm not so sure I'd fancy wearing a "Cramp-O-Matic", but then I'm no alpinist, of course. 

The picture is from www.flipflashpages.uniflip.com.
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Word of the Week: KOHLRABI

1/7/2013

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Kohlrabi is something you may never have used for cooking, but I'm a fan, so I decided to give this vegetable pride of place this week. In both English and Dutch, the German Kohlrabi is used without a change in spelling, except for the capital K being replaced by a small k.

For an enlightening and witty article on kohlrabi, including a recipe for kohlrabi carpaccio, click here.

The picture is from www.fairviewgardenscsa.wordpress.com.
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    This is a blog about the traces German (my mother tongue) has left in other languages. Contributions from your language(s) are more than welcome! Mail me at [email protected].
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