The Knackwurst is an interesting case. It's not necessarily a highlight of German cuisine, but the fact that versions of its German name can be found in various countries shows that this sausage is apparently unique enough to find admirers everywhere. The above example is from Finland, where the Knackwurst is known as nakki (or knackkorv in Finno-Swedish). In Sweden they call it knackvurst, in Dutch knakworst and in English it's knackwurst or knockwurst. The name comes from the cracking sound these sausages make when you bite into them.

http://www.maalaistuotevataja.fi

It's always great to have an Aha-Erlebnis (epiphany, light bulb moment) - and even better to provide other languages with just the right word for it! In the Netherlands and Flemish-speaking Belgium, the German term has taken root. 

The image is from www.beautyloves.be.

The summer holiday season isn't completely over yet, so who knows - maybe some of you are out there in a foreign country right now, suffering from Heimweh (homesickness)?The lucky Dutch probably never had this problem before they adopted the German term and turned it into heimwee. Otherwise you might think they would have thought of a Dutch word for it.

The picture is from www.boeken-kopen.nl.

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.

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.

This week, a word that fits in with our economically troubled times. The French, the Dutch and the Russians (and possibly some others, too) use the German term Krach to describe an economic collapse or stock market crash. I can see why, too - it's got such a nice onomatopoeic ring to it, much more dramatic than "collapse", wouldn't you agree?

The picture is from www.grapheine.com.

This week, one of those nice long German words with an umlaut! This Dutch cartoon ("He knew right away that his new pupil had zero dexterity") illustrates that Fingerspitzengefühl (dexterity in both the literal and the figurative sense) has been adopted in the Netherlands despite being rather long and difficult to pronounce. It apparently filled a gap in the Dutch language. 

This week's pick is one of my absolute favorites, simply because it is so widely used. Dutch speakers use it all the time - it has become an integral part of their language. And what I like about it most is that they usually don't even realize that überhaupt is German, despite the telltale dots on the u. Without them, it would be pronounced exactly the same way in Dutch, so one wonders why they are still there. In German, überhaupt is a word that carries many nuances. It can be translated into English as "in general", "at all", and a variety of other things when combined with other words. The caption on the poster above reads "Be glad you are getting some help at all", and this is by far the most dominant use of überhaupt in Dutch. 

The picture is from utrecht.sp.nl.

The first Word of the Week to come from the English language is to abseil, an adaptation of the original German (sich) abseilen ("to descend on a rope"). The Dutch use it, too (abseilen). 

The picture is from www.abseilafrica.co.za.

Spring is in the air, but winter hasn't completely left us yet, so let's give it one last warm thought before we say good riddance! I suppose it doesn't come as much of a surprise that the Dutch don't have their own word for cross-country skiing, but use the German langlaufen instead. They have actually taken more skiing terms from their "Eastern neighbors", as they like to call us Germans, but more about that later.

The picture is from www.vasasport.nl