Thursday, November 12, 2009

Deutsch 101

I think the German language is full of really great words.

For example:

Elbogen --> a way cooler way to say "elbow"

Kuhlschrank --> "refrigerator" which literally translates to "cool cabinet"

Kopfkissen --> means "pillow", kopf = head and kisser= well, it means what it means in English, therefore: "head kisser" (although küssen is the actual word for 'to kiss in German'--but close enough ;)

And another thing--the German language loves to combine words. We use compound words in English, ex: dog + house = doghouse, however, German takes it to a whole new level.

The following is an example of one of the longest German words in use today:

Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän

Made up of 42 letters, the Germans decided to give their space bar a break and instead combine several words to create a single word that would translate to "Danube steamship company captain" in English.

Or how about this one?

Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a word--coming in at a mere 63 letters, it is made up of ten different words, and twenty syllables--and its meaning has to do with a law used for British beef imports during the 'mad cow disease' scare.

As Mark Twain once said, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective."

I can see why.

No comments:

Post a Comment