Ever Wondered Where They Came From?
Language is one of the many things in this world that is open to constant evolution and change. As a planet of global travellers, people are constantly exploring different nations and, more often than not, adopting aspects of the new culture they have entered. The impact that a different society can have on a person’s life can be short lived or everlasting, however the opportunity for influence is omnipresent. Within any language there is evidence of words from another language being introduced and claimed, the German language is absolutely no exception.
‘Shlep’ is one word from the German language that has been adopted into mainstream English. Although this is a more popular term in America than it is in Britain, many in the country still use it to express the arduous task of lugging things around. ‘Shtum’ is another commonly used German term stolen by the English that means to keep quiet. To keep shtum is a phrase you will hear often in most English speaking countries but actually originated from Yiddish.
‘Uber’ is possibly the most irritating word to come out of Germany that has been claimed by the youth of Britain. Used to express the notion of being very something or other, i.e. uber happy or uber bored, this is definitely a word I personally wish would have stayed with the Germans. Slightly less irritating but still unnecessary nonetheless is ‘rucksack’. Just another German word we don’t need to describe something that already has a selection of English variations.
Although many German words have been part of the English dialect for many centuries, some are more recent and have occurred directly as the result of global interaction. It remains to be seen which words will stay, which will become obsolete and which new ones will find their way over to Britain. One thing is for sure though; language is and always has been a fluid concept, it is another part of every society that can have no definitive rules. All languages, regardless of origin are beautiful things that are kept alive by those who speak them, share them and learn them around the world!
Source: The Local
The English language, perhaps more than any other, has appropriated words from other languages willy-nilly for centuries. From the Americas, Asia, Africa, Australia and almost every major European language have come words that we no longer even think of as foreign but which are lifted directly from hundreds of other tongues worldwide. Many other languages do the same (often borrowing English words) and it is most certainly not a modern or unique trait.
Not a problem in the slightest, especially since Anglo-Saxon is Germanic to begin with. And since almost all Yiddish words, like ‘shlepp’ are both economical and expressive.
English is designed to absorb the useful bits of inferior languages and make them its own. Long may it do so, since the bits it adopts trace a map of our cultural meanderings.
Consider, if you will, our shared heritage. Have a look at Old High German spoken on the continent before the Norman invasion of the British Isles, but after the Romans. The people writing the grammar books for these old languages always seem to use the ‘take’ verb, nehmen in modern German. Not sure why as it’s no longer used in English, except as a trace in the name of the game nim.
Thanks for the visit btw.
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