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Auf Deutsch: Verscheidenzusammengesetztesgebotesprachen haben verscheide zusammengesetztes Substantive.
Doesn’t every language have such a thing? What makes German more exceptional than English? Or Chinese more exceptional than English? I’m certain there are expressions that don’t exist in every language, and even if you translated them, they might not translate well due to cultural or linguistic issues (try translating Monty Python to Chinese while keeping British wit and hoping your average Chinese viewer understands…
The common wisdom has that English is a language that imports new concepts from other languages as needed (which implies that these concepts somehow are not English for having been imported), and the common wisdom of German is that they have a word for that slightly messed up concept you just came up with in it, also the habit of German of creating compounds gives the impression of a language in which every concept can be found because there is a word compounded of other words to describe it.
Both of these are illustrated by the importation of the word schadenfreude.
Interestingly enough the words exists in Swedish as well, spelling is a bit different but the meaning is more or less the same: German -> Swedish Wehmot -> vemod Entwicklung -> utveckling Einsam -> ensam Stimmung -> stämmning Entschuldigen -> ursäkta Aufrichtigkeit -> uppriktighet Lebensmut -> livsmod Ursprung -> ursprung Liebenswürdig -> älskvärd Note that Sinneswandel is missing not sure if there is a direct transl…
I mean, technically you can do this in English as well. English is a Germanic language and compound words are fully legitimate in the language. The following don't exist in the colloquialisms or formal records of the language, but are grammatically correct: Wehmot -> sorecourage Einsam -> onepeace Stimmung -> innervoice Lebensmut -> lifegrit Liebenswürdig -> loveworthy And, despite the author's claims, many do have d…
So
Soremood Softmood Heavymood
They overlooked "hausfrauenpanzer": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21894468
Interestingly enough the words exists in Swedish as well, spelling is a bit different but the meaning is more or less the same: German -> Swedish Wehmot -> vemod Entwicklung -> utveckling Einsam -> ensam Stimmung -> stämmning Entschuldigen -> ursäkta Aufrichtigkeit -> uppriktighet Lebensmut -> livsmod Ursprung -> ursprung Liebenswürdig -> älskvärd Note that Sinneswandel is missing not sure if there is a direct transl…
I mean, technically you can do this in English as well. English is a Germanic language and compound words are fully legitimate in the language. The following don't exist in the colloquialisms or formal records of the language, but are grammatically correct: Wehmot -> sorecourage Einsam -> onepeace Stimmung -> innervoice Lebensmut -> lifegrit Liebenswürdig -> loveworthy And, despite the author's claims, many do have d…
Alternative title: "One language that has different close compounding rules than another language has different compound nouns than that other language". Auf Deutsch: Verscheidenzusammengesetztesgebotesprachen haben verscheide zusammengesetztes Substantive.
I can only partially agree to the statements made in this thread about the quality of this list but I've been fascinated with German words that have no English counterparts, at least not completely. My favorite one so far is "Waldeinsamkeit"--literally "forest soltitude" but the translation does not capture the "calm, contemplative atmosphere amidst a beautiful setting"[1]. Before moving to Hamburg I used to camp a handful of times a year for stargazing and I _feel_ that I understand this concept somehow.
On a more "Auslander" observation: when I moved in to Hamburg I was struck by how early the city sleeps, how dark the streets are at night. Sure there are streetlights[2] but for the second largest city in a European hub such as Germany, they might as well be lighting a residential village! For my connotation of a metropolitan area, Hamburg at night just ain't cutting it.
Until, I learned about "Waldeinsamkeit". Again this is probably just the Auslander talking but I have since thought that Waldeinsamkeit is the philosophy behind Hamburg's urban design. They may have urbanized for 20th century living but, if I may be poetic, they still want that beautiful serenity of darkness.
[1] https://blogs.transparent.com/german/untranslatable-german-w... [2] though there are nooks and crannies in Hamburg that are notably really dark, sometimes only lighted by the apartments along the street.
No, these expressions exist in English, they just have a slightly different meaning. And in the case of “Entwicklung”, the English pendant “Development” even has the exact same origin: to unwrap or unfold (the opposite of envelope). There certainly are German expressions that do not exist in English, but this list does not do a good job at collecting them. My personal impression is that German makes it easier to expr…
Right, English often does the same thing but disguises it with Latin. This first struck me with "unmittelbar", which is exactly the same as "immediate" except it feels more literal because all the components are German.
I think the author confuses etymology with meaning, and then uses wrong etymologies (e.g. translating "mut" to "courage" rather then the literal "mood") to arrive at some amazing "wisdom" in German.
Some of the words are exactly the same meaning as the English counterpart, e.g. develop also means to unwrap. It just have a French origin rather than a Germanic.
I think English is really the odd language here. Because so many English words are loanwords from French or Latin, their origin or etymology is not as apparent to English speakers.
(And of course the article sprinkles a bit of irrelevant neurobabble.)
Doesn’t every language have such a thing? What makes German more exceptional than English? Or Chinese more exceptional than English? I’m certain there are expressions that don’t exist in every language, and even if you translated them, they might not translate well due to cultural or linguistic issues (try translating Monty Python to Chinese while keeping British wit and hoping your average Chinese viewer understands…
Not in the same degree.
>What makes German more exceptional than English?
Different syntax, more abstract terms, and easier to combine terms and create new meanings.
>Or Chinese more exceptional than English?
Totally different writing system, syntax and sensibility, and a couple of millennia or more of added history.