Just that, do you guys or does your native language use any foreign words or expressions when talking sometimes? for example, it's quite common in Spanish (or at least in Spain) to use some foreign words like it can be "sorry", used when talking in an informal way with someone you know, "merci beaucoup" or just "merci" in the same situation, "thank you" or "thank you very much", we also use a lot "ciao" pronounced mainly "chao" to say goodbye also "sil vous plait", then we also have foreign words (im not sure if they are officially in the Spanish dictionary) like it can be "sándwich" (im sure this one is though) though that in Spanish a Sandwich is only the one made with loaf bread, we have a different word for the other ones and so on, i'm sure there are more foreign words we use, so what about you guys? is it common for you to use any?

It was getting very popular to use English words in the German language, mainly by people, who want to look cool, modern and up to date. Yes, it's often not to avoid, because the orign German word is unusual, but it sucks, if you mix up the language to much.

It's a question of balance, you can say. If you would try to avoid any forein "immigrated" word or term, it would sound very strange and the people wouldn't understand you.
During the Nazi-time and also in East Germany, the GDR, it was tried sometimes to avoid foreign-based words and to create own German terms, but this was never accepted by the citizens.

The main foreign based words nowadays are English, but there are also some French and -mainly in the German East- some Russian or Polish terms "immigrated"
If you see it historical, the most European languages, German, too, are based on Latin and Greek.

The dialect at the German North Sea-coast includes many more English words than the official German (and is a bit similar to Dutch, too). This was a result, because from the coast there were always a lot of sailors, who had brought home also words from their trips around the world.


One example, how a foreign word is used in a different meaning than the original one: in German a mobile-phone ("cellular-phone" in America, am I right?) is called "Handy". An English term, but with a total different meaning.

Here a list of German words, which were used in the English (mainly American) language:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/words/lehnwoerter.htm

It's quite interesting, what German words were used in other languages, too. I just have found while surfing the www about this theme some more examples. I try to find examples for Spanish words, which were getting common over here (because CCF had started the topic
Ah, here it is:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_von_Hispanismen

Thanks for responding Ingo! i'm not sure of understanding the list above? what is it really? german words with Spanish origin?

Yes, in the Wikipedia-link are listed words and terms with Spanish orign.

"indigenen Ursprungs" means, that it was coming from Spanish-speaking South America, but had at least its orign in the ancient native languages over there.

I know I’ve use the word "Kaput" several times before (from that list Ingo provided)

I’ve heard people say a few of the others a time or two.

It's funny, I have only ever heard the word Kaput used as slang before. For instance, if something broke you could say "it went kaput". I thought it was just a noise that people made that sounded similar to the sound something makes when it is breaking. But it wasn't until last Friday when I was in German class that I found out it was a real word in Deutsch!

Ah yes Kaput, we use that word a lot too, so it is of Spanish origing?

In French (or at least "Belgian French") "Kaput" is used too, but rather when speaking than in well written text

Friends call my car Opel Kaputt

AS my friends do German, I know a few words and sometimes say them in conversation, to the annocence of them, as it often makes no sense!

I don't really notice when I use foreign words, normal English has so many of them. I know 'foreign' itself is French, but I wouldn't have considered 'angst' or 'pretzel' until I read Ingo's list, then I think 'oh, that does sound German' (for example). I noticed "Sturm und Drang" wasn't on there, I think quite a few non-German speakers are familiar with the phrase.
There's some other things I say more intentionally. (There was only a few, but I keep remembering more)
-Almost always use one of these instead of 'cheers'.
-I curse in other languages pretty frequently (Chiefly 'British', but that still counts, doesn't it?)
-I quote this thing sometimes, but that's not real German, is it?
-Mai ben lai: A Thai phrase, I'm told it roughly translates as 'it doesn't matter/don't worry about it'. I use it quite a lot.
-Hc Svnt Dracones: Latin, it's the earliest known use of the phrase "here be dragons". I use it to mean "I don't know about this and it doesn't matter, don't ask me."
-Felix Natalis Solis Invicti: Explained here. I put 'felix' on the front because it means 'lucky/happy', so it's supposed to be "happy birthday of the invincible sun", but it's probably not grammatically correct Latin. I say it to people who wish me merry Christmas, because I like being confusing.

There's some more, but not very often.

I've noticed that many magazine writers use German words in order to be on the cutting edge of high culture. "Über" gets tossed about the printed page many times.

Occasionally, I will pronounce "advertisement" in the Euro-English form, with the greater accent on VERT instead of ISE. I think it sounds more classy that way.

Yes, "kaputt" (correctly with two t's) is a German word for "broken". It's used for any kind of broken things, if you say "Ich bin kaputt", you man "I'm shaggered out".
Oh, I just have seen at www.dict.cc, that the English term "groggy", which we use in the identical meaning, is a bit different in English orgin.

I don't know why, but outside Germany everyone says "Pretzel" - "Brezel" is the orgin.
Once 'd found indeed the term "Pretzel" on one (German made) bag of these little Brezel/Pretzel. One Brezel like this had nearly caused the death of George W. Bush.

By the way, there is one car, which is known as "Brezel". It's the pre-1953 VW Beetle with the two small back windows. If someone says "I own a Brezel", everyone knows, what he means.
Once Ive also heard by VW-freaks the word-creation "Brezel-Golf". It's a nick-name for the 1974/75 VW Golf I/Rabbit with chrome-bumpers, chrome mirrors and the old back panel.


@BlackIce_GTS: This linked text "Gefingerpoken" is not German. But it shall be.
By the reference, it was a selfmade translation of a manual of a computer in a Scottish university. It's total funny, because everything is written wrong and the most words are new creations.

If that's the same as "grogui" in Spanih we use it for when someone is asleep.

Where I live, in the Ruhr-area, two origin Polish words are used. They are quite common since 100 to 120 years, when there was a big immigration of Polish coalmine-workers. Also a reason, why here are still a lot of family-names are ending with ..ski and ..iak.

One is "Mottek" for a hammer and the other "Matka" for a girl. But "Matka" is more in a negative meaning, for a stupid, clumsy oaf of a girl.

Ingo: "It was getting very popular to use English words in the German language, mainly by people, who want to look cool, modern and up to date."

- they're just keeping up with the zietgiest.

@dudley: ...or they want to go with something, which they are imaging as Zeitgeist (sorry, but you've switched the i's with the e's


Language is always a process. I've read, that a new slang, nearly a dialect was grown up in the rougher, poorer immigrant-quarters of bigger German towns. It's a kind of "Pidgin-German", which includes Turkish and Arabian words. It's used by younger immigrants and even some German kids, which wants to belong to their groups or gangs.
A problem: if you are only or mainly knowing this "Kanaksprak" (the self-given term for it), you will never have any chance to be successful in school or getting any job.

It's called "Kanaksprak" by the guys itself. The word "Kanake" is basicially from New Caledonia in the Southern Sea, the natives over there are calling theirselves "Kanaks", which means "human being".
For any -for me unknown- reason this word is in use in the German language as a very rude and rough, an abusive word for immigrants from Turkey and Arabian countries.

@ccf: by remembering this thread:
http://imcdb.org/vehicle_180064-Nissan-Moco.html
it came into my mind, that in the slang of the Ruhr Area, we have the word "Mocke". So we are calling ugly, dirty mud or mud-water, for example at the bottom of a sink.
As google says, there were historically other meanings for that, but over here the people are knowing it a bit similar meaning as in Spanish. Perhaps it's based there, too?

@ingo: would you mind having a litlle converstaion with me in German? I think it would be good practice for my German skills to talk to a real German person auf Deutsch Sorry if I say things wrong, I am still learning.

Let's begin...

Ingo, was Autos hast du? Du hast ein Omega und ein K-70, bin ich stimme? Wie sind dein autos?