Language defenders

The German language has a bit of a bad rap. It's known to sound quite harsh, and for those who are learning it, it often seems impossible. Articles are confounding, there seems to be an endless number of adjective endings, and the perplexing grammar often leaves verbs stacked up at the end of sentences like a traffic jam on the Autobahn.

Not surprisingly, sentiments are a bit different in Germany, and one group even created an award to honor people who they call defenders of the German language.

The language defender award was created by an organization called Deutsche Sprachwelt (German World of Language), which calls itself "the platform for those who love language." The distinction goes to those in Germany who the Deutsche Sprachwelt thinks have made an exemplary effort to stand up for German.

Among this year's nominees are Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who created a bit of a linguistic stir earlier this year when a reporter from the BBC tried to pose a question to Westerwelle at a press conference in Germany.

"If I may ask a question in English, and if you would be so kind as to answer in English," said the reporter before being interrupted by Westerwelle, who said:

"If you don't mind, as this is a press conference in Germany… As is the norm in Great Britain where English is spoken, here it is the norm that we speak German."

English? Nein, Danke

Ursula Bomba works for the Deutsche Sprachwelt, which awards the German language defender of the year award, and she says Westerwelle was right in his refusal to respond in English.

"Some interviewer from the BBC behaved as if we were a colony and had to speak his language, even in our own country," Bomba told Deutsche Welle in an interview. "And [Westerwelle] just wanted to bring the point across, when in Germany, speak German."

Bomba says part of the reason for creating the language defender award was to protect the German language from outside influences, namely those from the Anglo-American world. More and more, English words are coming into regular usage in the German language, especially in areas of business, science, and the consumer sector. English, Bomba says, is posing a threat to German.

"If, for instance, we use English in certain areas of the economy, our language will be developed back and damaged in that we can't express everything in our own language," she said. "The English language - as a rich language - is good, but it should not destroy our language."

No defense necessary

But does German really need to be defended? Dr. Rudolf Hoberg is the head of the Association for the German Language, a cultural organization developed by the federal and state governments. He doesn't think German is under attack.

"There are some who say the influence of foreign words hurt the German language," Hoberg told Deutsche Welle. "But I think, foreign words can sometimes help. Words are taken over when there are gaps in the language to be filled."

Foreign words can also take on a slightly different meaning than they have in their original language. Hobert gives the example of the English word 'body,' which in German refers to a leotard.

"British and American women have a body," he says, "but German women wear a body."

The positive or negative impacts of the English influence on German can be debated, but one thing is certain: German is a living, dynamic language. Hoberg's Association for the German Language recognizes these changes every year with the Word of the Year award.

This year, the best German word was ' Abwrackpraemie,' which refers to the German government's car scrapping premium that was available in 2009. Interestingly, 'bad bank' was also on the list of candidates for Word of the Year, reflecting the appropriateness of an English phrase that fit a German problem.

The German language is a growing entity, and Dr. Hoberg says it exists in a form like never before.

"I always say, Goethe would have been glad if he had had the German language that we have today."

After all, it was Goethe who said "We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden."


Author: Matt Zuvela
Editor: Andreas Illmer