The strange rise of Denglisch

And the subsequent pushback against English-German hybrid words

Angela Merkel
(Image credit: (Sean Gallup/Getty Images))

The word "shitstorm" was institutionalized in the latest edition of Duden, the most-respected German-language dictionary, which was published in July. The English profanity had previously spread through the ranks of German society, even working its way into German Chancellor Angela Merkel's vocabulary. She employed the word in a public meeting — Germanized in pronunciation to "shitschturm" — to describe the eurozone crisis.

The English compound word "flashmob" also was given its own listing in the Duden earlier this year. With terms like "flashmob" and the newly adopted "shitstorm," the German language society Verein Deutsche Sprache criticized the German language bible for diluting the language and incorporating too many Anglicisms. The society awarded Duden its "adulterator of the language" title, with the society’s chairman stating, "Whoever suggests the ridiculous and phoney Anglicism soccer as a replacement for Fussball richly deserves this [award]."

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Karina Martinez-Carter is an assistant editor at Map Happy and a freelance journalist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her work has appeared with BBC Capital, BBC Travel, Thrillist and Quartz, among other publications.