Languages….!!

What are we without them? How did these emerge? How did they multiply and then go extinct? And which language would be the king of the languages if there was any?

Honestly…. I have no idea!, don’t know what I would be without these words and expressions, not sure of how hard humans were pushed to invent curse words and I wonder what had inspired them to describe beauty in such a beautiful way, that is words.

& I am astonished to see how languages end up mixing together like a well blended/sometimes ill-blended smoothies, which brings me to how did a language like German which was historically also responsible in a way to lot of conflict in its quest to remain pure, did not stay pure for a long time. English had to ruin it for good!

Majority of the population in various regions of the world can speak and understand English. The language has received acceptance from every country in the world and hence influences the other languages.

Such influence has resulted in a new form of language. Eg. Denglish, Hinglish, Japanglish, Spanglish or Frenglish. The letter E in the word English makes it so easy to mix into any other word. Literally the way it is mixed in any other Language.

What is Denglish? 

It’s the hybrid of English and Deutsch (German) that gave birth to Denglish. In simple words, it is the use of English while using German. The overrun of English in our vocabulary while speaking German explains the presence of Denglish.

Who uses Denglish? 

This sort of mixture of two languages is most commonly used by the millennials and younger generation. Old people or the ones considered as uncool people are not so familiar with the use of Denglish. They would look down upon this new Hybrid version.

How did this form of Language emerge? 

As humans evolved, They focused on their progress in every possible way. They developed means of communication and prospered to have trade and commerce across the globe. They managed expanding and growing together and exchanged not just goods but also languages and culture.

Hence this explains the influx of English in the German language.

Reasons that are amplifying the use of Denglish: 

Globalization: being global is not just about the availability of goods and services from another country but also accepting their linguistic skills and their manner of being.

Social media: social media has opened such doors which were never discovered before. It gifted us web-based software and applications. It’s a platform for one and for all. Most of the content available online is in English hence explains the impact of English on German.

Global entertainment and media content: the world of entertainment knows no boundaries now. Content in all languages is available online, which allows the influence of languages in languages.

The problem with Denglish:

For the unfamiliar native speakers- it is extremely difficult to accept these forced changes. Accepting a new language is not a problem but creating a fusion can surely create confusion.

For learners- learning a language is a strenuous process and getting acquainted with the vocabulary and grammar of a language is even frenetic. As learners we learn the standard form of language which is Hochdeutsch and again learning, unlearning and relearning German as Denglish is something that learners are not ready for.

By the end of it I can just say, some things are best off of fusion and hybridisation. Languages lose their authenticity and charm in the process of westernisation or modernisation or globalisation.

Some examples of Denglish

The set of vocabulary that deals with social media and the Internet.  Downloaden, Skypen, Twittern, Bingen, Googeln and Bloggen.

The use of English phrases and Slogans e.g. BMW: “Designed for Driving Pleasure”, Lufthansa: “#SayYesToTheWorld”

Direct use of English words and expressions like, sorry, excuse me, Make-up, wellness, Fitness.

English words that don’t exist in English language  Eg. Das Handy – the mobile phone,  der Smoking – the tuxedo, der Oldtimer – the classic car.

German sounds pretty interesting, isn’t it????

Join us to explore the fun of learning a Foreign Language. Click on the link to know more about our Courses and Batches

https://www.lingothoughts.com/learn-german-language.html#service