The Denglisch Dictionary

A Glossary of English Words Used in German

das Handy = cell phone, mobile phone

Special “Denglisch” Words

At first glance the German word das Handy (pl., die Handys) may seem to be an improbable Germanic warping of an English word — an odd "Denglisch" creation meaning "mobile phone" or "cellular phone." But the credit or blame for this word, depending on how you look at it, does not go to the Germans. The word may actually be derived from an American commercial product name!

In 1940 Motorola (then the Galvin Manufacturing Company) introduced a five-pound handheld two-way radio it dubbed the Handie-Talkie SCR536. It was widely used during the Second World War. In 1943 Motorola introduced the FM backpack-sized Walkie-Talkie™ two-way radio that had a range of 10 to 20 miles. In 1956 Motorola's new Handie-Talkie radio pocket pager could deliver a radio message to a particular individual. The fully transistorized Handie-Talkie HT200 portable two-way radio, weighing only 33 ounces (935 grams), came to market in 1962. Because of its shape and durable construction it was nicknamed the "brick." The Handie-Talkie HT220 Slimline two-way radio of 1969 weighed only 22 ounces.

By 1977 Motorola was developing the world's first experimental cell phone system. In 1983 Motorola introduced the DynaTAC cell phone and the first commercial cell phone network. The digital D-Netz mobile phone network went online in Austria and Germany in 1990. In the early 1990s, German electronic firms such as Bosch and Hagenuk were marketing a "Handfunktelefon" or a "Handheld-Telefon (oder Handy)" to compete with Motorola's "MicroTac" cell phone.

The word "Handy" for a cell phone or mobile phone is only used in German. In Swiss German the word das Natel is sometimes used, but das Handy is more common. (Natel is Swisscom's trademark name for its mobile phone service.)

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