German Words of the Year 2

German Language Organizations

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Also see: Denglisch: When Languages Collide

In addition to the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, sponsor of the "Wörter des Jahres"), there is another German language association called the Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V., or the German Language Association. Like the GfdS, the VDS is concerned with the German language, but the VDS concentrates more on the struggle to keep German free of too much foreign-language influence—with English their prime target.

Below you'll find more information about both the GfdS and the VDS. You can even become a member of these organizations if you so desire. The following is a summary gathered from the official GfdS and VDS Web sites (links below). You will find much more information about these organizations on the Web. Although the VDS site is in German only, the GfdS site is in German and English.

Unwort des Jahres: See more about the German Unwort des Jahres, the "Unword of the Year"

General Information
Founded in Lübeck, Germany in 1947, the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS) is today headquartered in Wiesbaden. The Society is a membership organization devoted to researching and cultivating the German language. The GfdS documents current trends in the development of the German language and makes recommendations for good usage and style. The Society and its local and regional chapters organize lectures and discussions as well as symposia and workshops. The Society thus forms a link between scholarship and the interests and needs of a broader public.

Membership
Any person interested in the German language may become a member of the Society by writing to the administrative office and paying dues. Currently, the Society has about 2,500 members, many of them outside Germany. Annual dues range from 12.78 to 76.69 euros. For more about membership see the GfdS Web site and the Mitgliedschaft page.

Activities and Projects
The Society has local chapters in numerous cities and regions of Germany and abroad. In addition to its annual Wörter des Jahres award, every other year the GfdS awards the Medienpreis für Sprachkultur (Prize for Language Culture in the Media), and the Alexander-Rhomberg Preis which includes a grant of 5,000 euros in support of a young journalist. Both prizes recognize excellence in the use of language in the media. The 2002 Medienpreis für Sprachkultur winner was the German talk show host and film star Thomas Gottschalk.

The GfdS library consists of more than 16,000 books and periodicals on the German language and language culture, including several special collections. Since 1970, the Society has been establishing a "Dokumentation zur deutschen Gegenwartssprache" ("Documentation on Contemporary German") which now contains about 400,000 lexical entries. It is processed by the Institut für deutsche Sprache (IDS) in Mannheim and can be accessed through COSMAS.

The GfdS maintains a language information hotline that tries to provide on-the-spot answers to questions relating to German grammar, spelling, pronunciation, usage, style, etymology, etc.

The Society publishes two journals: Der Sprachdienst (general information for a wide readership) and Muttersprache (for linguists and other specialists).

Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache
Geschäftsstelle
Spiegelgasse 13
D-65183 Wiesbaden
GERMANY

Tel. (Germany) 49 [0]611 999 550
Fax (Germany) 49 [0]611 999 5530
e-mail: hu.gfds@t-online.de
Membership: Mitgliedschaft

WEB: www.gfds.de/

"Kein Denglish in deutschen Wörterbüchern"

The German Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V. (formerly "Verein zur Wahrung der deutschen Sprache e.V.") was founded in November 1997. The VDS has been waging an uphill battle against the many incursions of English into German, a trend that creates in the Association's view a mongrel language, sometimes called "Denglisch" or "Gernglish." For example, the German Language Association does not want to see commonly used English computer terms like "upgrade" or "downloaden" become official, standard entries in German dictionaries.

In an attempt to sound a bit less nationalistic, more mainstream and less defensive, the VDS recently changed its name, dropping the original "for the Protection of" (zur Wahrung) in the original title. But the VDS has not reduced its efforts to defend the German language against the constant and relentless encroachment of English. It points out vigorously (and correctly, in my opinion) that Germans seem to be all too willing to use English in the name of "coolness"—even when a perfectly good German word or expression would do. (See my article entitled Denglisch: When Languages Collide.)

Objecting to the proposed acceptance of English computer terms by the IDS (German Language Institute), VDS chairman Dr. Walter Krämer stated: "Ich kann die einschlägigen Vorschläge des Instituts für deutsche Sprache in Mannheim nicht nachvollziehen. Es gibt für einen großen Teil des englischen Computer-Jargons perfekte und oft bessere deutsche Wörter, angefangen mit dem Computer selbst. Der hieß früher immer und bei wahren Profis auch noch heute Rechner." ("I can't go along with the relevant proposals of the German Language Institute in Mannheim. For most English computer jargon there are perfectly good and often better German words, starting with the computer itself. It used to always be called, and is still called, "Rechner" by true pros.")

Dr. Krämer also points out that English words often present a problem in dealing with the grammatical code of German. A German-speaker has difficulty deciding, for instance, if the past participle of the Denglish verb "downloaden" should be "downloaded," "gedownloaded," or "downgeloaded." According to Dr. Krämer, such words make communication more difficult, not better. ("Sie erleichtern nicht die Verständigung der Menschen, sie erschweren sie.") The Association is not against all loan words. If there is not a good German equivalent, the VDS accepts the use of such borrowed words. But it is strongly opposed to what it sees as the unnecessary use of English in German, just to be fashionable or to show off.

As part of its effort to prevent superfluous English from creeping into German, the Association designates an annual "Sprachpanscher des Jahres," or "Language Dilutor of the Year." The award usually goes to a German business leader who has encouraged the use of trendy English phrases rather than German equivalents. The 2000 "winner" was Prof. Dr. jur. Andreas Heldrich, the chancellor (Rektor) of Munich's Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, apparently for encouraging the Americanization of German higher education. For 1999 the CEO of the German railway Deutsche Bahn AG, Johannes Ludewig, won the award. His company was "honored" for its excessive use of English. "Service points," "ticket counters," "DB-Lounges," and "McCleans" (for restrooms) were among the railroad's labels that the Society found objectionable. 1998's "Sprachpanscher" was Ron Sommer, the head of Deutsche Telekom AG, the former German phone monopoly, now privatized. Sommer attracted the Association's ire with his company's use of advertising and service terms such as: "Sunshine-Tarif," "Moonshine-Tarif" (day/night rate), "City-Calls," "Free-Calls," and "German-Calls." The previous "winner" (for 1997) was the Hamburg fashion designer Jil Sanders for her constant mixing of German and English words in public statements.

Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V.
Postfach 10 41 28
D-44041 Dortmund
GERMANY

Telefon: 0231 - 794 85 20
Telefax: 0231 - 794 85 21
E-Post: Info@vds-ev.de
WEB: www.vds-ev.de/

Das Unwort des Jahres (unwortdesjahres.org)

German Un-Word of the Year

The Unwort des Jahres, the German "Unword of the Year," is chosen each January by an independent jury known as the "Sprachkritische Aktion Unwort des Jahres." Read more...

NEXT > Words of the Year - Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Related Pages

Denglisch: When Languages Collide
A look at the growing tendency of borrowing English vocabulary in German, and the sometimes strange result known as "Denglisch."

German Words of the Year
A complete listing of the GfdS-chosen German words for each of the last several years, with their English meanings.

Swiss-German Words of the Year
A complete listing of Switzerland's German words of the year with their English meanings.

Part One of This Article
German Words of the Year.

Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache
The official site of the German Language Society (GfdS). In German.

IDS - Institut für deutsche Sprache
The IDS is based in Mannheim.

IDS - Informationen zur deutschen Sprache
Web-Quellen für Deutsch.

Informationen zur deutschen Sprache - IDS
A very useful online guide to Deutsch from the IDS. Links to related sources.

Verein Deutsche Sprache
The official site of the Verein Deutsche Sprache in Dortmund. Old slogan: "Bürger für die Erhaltung der sprachlichen und kuturellen Vielfalt Europas." New slogan: "Europa ist unser Haus und Deutsch unsre Sprache." Site is all in German!

Denglisch
Deutsch+English = Denglisch. Vom VDS.

More from your Guide

Glossaries
English-German glossaries by topic: computers, holidays, greetings, etc.

Organizations
Links to many German language organizations.

Wort des Tages
The German word of the day.

Zitat des Tages
The German quote of the day.

German Newsletters
Subscribe to a free newsletter!

German Word of the Day
Das Wort des Tages

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