the-lax-disciple: thatswhywelovegermany:mareebrittenford: randomgerman: linguistness: thatswhywel...

the-lax-disciple:

thatswhywelovegermany:

mareebrittenford:

randomgerman:

linguistness:

thatswhywelovegermany:

woolhattery:

a-german-learning-clown:

melmey-fanfics:

shiplocks-of-love:

meetinginsamarra:

shiplocks-of-love:

thatswhywelovegermany:

wildflower182:

thatswhywelovegermany:

linguistikforum:

thatswhywelovegermany:

thiswontbebigondignity:

thatswhywelovegermany:

latveriansnailmail:

thatswhywelovegermany:

Honestly, as a German I can not quite understand the obsession of the English speaking world with the question whether a word exists or not. If you have to express something for which there is no word, you have to make a new one, preferably by combining well-known words, and in the very same moment it starts to exist. Agree?

Deutsche Freunde, could you please create for me a word for the extreme depression I feel when I bend down to pick up a piece of litter and discover two more pieces of litter?

* _um_ = around
* _die Welt_ = world

• die Umwelt = environment

* _ver_ = prefix to indicate something difficult or negative, a change that leads to deterioration or even destruction that is difficult to reverse or to undo, or a strong negative change of the mental state of a person

* _der Müll_ = garbage, trash, rubbish, litter
* _-ung_ = -ing

• die Vermüllung = littering
  • ver- = see before
  • zweifeln = to doubt
  • -ung = see before
• die Verzweiflung = despair, exasperation, desperation

die Umweltvermüllungsverzweiflung = …

This is a german compound on the spot master class and I am LIVING

#my german is still too basic for this but I desperately want a compound word for how much these compound words piss me off

• das Monster = monster
• das Wort = word
• der Groll = grudge, anger, malice, rancor

der Monsterwortgroll = …

Monsterwortbildungsimitationsunfähigkeitsverzweiflungsgroll

• die Bildung = formation
• die Imitation = imitation

• * _un-_ = un-, in-
  

  • fähig = able
  • -keit = -ility
• die Unfähigkeit = inability

der Monsterwortbildungsimitationsunfähigkeitsverzweiflungsgroll = anger about the inability to imitate the formation of monster words

Linguistikfehdenhandschuhwurf

• die Linguistik = linguistics
  • die Fehde = feud
  • der Handschuh = glove
• der Fehdehandschuh = gauntlet

• der Wurf = throw

der Linguistikfehdenhandschuhwurf = throwing down the linguistic gauntlet

slowly backs in fear

@shiplocks-of-love, @thatswhywelovegermany

Monsterwortbildungsunfähigkeitsangstverzweiflungsrückzugsecke

Monster=monster // wort=word // bildung(s)=formation

unfähigkeit (s)=incabability // angst=anxiety

verzweiflung(s)=desperation // rückzug(s)=retreat // ecke=corner

=the corner in which you retreat when you´re desperate because of your fear when being unable to form monster words

eye twitch

But what I want to see now is two germans arguing over the construction of one of these monster words.

@shiplocks-of-love I don’t think that will happen. The words make perfect sense. I think if German is your mother tongue you get a feeling for combining words, like a

Monsterwortbildungsgespür

Monster = monster

Wort = word

Bildung(s) = formation

Gespür = intuition

;-)

🤡

Sprachirrgartenbelustigungsbeitrag

• die Sprache = language
• • irren = to become lost (also: to err, to be mistaken; to wander, to stray)
• • der Garten = garden
• der Irrgarten = maze, knot garden
• • be- = prefix with a variety of functions: ¹ as part of a compound word, it denotes a processing or change of state; ² as part of a compound word, it denotes a touch; ³ as part of a compound word, it denotes a more intensive preoccupation with or thematization of something; ⁴ it forms from a noun an adjective with a pseudo-participle form because the corresponding verb does not exist; ⁵ as a prefix, it forms a transitive verb from a previously intransitive verb; ⁶ as a prefix of a verb, it shifts the focus and thus changes the sentence structure
• • lustig = funny
• • -ung = suffix turning an adjective/adverb into a noun
• die Belustigung = amusement, entertainment, merriment
• der Beitrag = contribution, article in a newspaper or magazine, posting on social media, input to a discussion

Bloody love this language <3<3<3

The thing is, since in German you have to decline/conjugate many words in relation to the noun they are refering to those monster words actually serve a purpose of making the language simpler.

A common example is a (as in any) red wine (ein roter Wein) as compaired to the compound a red wine (ein Rotwein). If rot is an adjective it has to be conjugated: der rote Wein - des roten Weins - die roten Weine - and many more. But it if rot is part of the noun you only have to decline Wein : d er Rotwein - des Rotweins - die Rotweine.

So, die Verzweiflung über die Vermüllung der Umwelt is way longer than Umweltvermüllungsverzweiflung and you would have to know three grammatical genders and the words’ respective declinations. Whereas for Umweltvermüllungsverzweiflung you only need to know that Verzweiflung is grammatically feminine (die) and its deklinations.

Ok, now I want to see Germans playing Scrabble

Doomscrollaufhellungsrepost

Doom scroll // self explanatory

auf- // lit.: „up“ indicates rising, or something becoming bigger, better, healthier

hell // bright

aufhellen // to brighten something up

-ung // makes a verb a noun

-s- // the glue that keeps german compound words together

repost // self explanatory

Doomscrollaufhellungsrepost // a repost to brighten up your doom scroll

You‘re Welcome!

The thing that I always want to point out to English speakers marvelling at German compounds is that we do this too! It’s a thing that Germanic languages are especially prone to!

It’s just conventional in English to keep writing spaces in between larger compounds, whereas in German it’s conventional to remove them. But they sound the same! Grammatically, they’re identical!

You could call it the…

English-German compound word space omission overadmiration fallacy