German language

Names of the German language in other languages

Because of the turbulent history of both Germany and the German language, the names that other peoples have chosen to use to refer to it varies more than for most other languages.

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In general, the names for the German language can be arranged in five groups according to their origin:

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Lao is unique in that both under the influence of English "German" (through Thai "yenman") and French (the colonial language) "Allemand", it chose a name in between: ???????????? (phaxa yeylaman), which could be ranked both under category 2 and category 5.

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Note: The Romanian language used to use in the past the Slavonic term "nem?e?te", but "german?" is now widely used. Hungarian "német" is also a Slavonic loan-word. The Arabic name for Austria, ?????? ("an-namsa"), is derived from the Slavonic term.

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A possible explanation for the use of "mute" to refer to German (and also to Germans) in Slavic languages is that Germans were the first people Slavic tribes encountered, which whom they could not communicate. The corresponding experience for the Germans was with the Volcae, whose name they subsequently also applied to the Slavs, see etymology of Vlach.

Related Topics:
Volcae - Etymology of Vlach

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Hebrew traditionally used the term Ashkenaz to refer to Germany, or to certain parts of it, and the Ashkenazi Jews are those who originate from Germany and Eastern Europe and formerly spoke Yiddish as their native language, derived from Middle High German.

Related Topics:
Hebrew - Ashkenaz - Ashkenazi - Yiddish - Middle High German

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