List of German expressions in English

Below is a list of German expressions used in English. Some are relatively common (such as hamburger or gestalt), but most are comparatively rare. In many cases, the German borrowing in English has assumed a substantially different meaning than its German forebear.

Related Topics:
German - English - Borrowing

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English and German are both descended from the West Germanic language, though their relationship has been obscured by the large influx of Norman French words into English from the Norman Conquest of 1066 and the second Germanic sound shift. In recent years, however, many English words have been borrowed directly from German. Typically English spellings of German loanwords suppress any umlauts (the accent over Ä, Ö, Ü, ä, ö and ü) of the original artifact.

Related Topics:
West Germanic language - Norman Conquest - Second Germanic sound shift - Loanword - Umlaut

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German words have been incorporated into English usage for various reasons. Common cultural items, especially foods, have spread to English-speaking nations and are often identified by their German names. The history of excellence among German-speaking nations in science, scholarship, and classical music has led to many German words being adopted by academics for use in English contexts. Discussion of German history and culture requires use of German words. Lastly, some German words are used simply to a fictional passage by implying that the thing being expressed is German, as in Frau or Reich, although sometimes the use of German terms has no German implication, as in doppelganger or angst.

Related Topics:
Science - Scholarship - Classical music

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English and German are descended from the same common ancestor, called Proto-Germanic. Because of this, a number of English words are identical to their German counterparts either in spelling (Hand, Finger) or in pronunciation (Fish = Fisch). These words are excluded from this list.

Related Topics:
Proto-Germanic - Hand - Finger - Fish

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