A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg While Germans reputation for long words is well-deserved (average word length in English: 8.2 characters, in German: 11.7 characters, source), it does have words of varying lengths. English doesnt hesitate to borrow words from another language even if it makes it look fat. From German we have borrowed one-syllable putsch and kitsch, as well as Scrabble-defying gotterdammerung and sprachgefuhl. Mark Twain once said, I would do away with those great long compounded words; or require the speaker to deliver them in sections, with intermissions for refreshments. This week well see some loanwords from German, words that are short and words that long. Dont hesitate to take a break for refreshments, as needed. gemeinschaft PRONUNCIATION: (guh-MYN-shaft) MEANING: noun: Social relations based on personal ties, affection, kinship, etc. ETYMOLOGY: From German Gemeinschaft (community), from gemein (common) + -schaft (-ship). Earliest documented use: 1937. NOTES: The counterpart of Gemeinschaft (community) is Gesellschaft (society), that is, social relation marked by impersonal ties, such as duty to society or to an organization. USAGE: As with those small-town figures, the doormans knowledge of a person can be worrying, but it is comforting, too. The doorman is a touch of Gemeinschaft in an ever more Gesellschaft world. James Collins; Why Doormen?; The New York Times; Apr 25, 2010. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: We are a landscape of all we have seen. -Isamu Naguchi, sculptor and architect (1904-1988)
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 14:09:00 +0000
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