Germany needed Shitstorm, according to a group of language experts who elected the word as the top English contribution to the German language last year.
The “Anglicism of the Year” jury defined Shitstorm as a public outcry, primarily on the internet, in which arguments mix with threats and insults to reach a critical mass, forcing a reaction.
“This new kind of protest is clearly different in kind and degree from what could be expected in the past in response to a statement or action,” said jury member Michael Mann, who runs a language website called Lexikographieblog.
The jury said in a statement on Monday: “Shitstorm fills a gap in the German vocabulary that has become apparent through changes in the culture of public debate.”
It added that established German words, such as Kritik (criticism), were simply not descriptive enough.
Shitstorm came into widespread use last year in connection with the financial crisis in Greece and the plagiarism scandal which forced the then Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg to resign.
The second most important Anglicism this year was Stresstest, referring to the analysis of banks’ financial strength during the European financial crisis, the jury decided. More.
See: The local
Comments about this article
Spain
Local time: 08:17
Spanish to English
+ ...
Apart from the fact that this item is unredeemably vulgar and colloquial, I don't see why they couldn't have coined their own neologism for the purpose, perhaps along the lines of "Scheiß-sturm". Surely there are more deserving English candidates for this honour?
Austria
Local time: 08:17
German to English
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Is the word English in the first place? I've never heard it. It's rather like "handy" for mobile phone, a German word that just looks like English (and I'm sure there were plenty of reverse examples in the war-crazed comics of my youth - any memories out there?)
Local time: 02:17
German to English
+ ...
or should I say "American." I have definitely heard it in the States. "Handy" on the other hand, was adopted into German, but is never used here to mean "cell phone" (you can say you are a handy person, though.)
[Edited at 2012-02-14 21:10 GMT]
Germany
Local time: 08:17
English to German
+ ...
But what a choice -- and the statement that "shitstorm" fills a gap in the German language is a clear indication that these so-called "experts" do not qualify as such. "Gap", yes, maybe in the minds of 15 year olds whose eyes are... See more
But what a choice -- and the statement that "shitstorm" fills a gap in the German language is a clear indication that these so-called "experts" do not qualify as such. "Gap", yes, maybe in the minds of 15 year olds whose eyes are glued to their screens with scotch tape. If you look closely enough, you'll find many similar expressions in the German language, especially in the dialects, which are on par with that, in every respect.
"... established German words, such as Kritik (criticism), were simply not descriptive enough."
^^^ Absolutely ridiculous. As if German had only the word "Kritik" for that.
The other choices are more or less of the same category -- basically the Internet slang du jour among youngsters, which will probably disappear in a year or two -- with the exception of "leaken" maybe.
It's depressing for me as a German to see this country's inferiority complex towards (American) English unfold again in such a way, both vulgar and uninformed. I'm ashamed.
BTW I have nothing against American slang -- it's often so hilarious in all its directness.
[Edited at 2012-02-14 21:14 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-02-14 21:33 GMT] ▲ Collapse
Local time: 02:17
German to English
+ ...
I agree with everything you said, opolt!
[Edited at 2012-02-15 03:24 GMT]
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:17
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Is the word English in the first place? I've never heard it. It's rather like "handy" for mobile phone, a German word that just looks like English (and I'm sure there were plenty of reverse examples in the war-crazed comics of my youth - any memories out there?)
I've never heard it either.
Spain
Local time: 08:17
Spanish to English
+ ...
The other choices are more or less of the same category -- basically the Internet slang du jour among youngsters, which will probably disappear in a year or two --
Yes, my impression is that the people throwing these "awards" together seem a bit too desperate to appear "down with the kids" - although they usually end up more like "dancing dads"...
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:17
Hebrew to English
http://www.proz.com/forum/translation_news/213319-tergiversate_is_the_word_of_the_year_2011_according_to_dictionarycom.html
Same type of nonsense.
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:17
German to English
+ ...
Is the word English in the first place? I've never heard it.
I've never heard it either.
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/shitstorm?q=shitstorm
The OED has citations dating back to 1948, in The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer.
More explanation of the choice, for those who can read German:
http://www.scilogs.de/wblogs/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=3451&blogId=42
The writer of that post suspects that Mailer (and other writers who used the word) would have heard it used by US soldiers in World War II.
[Edited at 2012-02-15 11:07 GMT]
France
Local time: 08:17
Member (2012)
English to French
+ ...
It's depressing for me as a German to see this country's inferiority complex towards (American) English unfold again in such a way, both vulgar and uninformed. I'm ashamed.
[Edited at 2012-02-14 21:14 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-02-14 21:33 GMT]
Well Germany isn't the only country where people are more than happy to relinquish their own culture to adopt that of the US (because English = US, doesn't it ?). We have this in France too, and I'm sure it's true of many other countries as well.
Apart from that, I'm surprised Germans did not come up with their own word. Their language is famous for it elasticity, isn't it ?
France
Local time: 08:17
English to French
+ ...
As current slang has it: "shit" equates to "great/tops", i.e. "That's the real shit"; what we politely refer to as "the real McCoy or bees knees" etc, etc.
Germany
Local time: 08:17
English to German
+ ...
http://www.dict.cc/deutsch-englisch/Uns+fliegt+gleich+eine+Menge+Schei%C3%9Fe+um+die+Ohren.html
Not that I needed Google to discover this one. But it should be proof enough that the "gap" they've mentioned can be filled very easily, even with a very superficial, "quick and dirty" Internet-centric approach. ... See more
http://www.dict.cc/deutsch-englisch/Uns+fliegt+gleich+eine+Menge+Schei%C3%9Fe+um+die+Ohren.html
Not that I needed Google to discover this one. But it should be proof enough that the "gap" they've mentioned can be filled very easily, even with a very superficial, "quick and dirty" Internet-centric approach. Digging around in dictionaries and other good sources should reveal even more possibilities.
@Damien I'm aware that Germany isn't the only country importing lots of anglicisms these days, but I think it's much worse in this country than in, say, France or anywhere else. Maybe I'm mistaken. IMHO it has to do with the German national conscience/character; this is not only related to (post) WWII events but goes back much further. ▲ Collapse
Belgium
Local time: 08:17
English to Dutch
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While "storm in a teacup" may be English, too, "storm in een glas water" (literally: storm in a glass of water) is quite common in Dutch, although in Dutch it means about the same as "much ado about nothing".
Germany
Local time: 08:17
English to German
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Now, in light of today's events, it's suddenly become obvious how highly relevant and useful the expression actually is:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17072479
As I've said, the t... See more
Now, in light of today's events, it's suddenly become obvious how highly relevant and useful the expression actually is:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17072479
As I've said, the term was coined before these dramatic events unfolding. So, in light of the ingeniousness and foresight -- not to mention the political acumen -- that it reveals, and considering that it fills a gap in the German language, I would like to propose the term Wulffing as the "most important anglicism of the year" ;-]
Cheerio delirio,
-- opolt
[Edited at 2012-02-17 11:08 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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