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03.09.03, 08:40
Germans say nein to Denglish
ALLAN HALL
BERLIN’S 140,000 public service workers could be banned from speaking or
writing a curious new language which is taking over in modern Germany -
Denglish.
Politicians want the mixture of German and English outlawed in an attempt to
preserve the purity of the German language. The move echoes attempts in
France to cut back on Americanisms.
Denglish - an amalgamation of Deutsche and English - is used widely by
schoolchildren, advertisers, German railways, airlines, major companies,
restaurants and shops.
Der Call Centre, die Service Points, der Computer, das New Berlin - it is
everywhere and unstoppable. But traditionalists have been threatening a
backlash and they are pinning their hopes on the civil service as the last
line of defence to stop - in the words of one politician - "the language of
Goethe from being railroaded into a cul-de-sac by English".
Next month, a conference of culture ministers from the 16 states which make
up the republic will hear a call for all the civil servants in Berlin to be
forbidden from using Denglish in business, spoken or written.
"English puts itself forward as a progressive language, but we should see the
words as hollow as they really are," said Klaus Boeger, a social democratic
education senator.
Language protectionists, who meet once a month to root out Anglicisms in
German and put them on a banned list, recently wrote to bishops in Berlin
complaining that church sermons were using too many English words.
They claim that firms using Denglish are failing faster than those sticking
to German.
Professor Walter Kraemer of the Association of the German Language claimed a
disproportionate use of Denglish dooms many firms.
"It is not a coincidence that a majority of companies that were de-listed
from the Neuer Markt had Denglish names (including Lobster Network Storage,
ebookers, Digital Advertising - all German firms and now all insolvent)," he
said.
"These excessive Anglicisms serve to put off investors.
Two months ago a law came into effect forcing radio stations to give German
songs equal playtime with ones in English."
