One reason why a foreign word enters the vocabulary of a language is that this vocabulary does not have a word or expression with exactly the same meaning as the foreign word. Examples of German words that have entered English apparently for that reason are Gestalt, Zeitgeist, Weltschmerz or Schadenfreude. Examples in the opposite direction are "fair play" or "common sense". Each month, I will identify a German word that has entered—or could/should enter—English for legitimate reasons, i.e. there does not appear to exist an exact English equivalent.
[In parenthesis: Right now, German is experiencing an outright invasion of English terms, some of which are used—for whatever reasons—to replace perfectly adequate German terms; for example, there is no reason in the world to speak of a "game" instead of a Spiel in German. But this issue and its ramifications—endlessly lamented in German blogs—do not concern us here.]
Last change made to this page: July 4, 2008