As anglicism is meant a speech or word formation which has been taken from English into another language and – with regard to German – is not perceived as German, such as online, container, laptop or team. Anglicisms can be accepted by the linguistic community, and then incorporated into the language-usage, which in the beginning are mostly regarded as neologisms (cf. Neologism). However, anglicisms can not be accepted by the general public and are then used mainly in certain language groups (see jargon, technical jargon) and are often perceived by other speakers as Denglisch. If Anglicism is characterized by British English, it is also referred to as Britishism; is taken from the American, one speaks of Americanisms. In the literature, anglicisms are also used as an ironic stylistic tool.
The term is derived from the mediterranean anglicus, which can be translated into English. Consequently, the translation of the word already points to what is at stake: a word which has been taken from English into another language. From now on, this is used in the general language usage, and occasionally no longer as anglicism.
Such anglicisms are usually formed when there is no name for the corresponding thing in the respective language, as is the case, for example, with technical innovations, and the original description is simply taken over. In addition, the language of the youth is often traversed by anglicisms, although it is also observed that anglicisms are increasingly used in the sphere of economics, science and technology.
Forms of Anglicism
There are quite different forms of anglicisms. Common to all is that they adopt basic structures from English. However, this takeover can relate to different aspects of the language and show different manifestations.
In general, anglicisms can be attested by the actual assumption of the word, parts of a word, or meanings of a word, but also on levels of punctuation, conjugation, and shaping. In addition, there are also ill-induced anomalies that appear to be derived from English but do not actually. An overview:
Appearance (overview)
Form of Anglicism Explanatory examples
The English word is simply the other language. In most cases, however, it is adapted to the grammar system of the respective language (see Case, Genus, Number). This form is most easily visible to the observer. Laptop, internet, hashtag
Lean translation The word is translated one-to-one into the other language. brainwashing → Brainwashing (brain: brain, washing: washing)
Lean transfer The idea behind the English term is adopted, but not word by word, as would be the case with a loan translation. skyscraper → skyscraper (sky: sky, scraper: scratch, scraper).
Lehn Meaning A concept that already exists is supplemented by the meaning of an English word. realize meant for the time being in German that one noticed a thing. The English realize / realise also means that something is realized. This meaning was taken over into German.
Pseudo-Anglicism Identifies a word within a non-English language that makes it appear that it comes from English, although this is not true. The impression can arise through the pronunciation. Mobile phone is a shamangy. The word “handy” means in English practical, comfortable, handy, while the mobile phone is called mobile phone or cellphone. Another example is the happy ending.
morphogenesis
(Inflection) The verb conjugation form is used for verbs. A typical example is the appending of the syllable -ed, which, although similar to the German -et, does not appear in German in this form. This is usually found in verbs derived from anglicisms. He just printed the brochure.
Punctuation / orthography
Use of c instead of k, such as in Holocaust.
Spaces in complex nouns, such as in museum pottery instead of museum pottery. Such a spelling is to be regarded as a mistake in German.
Note: In some cases, other rules of punctuation or grammar are translated into the other language. For example, the setting of an apostrophe before the genitive-S can apply. These abnormalities, however, are quite rare and hardly recognizable as anglicisms, which is why they are not mentioned in the above overview.
