Recently, the German dictionary Duden, equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary in the UK, added 5,000 new words to its 26th edition including many English words or words of English origin, such as “flashmob”. The German Language Society resisted such changes and voted the editors of the Duden the “language adulterers of the year”. However, most Germans, especially the generation of twenties and thirties, are open-minded with the new words and have a relaxed relationship with both languages.
To some degree, protesting the internationalization of German language is a way of refusing internationalization as a phenomenon. It is undeniable that German has its own unique and untranslatable words, which cannot be replaced by one simple English word. However, for some news words, such as “app”, it is much easier than “Anwendungen für mobile Endgeräte”.
