2013年5月25日 星期六

十大德語詞彙

繼上次寫了一篇法語詞彙,筆者決定再鼓足幹勁,為德語寫另一篇十大詞彙,與法語相比,英語中的德語數量並不多,不過當中來自德語的詞都別具意義,部分更帶有學術氣息。同樣筆者挑選了十個具代表性的德語詞彙,這些都收錄在英語詞典裡,例句也是從著名的語料庫 British National CorpusBNC)所摘錄下來且加上翻譯,希望讀者感受到德語在英語中的影響力,以下按字母順序排列:

1. angst
德語的 angst 類似英語的 anxiety worry,都是指「憂慮、焦慮、苦惱」,據說當年弗洛伊德(Signmund Freud)經常用這個詞來說心理上的恐懼、疑慮,後來心理學開始普及化,英語也順帶收進了 angst,例如:
In Diana's mind this unworkable triangle has engendered a decade of angst, anguish and anger.(在黛安娜的腦海中,這段糾纏不清的三角關係讓她十年內生活在憂慮、痛苦和憤怒之中。)

2. blitz(krieg)
熟讀近代西洋歷史的朋友,對這個詞應不會感到陌生,因它在二次世界大戰後開始通行,德語中 blitz lighning,而 krieg warblitzkrieg 可專指戰爭中的「閃電戰」或「閃擊戰」,也可泛指一般閃電式、鋪天蓋地式的行動,如宣傳活動、體育戰術或媒體報道等,通常都縮寫為 blitz,例如:
Almost as a logical outcome of this media blitz, it emerged in the summer of 1990 that Madonna, already a devotee of Kahlo's work, was commissioning a screenplay based on Kahlo's life.1990 年的夏天,媒體鋪天蓋地的報道下,結果順應而生,本已熱愛卡蘿作品的麥當娜接受委託撰寫一部卡蘿生平事跡的劇本。)

3. doppelgänger
doppelgänger 字面意思是 double-goer,即「兩個同行的人」,出自德國民間傳說中與主人長相一模一樣的幽靈,現在泛指一般容貌相似的人,但由於此詞帶有黑暗的背景,隱含對人產生威脅或帶來厄運的意味,有時可用來指自己心理上形成的心魔,不一定是有形的實體,例如:
The doppelgänger stands right behind its owner and always moves swiftly to dodge out of sight.(那幽靈就站在主人的背後,隨時都可迅速移動,以避開視線。)

4. ersatz
ersatz 在德語中表示 replacement substitute(代替品),據說戰時由於物資缺乏,有一種叫 ersatz coffee(代用咖啡)替代咖啡豆煮成的咖啡以解人們一時想渴咖啡之癮,後來 ersatz 進入英語後表示「代用的」、「仿造的」,一般比較粗製濫造而且質量低劣,例如:
A common characteristic of social life in the modern village is thus the attempt by newcomers to create an ersatz sense of community by founding and running local organizations.(因此,現代村莊的社交生活有一個常見的特點,那就是新來的村民會試圖創立和經營一些地方機構來仿造一種社區歸屬感。)

5. frankfurter
德國的香腸享譽全球,要選當中最常見的應該是 frankfurter,顧名思義,這種香腸來自 Frankfurt(法蘭克福),一般都經過煙熏所製,故又名「熏腸」,據說早期美國快餐店經常拿 frankfurter 做熱狗,直接帶旺了 frankfurter 一詞,有時還作為 hot dog 的代名詞,例如:
All these products should be kept under refrigeration unless, like some members of the Frankfurter family, they are preserved in a jar or can.(所有這些食品都應該冷藏起來,除了某些法蘭克福熏腸之類,它們都用罐頭封存好。)


a hot dog with frankfurter

6. hinterland
hinter behindhinterland 本意是指河道或海岸對內的「腹地」,後來亦泛指遠離大城市的內陸地區,一般用於未開發的鄉村地帶,有時新聞記者喜用這個詞來指某國的內地或落後地區,例如:
Between the wars there were periods of comparative peace, but the Turkish occupation of the hinterland was an ever-present menace.(戰爭之間有一段段相對和平的時期,但土耳其佔據了那片腹地會帶來持續的威脅。)

7. kitsch
kitsch 在德語中即是 trashrubbish 之意,據說這曾是德國人用來嘲笑英國文化低下的詞語,後來英語也乾脆收錄此詞表示低級趣味的物品,多指庸俗的藝術品、無欣賞價值的影片或在跳蚤市場廉價出售的便宜貨,例如:
In Jameson's critique, it is precisely this populism and celebration of kitsch which is denigrated.(在詹姆森的評論中,所詆毀的正正就是這種民粹主義以及極力歌頌的庸俗文化。)

8. schadenfreude
這個詞是由兩個詞組成,schaden + freude,德語的 schaden damage injury,而 freude joy happiness,意思即是「看見別人受傷害或遇上不如意事還一副興高采烈的模樣」,簡言之就是「幸災樂禍的心態」,英語收錄這個詞是因為英語中沒有相似意思的用語,中文卻有,果真巧合得很,例如:
It was a measure of Cecilia's character that, unlike most people, she experienced no schadenfreude about this, felt no secret pleasure in the superiority of her circumstances over her friend's, but sincerely regretted Daphne's inferior home and reduced income.(與大多數人不同,這反映了一點塞西莉亞的本性,她對這事不抱幸災樂禍的心態,對於自己的境遇比朋友優越不會暗地裡沾沾自喜,反而替達芙妮惡劣的住所和縮減了的收入感到真切的惋惜。)

9. wunderkind
德語的 wunder wonder,而 kind 就是 child,英語的 kindergarten 也是取自德語,意思是 children’s garden(幼兒園),wunderkind 合起來就是指創造奇跡的少年、才華橫溢的孩子,一般指音樂上的神童,不過這個詞有時帶點貶義,也可形容少年得志的人,例如:
Born in Buenos Aires, he was proclaimed a musical wunderkind when he made his concert debut as a pianist at seven.(他生於布宜諾斯艾利斯,在七歲時首次舉行鋼琴演奏音樂會,被喻為音樂界的神童。)


曾被喻為 wunderkind 的莫扎特(Mozart)

10. zeitgeist
德語特別多複合詞,zeitgeist 也是由 zeit geist 合成,zeit timegeist 可以指 ghost(鬼魂),也可以指 spirit(靈魂;精神),zeitgeist 就是指一個時代社會能夠反映出精神面貌的特徵或態度,一般譯作「時代精神」或「思潮」,多用於文學、政治或藝術上,例如:
Amid all this flurry of ‘decodings’ and ‘demystification’ is a discernible new Zeitgeist in the American museum world.(在這麼一陣「解碼」和「揭秘」的風氣下,反映出美國博物館一股清晰的新時代精神。)

除以上之外,還有不少常見的德語詞彙如 delicatessen、edelweiss、Fahrenheitgestaltkaiserquartzrealpolitikrucksackschnappsweltanschauung 等等,有興趣的讀者不妨自行查閱。

6 則留言:

  1. (Sorry, Lok, I clicked the wrong button and deleted your comment, but I have read it.)

    haha, I think it's not surprising because most of them are quite formal and academic, and somehow a bit foreign to America because they may be used more in Europe (the continent I mean). But I bet you should have seen frankfurter, right? From what I studied, this word became popular after the fastfood shops in the US used a lot of frankfurter to make hot dogs. And the word 'rucksack' is 'backpack' in American English. Some might wonder what 'ruck' means, it's actually 'back' in German.

    Compared to French, German words only occupy a very small amount in English because they are from the same language family. So what made German words enter English vocabulary is because of their complex concepts and technical terms. That's why you may find them rarely seen and unfamiliar.

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  2. HAHA.... No worries!

    I just asked Bryan about the list of words. He knows angst, blitz, doppelgänger, frankfurter, schadenfreude, and zeitgeist. He said these words are common and people use them. To me, most of these words are not for day-to-day use, so I don't really know them.

    "Frankfurter" didn't ring a bell to me at first, because it is usually shorten to "frank". :) For "rucksack", we usually use the word "backpack". Bryan said that "rucksack" means a heavy duty backpack to him. I don't know that word either because we have not go camping yet! Hahaha... :D

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  3. Haha, interesting! You and Bryan really gave me a lot of extra information that I couldn't expect at all.

    The differences between British and American English is a big headache to many learners! You know, we Hong Kongers learn British first, but we receive American pop culture much more by music, movies, TV shows and so on. Even the temperature (Celsius vs Fahrenheit) !

    I don't know why you are interested in my articles, but you're so supportive! To be honest I don't find many of my friends interested in language and so I haven't given my blog to them, but this in turn leaves the blog quite isolated. I don't know how to attract more others who are interested to come, just let it be destined by fate.

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  4. We are more than happy to help in any ways we can. :) Your blog is unique and different. I have learned a lot of stuffs in here. I am a person who curious about a lot of thing. I am interested in food, animals, cultures, people and many more. I like to sit and think. That is why I found your articles very interesting.

    As a blogger myself, I know what it is like for the blog to be isolated. I have my blog for almost 3 years. I didn't start getting a bit more vistors until recent year. There are few things that you can do. For me, my blog is about food, so I post my pictures on foodgawker and tastespotting. I also post links on twitter and facebook. Also, it is easier to find an online community that share similar interests than find family and friends who like the unique interests. You can go to different blogs to leave comments and connect with them. If not, people will never know your blog existence. It is great that your articles have been published on The House News. That will sure help you. Keep working hard and don't give up! Hopefully, we will build up more followers and readers. :)

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  5. Really many thanks for your kind words! Yup, I won't give up and will go much further and deeper to discover any language mystery that humans may easily neglect and forget!

    You also keep up with your food blog and I believe one day you'll reap as much as you've sowed!

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