
“German is an ugly language”. That is what you might hear a lot about my mother tongue. And there might even be some truth to that. In fact, even the German word for butterfly sounds like a declaration of war.
On the flip side, its aventgardistic flexibility gives you the power to compose new words like Beethoven composed his symphonies. Plus, even Germans themselves don’t care too much about following its mindblowingly complicated ruleset. So in common speech, German is much less complex and many rules are generously ignored, which makes it somewhat forgiving for new learners.
Above all, there are many words related to feelings and emotions that only exist in German. Some of them, like Weltschmerz, Wanderlust and Fahrvergnügen, even made their way into other languages. So even if you never learned German, your vocabulary might already exceed Bratwurst and Lederhosen.
Lastly, the notoriously harsh sound of the German language is significantly softened once a speaker has enjoyed his third Warsteiner. So in a traditional beer garden, you will be able to enjoy its poetic and romantic qualities to the fullest.
Indeed, there is a lot to love about the German language, and this is what germanisweird.com is all about.
This blog is a love letter to the curiosities of the German language that give it its poetic and, at times, oddly humorous qualities.
The “German Is Weird” book is now available: order here!