Dachshund / Kindergarten / Sauerkraut / Wunderkind
Germany is extremely proud of being called Exportweltmeister, meaning world champion in exports. However, we have never done a particularly good job in exporting our language. There is no nation outside Europe where German is widely spoken nowadays—not even their former colonies. Compare that to the British, French, Portuguese… yes, even little Holland has managed to entrench her language in places like Suriname and Aruba.
On the other hand, at least a tiny bit of the “Teutonic tongue” exists in many, many places on earth. German loan words are used not only in the French and Arabic speaking world, but also in distant places like Papua New Guinea, Kenia or Korea. First and foremost however, the English language is literally packed with them. Wikipedia lists more than 400 German words that are used in English, and that’s not to say there isn’t more. Keep this on mind next time you eat a Bratwurst watching a rerun of Poltergeist and you suddenly burst with Weltschmerz because your TV gets kaput.
References:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_deutscher_Wörter_im_Englischen
