Acceptance of Anglicism in the German advertising.

Essay by anacondaUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, October 2005

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1 Introduction

1.1 Problem definiton

The English language has become such a great part of our culture in Germany that we hardly notice its presence. Especially the way of communication in advertising is usually filled with English notions and slogans. This assumption of the English by the German is literarily described as "anglicism". The "Duden - Das groъe FremdwЖrterwЖrterbuch" declares this approach as the "эbertragung einer fЭr das britische Englisch charakteristischen Erscheinung auf eine nicht englische Sprache im lexikalischen od. syntaktischen Bereich, sowohl fДlschlicherweise als auch bewusst (z. B. jmdn. feuern = jmdn. hinauswerfen; engl. to fire)".1 Generally speaking this linguistic phenomenon describes the English way of expressing something in an other language. According to the actual discussion in the public, the relation between this assumption of the English by German, especially in the way of doing advertising, is not balanced. The objective of the following analysis is to determine the customer╢s acceptance of this development.

Is the constant application of English notations necessary and useful, or is it just an act of disturbance instead of being profitable for the companies? In which way does the buyer accept this tendency, or is it time to protect the classic culture of Goethe and Schiller against the influences of the American and Britain English? In 1997 the "Verein Deutsche Sprache e. V (VDS)" was established in DЭsseldorf and, according to the statute, one of their aims is to prevent successfully the circulation of English words in the German language.2 Since the foundation the number of members (approx. 11.000 members Germany-wide) is increasing constantly, and I interpret this as one indicator for the changing consciousness in our society. Our neighbours in France went one step further and introduced the "Loi Toubon" for language in public. This law, named by the former Minister of...