Denglisch

Denglisch is a term describing the increased use of anglicisms and pseudo-anglicisms in the German language. It is a portmanteau of the German words Deutsch (German) and Englisch. The term is first recorded from 1965. The word has been adopted in English in an anglicized form as Denglish, recorded from 1996. The term is particularly used by language purists in all German-speaking countries to refer to the increasingly strong influx of English or pseudo-English vocabulary (and other features of the language such as grammar and orthography) into German. The standard German reference work Duden defines it as "a pejorative term for German with too many English expressions mixed in." Other sources use words with aggressive, hostile, or negative connotations to describe it such as "a persistent infiltration", an "invasion", "onslaught", or "attack", or that it is "corrupting the language" or is an "infectious disease". The term itself is not a standard German word, but an informal portmanteau of Deutsch + English, and gives the same kind of impression in German, as the word Spanglish has in English: i.e., it is well-understood, but it is an informal word for which there is no common equivalent in standard language use. Other slang terms in German which refer to the same phenomenon include: McDeutsch ("McGerman"), Dummdeutsch ("dumb German"), Dönerdeutsch (kebab German). In English there are numerous colloquial portmanteau words. One set is based on the word Deutsch. These include (chronologically) Deutschlisch (first recorded in 1970), Deutlish (1977), Deutschlish (1979) and Dinglish (1990). Another set of terms is based on the word German. These include (chronologically) Germenglish (first recorded 1936), Germanglish (1967), Gerglish (1968), Germish (1972), Germlish (1974), Genglish (1977), Ginglish (1989), Germinglish (1996), and Gernglish (1996). Some influence of English on German is expected as part of normal language contact. The term Denglisch refers to abundant or excessive use of anglicisms or pseudo-anglicisms in German.