I was in Germany during the early days of the World Cup last month. I must admit, I was taken aback by the constant references to "public viewings." A different image came immediately to my mind, of visits to funeral homes, definitely not of a public showing of a soccer game (or other recorded video) on a large screen, usually, it seems, in an outdoor location. I obviously wasn't the only one. This article from Yahoo Deutschland, Leichenschau mit Bier und Tröte - Die fünf absurdesten Scheinanglizismen der deutschen Sprache, was sent my way today. Of the terms from English used in German (yes, the article is in German), with altered meanings, I was familiar with Beamer, Handy, and Oldtimer, but Body Bag is a new one to me. Hope it doesn't catch on.
3 comments:
There is a small minority which seems to be campaigning against this usage by using "Rudelgucken" instead.
I'm German and I've never heard body bag before. So I suppose that it is not used by many.
The thing is, 'body bag' could work if it didn't exist. Heck, it might take over the meaning if the original wasn't so repulsive.
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