Hidden Anglicisms in German

Phraseological Loan Translations, Visual Allusions and Foreign Words Modelled on their English Counterparts

Abstract

In German, English influences are, of course, most evident in the lexicon, but also in syntax and in areas such as orthography and punctuation. From the point of view of their visibility, a study of phraseology seems particularly relevant for at least two reasons. Firstly, empirical analyses have shown that among phraseological borrowings, the proportion of loan translations (calques) is particularly high. Unlike direct borrowings, calques do not contain any English morphemic material and are therefore inconspicuous or even invisible to the speaker. Secondly, as polylexemic units, phraseological units influence oral and written texts to a greater extent than individual lexemes (which can easily be replaced by alternative linguistic elements). By adopting discourse markers for argumentation, for requests, greeting and other recurrent communicative situations, Anglo-American conventions, norms of interaction and patterns of behaviour find their way into German without the speakers being aware of it. The article illustrates this with examples. It also deals with the use of visual media (posters and paitings) and the adoption of foreign words influenced by English.