Category: Word of the Week

In the literal sense of the word, an “Arbeitstier” is a work animal, as in a beast of burden on a pre-mechanized farm. The horse at the center of the bestselling 1877 novel “Black Beauty” by English author Alice Sewell, for instance, was an “Arbeitstier” – one, moreover, in need of saving from brutal humans driving an innocent, elegant animal to the limits of its physical capacities.

This expression – like so many German compound nouns – is actually composed of two words: “Arbeit” (work) and “Tier” (animal).

In the modern sense of the word, however, a person who works very hard is referred to as an “Arbeitstier”, a badge of honor for many individuals in a society that prides itself on efficiency and what some Germans refer to as a strong work ethic or “Prussian sense of duty” (though one would be hard-pressed to find a Bavarian using the latter expression).

So an “Arbeitstier” is, essentially, a very hard and focused worker, but not necessarily a “workaholic”, an expression which has many negative connotations in modern western societies.

In Germany the expression “Arbeitstier” is, however, generally used in a more positive sense.

Although Germany is the world’s biggest solar power producer, its more northerly and easterly regions, in particular, often experience lots of “Schmuddelwetter” in early spring, when “April showers bring May flowers,” as the universal saying goes.

In northern maritime cities such as Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck, Rostock or Kiel, you may hear people refer, moreover, to “Schmuddelwetter” – literally dirty, foul, or mucky weather – as “Schmuddelwedder,” with an emphasis on the double “dd’s” towards the end and a flat enunciation of the final “e” along the lines of the various “Plattdeutsch” dialects spoken across northern Germany.

This type of weather could encompass anything from a mild mist of rain, or “Nieselregen”, accompanied by genuinely refreshing, if at times bracing, oceanic air, in a major city such as Hamburg, to an all out thunderstorm.

The word “Schmuddelwetter” is – like so many German compound nouns – a mish-mash of words, with “Schmuddel” being derived from “schmuddelig” (literally dirty, in the natural or naughty sense of the word), and “Wetter” simply meaning weather.

Although this word may be less commonly used in southern Germany or Austria, where the sun shines somewhat more frequently on a regular basis, it is a kind of a classic in the northern half of Germany, where you could really dazzle your German friends by saying something like: “Mensch, ist das ein Schmuddelwett(dd)er heute!” (Man, is this some Schmuddelwetter today!)

Germans are thought to be disciplined and hard workers who devote themselves to their work. This dedication can only be interrupted by few a things. One allowed interruption is an Umtrunk.

What exactly is it? It’s a gathering of all employees, either from a department or entire workplace, where a special occasion is toasted. Everyone toasts and then hangs around for a bit, talking with your co-workers and eating a little bit if snacks are provided. The Umtrunk is often initiated by the head of the office for occasions as the arrival or departure of a colleague or high-ranking guest. However it can be initated by anyone with something to celebrate. Depending on the professional surrounding and workplace culture, an Umtrunk can be a regular occurrence. Sometimes they are much rarer, so the sight of chilled champagne, orange juice and glasses can cause quite a stir. However, for the most part, the Umtrunk is part of the German culture at work and way to enjoy the workplace while getting to spend some time with co-workers who you may not regularly see.

The term is also used for toasting private occasions when not at work. Often these celebrations may be a little more formal due to the traditional and old-fashioned origins of Umtrunk. The roots of the term are to be found in a Germany of less modern times, where aristocractic language was considered to be the height of style. The term originates from a combination of a verb (trinken=drink) and a preposition (um=around), which gives just about enough an explanation about the meaning.

Prost!

Sometimes language is a complicated thing… so complicated that it can take on a philosophical bent.

Take the German word aufheben. It can have multiple meaning that contradict each other. In the most frequent use of the term people can express both the wish to “abolish” as well as to “preserve” something. It all depends on the context.

The famous German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel used this antipode to explain the motor of dialectic functions. “Sublation,” he argues, shows the movement of Geist (spirit) or mind and can therefore both preserve and abolish at the same time.

For example: during adolescence we struggle with problems that will soon be forgotten. Those problems did not simply vanish, but instead helped to form us into the adults we are today. The same is true for every part of human life and evolution. In history, politics, art and philosophy: we do not simply forget and move on, but instead always keep a part of what we experienced with us.

Aufheben is the exemplary verb of the German language used to express this philosophical complexity. Still it is pretty safe to say that this dualism is lost not only on non-native German speakers, but also on a majority of Germans who use it in everyday life.

It is amazing to see what one word can do, isn’t it?

There are still some formalities implemented in European and German linguistic culture. One of the most known formalities, which sometimes surprises many Americans, is the very important distinction between a more distant and more private way to address people. It is known as honorific which expresses esteem and respect by using the third person of personal pronoun in addressing people. Especially in a professional and demographically more diverse context, it is adequate to approach people in a more formal way which is known in German as “Siezen.” It is considered to be very friendly, more distant and respectful form of addressing people up from the age of 18. Once a relationship becomes more personal it is most of the time the older part’s privilege to offer a switch in addressing each other by replacing the formal ‘Sie’ with a more personal pronoun as ‘du.’ Once it is agreed on interacting verbally in a more personal way (‘duzen’), the counterpart becomes a ‘Duzfreund’ which demonstrates especially in a more professional surrounding a special level of proximity and trust. In a private setting the formal way of verbal interaction is actually not applied anymore although it was quite common up to the 1950’s that children addressed their present in the ‘Sie’ form, which appears totally out-fashioned from a present perspective. The English language covers honorifics as well but more by using prefixes instead of playing with the personal pronoun. The form of Mr./Mrs./Ms. actually serve the very same purpose. Asian languages are even more sophisticated in distinction of honorifics due to the fact that most of these cultures are more status-oriented in a high contextual environment.

Isn’t it great when an expression is created to finally describes something that we’ve seen or experienced, but could never really name?

Welpenschutz does exactly that.

This expression is more commonly used in northern Germany and describes a phenomena that can be witnessed daily at workplaces all around the world.

Picture the following: fresh out of college, Ben starts working at an office. He has lots of energy, is full of ideas, but doesn’t know a lot about the office culture or workplace etiquette. Ben simply hasn’t learned this yet.

Consequently, some older workers in the office get a little annoyed by Ben. But others start treating him like a little puppy that still needs to learn his way around in the real world.

Just as older dogs often protect their young, Ben’s colleagues handle him with a little extra patience and gently correct him.

The literal translation of Welpenschutz is “puppy protection”. So all you “puppies” out there: enjoy it while you can!