Jan. 25th, 2006 01:55 pm
German Word-of-the-Day for Owlet: Day 2
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muckefuckdie Fachsprache "jargon; technical terminology"
A compound of das Fach and die Sprache. Let's tackle the second part first, since it's the head and determines the gender and such. It derives from the strong verb sprechen, just as English speech comes from speak. (If you're wondering what became of the r, English-speakers misplaced it in the 12th century and have never managed to locate it since.) In the absence of fancy French borrowings like language, Sprache has to cover a bit more ground. (My discipline was obliged to call itself die Sprachwissenschaft until the international word die Linguistik gained purchase.)
Fach doesn't have a straightforward English translation. Its most basic meaning is something like "compartment" and it covers all sorts of pigeonholes, cubbyholes, drawers, and cells. A Schließfach, for instance, is a foot locker; a Postfach, a PO box. The extension to "division, department, field (of study or practice)" is a fairly natural one. Even if you didn't know it at the time, your college major was your Hauptfach and any minors were Nebenfächer.
So Fachsprache is the Sprache of a particular Fach--linguistics, medicine, broadcasting, what have you. A technical term is a fachsprachliches Wort (when it's not a Fachbegriff or a Fachausdruck--but those are puzzles for later).
Extra credit: You guessed it! Find me the Ich-Laute and Ach-Laute!
Bonus extra credit: What's the plural of Fachsprache?
A compound of das Fach and die Sprache. Let's tackle the second part first, since it's the head and determines the gender and such. It derives from the strong verb sprechen, just as English speech comes from speak. (If you're wondering what became of the r, English-speakers misplaced it in the 12th century and have never managed to locate it since.) In the absence of fancy French borrowings like language, Sprache has to cover a bit more ground. (My discipline was obliged to call itself die Sprachwissenschaft until the international word die Linguistik gained purchase.)
Fach doesn't have a straightforward English translation. Its most basic meaning is something like "compartment" and it covers all sorts of pigeonholes, cubbyholes, drawers, and cells. A Schließfach, for instance, is a foot locker; a Postfach, a PO box. The extension to "division, department, field (of study or practice)" is a fairly natural one. Even if you didn't know it at the time, your college major was your Hauptfach and any minors were Nebenfächer.
So Fachsprache is the Sprache of a particular Fach--linguistics, medicine, broadcasting, what have you. A technical term is a fachsprachliches Wort (when it's not a Fachbegriff or a Fachausdruck--but those are puzzles for later).
Extra credit: You guessed it! Find me the Ich-Laute and Ach-Laute!
Bonus extra credit: What's the plural of Fachsprache?
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2. die Fachsprächer
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2. Nope :)
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(And the "a" in "minors were a Nebenfächer" seems wrong to me.)
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