Teenage slang of unknown genesis for realizing what the speaker is talking about, as in, "Du bist so doof. Du checkst nichts." (You're so dumb. You just don't get it.) The term,which occurs in the teen talk on the German soundtrack of Shrek 3, may be derived from the confirmative English expression in two-way radio, "Check!", meaning "I understand." Inflected into a German verb.
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A glossary of some of the most peculiar English-derived words in today's German language, with discussion of the subtle differences that make them dangerous for translators.
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An Anglicism ...
- alters to German orthography (caps, hyphens, inflection)
- is pronounced with German vowels and consonants
- may become narrower or wider in semantic range than the English source ... Read More
A pseudo-Anglicism ...
- comprises English-style syllables
- has a folk etymology claiming an English source
- is unintelligible in meaning to a monolingual English speaker ... Read More
Anglicism Resources
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About the Author
Mare Frisicum is a news correspondent writing in English about events in Germany. He says the German language is like a biotope where he happily spends his days. The Anglicisms are more than just a fascinating word variety growing there. They are also a potentially toxic species: every so often, a false friend or pseudo-Anglicism enters our English writing unawares and makes us look foolish. The original Mare Frisicum, by the way, was that great sheet of water bounded by Hull, Harwich, Harlingen and Husum where words knew no boundaries: the North Sea.
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