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Sprechstunde - die Sprachkolumne © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

How does one find one's way around the rules of the German language, where do new words come from, and what are the most important changes in the use of the language - for example, due to digitalisation and a higher sensitivity due to the gender issue? These and other exciting topics are the focus of our column about the German language.

10th Season: ChatGPT

Illustration: A person with a speech bubble that is also the flag of the United Nations © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Columne
 Diplomacy, the Global Art of Language

In the world of diplomacy, language plays a central role. Globalisation and geopolitical changes are shaping multilingual exchanges. ChatGPT looks at the art of diplomatic communication.
Illustration: Mobile device and a person, various speech bubbles with the inscriptions “Prost”, “Salud”, “Santé” and “Cin Cin” © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Digital Polyglots

ChatGPT ventures a personal look at language learning in cyberspace. Join us on this journey of discovery and learn how technology makes us true language artists!
Illustration: Rear view of an open laptop partly surrounded by a jagged line; to the right a male person with a speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 AI translations: Multilingualism wins

Multilingualism enriches our everyday lives despite machine translation. Columnist ChatGPT shows why language learning is still of great importance.
Illustration: Upper body of a robot-like figure. On a mechanical arm a human face turned to the right with an empty speech bubble. © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 AI: Shattering Language Barriers

Revolutionizing communication, one word at a time! Join our new columnist ChatGPT as it thinks of the AI-driven transformation of language translation.
Sprechstunde - die Sprachkolumne © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Editorial commentary
An AI as a columnist?

How powerful is ChatGPT? To find out, we let the AI tool create a series of articles for the language column "Sprechstunde". Do these texts meet the demands of our column? And what do we as editors have to do to ensure that the six column contributions offered by the AI end up meeting our expectations? Here we document and comment on our experiment from an editorial perspective.

9th Season: Hasnain Kazim

Illustration: Person with wide open rectangular mouth, speech bubble with laughing emojis of different skin colours © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Gotta Go, Buffalo!

Hasnain Kazim used to be allergic to bad puns and similar forms of cringeworthy wordplay. But he eventually succumbed, at least somewhat, to their (asinine) charm. After all, aren't many things easier to bear if you can laugh at a lame witticism at the same time?
Illustration: Person in front of presentation with different diagrams © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Watch Out for Jargon!

Verbal communication should be used for the purpose of making oneself understood, argues Hasnain Kazim, who lambastes various forms of jargon. Sometimes only one thing helps: to translate it into plain, readily intelligible language.
Illustration: Person in side view with angry expression and jagged empty speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Save the old invective!

You’re sometimes better off venting your spleen than keeping it all bottled up inside, says Hasnain Kazim, who declares that invective is an art. For which you need good tools: namely, choice put-downs with a regional or historical touch.
Illustration: Two speech bubbles with differently shaped question marks © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 I don’t get a word of it!

The German-speaking world is rich in dialects. They make for differences and diversity, in which Hasnain Kazim revels – even though he’s from the north of Germany and doesn't always get what southerners are saying to him.
Illustration: Person, hand raised in greeting © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 “Servus” and “Salam”

The more we greet one another the better, exhorts our new columnist Hasnain Kazim. Different greetings are used in various parts of Germany, but they always signal respect and kindness – which we can never get enough of.

8th Season: Hauke Hückstädt

Illustration: Jagged speech bubble containing an open mouth from which another jagged speech bubble emanates © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Bringing together instead of seperating

How outmoded is it to seal ourselves off? In the final instalment of his column, Hauke Hückstädt makes the case for a kind of literature that overcomes barriers.
Illustration: Several mouths and speech bubbles of different colours and shapes © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Report on a Work in Progress

Everything is miles better abridged – says the poet Arne Rautenberg. Which is an apt watchword for six writers who came together to lay down some rules for their own easy-to-read texts. Hauke Hückstädt reports on the tools used in this literary workshop.
Illustration: Open book, above figure with open mouth and tablet on tongue © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 A New Chapter

Can modern literature be accessible to all? Hauke Hückstädt and his Literaturhaus team say yes, definitely. And they’ve found writers ready and willing to venture into uncharted literary territory.
Illustration: A person in front of an open book, from there speech bubbles with question marks © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Excluded

Our new columnist, Hauke Hückstädt, knows the book trade is forever exhorting everyone to read away. But how many books on the market are really accessible to the millions of people who have difficulty reading?

7th Season: Nora Gomringer

Illustration: An open mouth, an arm pointing to a jagged speech bubble, in the speech bubble a frazzle sign © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 On Inventing

In her final column with us, Nora Gomringer explores the notion that we humans are all inventors and that our inventing is always both salvation and escape. Some inventions cannot be revised – especially when it comes to giants and deer.
Illustration: Two figures, the speech bubble of one is shaped exactly like the head contents of the other © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 On Imitation

Learning through imitation: This route, according to Nora Gomringer, also leads directly to language. She describes how we can fall madly in love and sings the praises of the act of imitatio.
Illustration: Speech bubble above a book containing a mouth with another speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Roman-Tick,Tick,Tick – Boom!

It’s the translators who initiate us into the worldwide canon of literature, Nora Gomringer observes upon the announcement of the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, and carries us back to the age of German Romanticism.
Illustration: Mouth in a tablet computer and eye in a TV set, each with a speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 The Translator’s Yoke

Translation is an art, explains poet, reciter and our new columnist Nora Gomringer. And it’s backbreaking work, like that of a water buffalo toiling in a rice paddy – though she means that far more appreciatively than it sounds.
Illustration: leere Gedankenblase über einem Buch © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 What Defies Translation

Literary translation involves so much more than just translating words: it’s a matter of rendering a whole way of seeing the world. Nora Gomringer talks about authors and translators working together to thrash out the nuances of poetry in particular, including smells and sounds – and pain, for which it’s hard to find the words.
Illustration: Speech bubble with notes © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 On listening

Until now, Nora Gomringer’s column has been devoted to translation. Now she is devoting it to the various pathways to language. She starts with listening. Her essay features a bathtub, porcelain cups and microphones.

6th Season: Henning Lobin

Illustration: A person with glasses looks into an open book © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 The German Language and the Constitution

Nothing in the German Constitution says that German is our official language. Henning Lobin makes the case for a constitutional amendment to enshrine its social function, though not as a symbol of the German nation-state like our national flag.
Illustration: A mouth with tongue sticking out showing a star © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 The Big Fray over the Little Star

The gender star has proved an enduring bone of contention. Henning Lobin now wades into the fray to offer his own two cents on the matter. We clearly need to sheathe our verbal swords, he says, and objectively debate the pros and cons of gender-neutral language.
Illustration: A mouth with a yellow four-sided speech bubble containing a jagged speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Everything must go! The long war on foreign words

What is it that irks those who feel compelled to protect the German language against foreign words? Henning Lobin retraces the history of nationalistic linguistic crusades from the Baroque to the present day and age.
Illustration: An open book, above it a speech bubble with exclamation mark © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Much ado about spelling: The tumultuous German spelling reform

The wrangling about the German spelling reform in the 1990s could hardly have been more acrimonious. What caused this heated row in the German press and public administration, in schools and even in barrooms? Our columnist Henning Lobin recaps the tumultuous history of this controversial reform.
Illustration: Two people, pictured sideways, facing each other; both have their mouths open, the left person holds a megaphone with a jagged speech bubble, the right person a microphone © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Current controversies over language

What are the ideas and values that characterize a given society? And what do debates about the role and use of language have to do with that? Our new columnist, Henning Lobin takes on some controversial language issues.
Zwischendings 5

5th season: Olga Grjasnowa

Illustration: TV set showing an eye; there is a speech bubble to the left of the set © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Overblown one-word concepts

In her final column, Olga Grjasnowa zeroes in on two words that hold a special place in the German language: „Heimat“, an elusive concept that can be hard to get your head around, and “Wurzeln”, which at least seems quite tangible. Both are heavily fraught with political and emotional connotations.
Illustration: Mobile device with a mouth and a speech bubble containing a star © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Learning German made easy

Not all politicians are big on gender-neutral language. Olga Grjasnowa pokes fun at these pockets of resistance by putting forth some truly radical proposals for reforming the German language..
Illustration: two mouths © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 The Great Donut Divide

Culture wars are sometimes waged over language – as in the current debate over gender-neutral language. But even dialects are liable to cause some pitched battles.
Illustration: Illustration: Mouth with square speech bubble containing a round speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 It’s all in the mix: Language contact and change

Languages are alive. This is obvious from the fact that words and phrases from one language are repeatedly adopted in another – usually as a means of enriching the range of expression.
Illustration: Megaphone with jagged speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 German officialese: riddled with incomprehensible jargon

Bureaucratic or even threatening: When German authorities formulate texts, they often seem intimidating to the people addressed.
Illustration: four differently shaped and colored speech bubbles © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Mother – or stepmother – tongue?

What does it mean when Germans talk about their “mother tongue”? – Olga Grjasnowa has had very different experiences and gives us hints for rethinking.

4th season: Sharon Dodua Otoo

Illustration: Exclamation mark in a purple speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Punctuation

​In terms of their actual extent and distribution in the sentence structure, they are the very smallest units: the punctuation marks. But even a tiny comma can completely change the meaning of a sentence.
Illustration: A hand points to three dots © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Prepositions

“From”, “at”, “since” or “around” – prepositions like these help us to locate things. They point us in the right direction – in time or place, for example. But it is not always as simple as it seems.
Illustration: several small coloured elements - yellow note, red circle with black cross, purple bar horizontal, blue bar vertical, white-red tablet © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Pronouns

What is the relationship of German pronouns to gender-equal language? Sharon Dodua Otoo looks at the problem from the perspective of several languages – and has a suggestion.
Illustration: red jagged speech bubble containing three coloured circles © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Prefixes

They are inconspicuous and usually very short – but they can have a great effect: In the German language, prefixes sometimes succeed in completely changing the meaning of a word. If you read carefully, you can make surprising discoveries.
Illustration: open mouth under a disc with a cross above it; to the right an arm with a finger pointing upwards © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Nouns

What is the special perfidy of nouns? They can deceive us by showing us a state of reality that is perhaps quite different. And in doing so, they can even cause great harm. 
Illustration: two speech bubbles above a book © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Grammar

In her first contribution, our new columnist Sharon Dodua Otoo looks at verbs and their emancipatory effect.
© Tobias Schrank

3rd season: Hernán D. Caro

Illustration: two mouths, each with a speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 On Walking and Talking

Hernán D. Caro isn’t really into strolling around the park or along tree-lined avenues. But he has taken a shine to walking these days as a remedy against lockdown torpor, as a way to rediscover his adopted city – and because he has the most inspiring peripatetic conversations.
Illustration: Person with a speech bubble containing an exclamation mark © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Fruitful words

Our columnist often finds himself thinking of his late beloved grandmother and her folksy sayings. She was a woman who practised what she preached. Her wise words of advice often come to mind, especially in hard times.
Illustration: Person with megaphone and jagged speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 A Courtship Dance with Words

Language is, first and foremost, an exchange of information. But it can also be used for purposes of deception or disguise – or for showing off. The latter, writes Hernán D. Caro, calls to mind birds displaying their colourful plumage for effect.
Illustration: A person calls into a microphone and has a thought bubble on his head, which is filled by a star © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Weighing your Words

When Hernán D. Caro talks with friends of his in Germany, he tends to exaggerate every now and then. His friends then usually look perplexed. This is reason enough for the author to think about the different ways people communicate in different languages, which sometimes call for a pinch of salt.
Illustration © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Masks with Benefits

Learning how to write in a new language can prove a long and rocky road – and ultimately a liberating experience. Hernán D. Caro, who has chosen to write in German, agrees on both counts. And he treasures his second language like a second skin.
A hand points into a speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 On “Wirklichkeit”: Words that breathe life into reality

How much passion and sensuality lie in the German language? Not much, you’re thinking? Hernán D. Caro, our new columnist, passionately disagrees!

2nd season: Thomas Böhm

A mouth with a speech bubble containing an exclamation mark © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The language column
 Closing Act

How come we speak German the way we do today? In this final piece for his column on the German language, Thomas Böhm has some surprising news for us about modern-day “Hochdeutsch”.
A mouth with one round and one jagged speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Old Relatives

Some words in other languages sound just like German words but don’t mean the same thing. Thomas Böhm takes a close look at these “false friends” … and finds that they’re actually part of the family.
Purple thought bubble with coloured dots © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 English is German in Spanish

The language of children is often poetic and philosophical. What can we learn from it as adults?
Noten in verschiedenen Farben © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Singing along without knowing the words

What are they actually singing about? Thomas Böhm admits that he doesn’t always get the words to pop songs. When looks them up on the Internet, he’s sometimes unpleasantly surprised. But sometimes he’s delighted to discover the poetry of pop songs.
Illustration: Illustration: Mobile device with mouth and speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Invitation to a World Talk

How do you strike up a mutually stimulating conversation with a stranger? Thomas Böhm is sometimes at a loss on that one. But he has an idea: just tell each other your favourite words. That’s liable to open up whole worlds – and even some scrumptious cake recipes!
Illustration: Magisches Auge © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 The Magic of Language

Magic moments in fairy tales: our new columnist Thomas Böhm is still enchanted when he hears the words “Es war einmal…” (“Once upon a time...”). He knows why we love the same stock phrases in every language. And he explains why learning the language of doves can be very worthwhile.

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

1st season: Kathrin Kunkel-Razum

Illustration: Dictionary © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Duden: Germany’s pre-eminent dictionary

Duden was the authority on German spelling till the 1996 spelling reform. The dictionary’s monopoly is a thing of the past, but the media, the authorities and most producers of text continue to follow Duden’s recommended spellings. Duden editor-in-chief Kathrin Kunkel-Razum talks about a time-honoured dictionary that’s still going strong today.
Illustration: An open mouth with a pill on the tongue © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 How do Foreign Words make it into the “Duden”?

English has a considerable influence on German vocabulary, confirms Kathrin Kunkel-Razum. But she still finds questions like "Are we all going to be speaking Denglish anytime soon?" exaggerated. Kathrin Kunkel-Razum on the inclusion of loanwords in the “Duden”, the premier reference work on German spelling.
Word! The Language Column © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 How many Words does the German Language have?

Coining new words is a cinch in German. But not every neologism belongs in a dictionary. Kathrin Kunkel-Razum talks about sifting through long word lists for the next edition of the “Rechtschreibduden”, the standard German spelling dictionary.
Illustration: A jagged red speech bubble without content © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Words That Make Waves

Why do certain words stir up powerful emotions? Needless to say, Duden dictionary editor Kathrin Kunkel-Razum has other worries right now, in the throes of the coronavirus crisis. But  the word in question is about hope for the future.
Illustration: Speech bubble with underline © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Gender-Neutral German: Asterisk or Underscore?

What’s the best way to include all gender identities when writing in German? This question has caused quite a stir in the German-speaking world.
Illustration: Cross over a circle © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Ringing in new words and ringing out some old ones

Our language is constantly expanding, so how come the “Duden” still fits into a single printed volume? Because obsolete entries are regularly deleted. In her final contribution to our column on the German language, Kathrin Kunkel-Razum discusses words that have gone by the board and why we shouldn’t completely forget them.
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