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Word! The language collumn

Word! The Language Column © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank
Illustration: A mobile device with a rectangular wide-open mouth, jagged speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Craving for Language

Social media is “pared-down reality in pared-down language”, says writer, journalist, podcaster and now Word! columnist Jagoda Marinić. Why does X, formerly known as Twitter, cause both satiety and hunger these days? And how can we get the old playfulness back on social media?
Illustration: A person with a speech bubble in the shape of a book, the letters “TIERE” (i.e., animals) on the book cover © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Writing for and with other animals

In her final column, Manon Hopf takes this opportunity to remind us how we can – and should – write about other animals without using violent language. And the potential offered by poetry to enter into dialogue with them. For example through scent-walk sonnets.
Illustration: A robot-like figure, human face, facing the figure and connected to it via a linkage; the figure says "Monster!", the face: "Beast!" © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Lannguage Column
 Monsters

Should monsters really be viewed solely in a negative light? Manon Hopf thinks not – here, she takes a look at the productive aspect of the monster concept.
Illustration: a head with an open rectangular mouth, speech bubble containing insects and a microbe © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Parasites

Language can dehumanise, but language can also be firmly positioned alongside the supposedly unnatural. Manon Hopf looks at perpetrator expressions and the deconstructive counter-forces of poetry.
Illustration: A speech bubble with different arms and hands showing different gestures © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Body, Language

Dialect, dance, sign language, gesture – other animals communicate in surprisingly diverse ways. Manon Hopf gives us the lowdown.
Illustration: A mask with speech bubble containing music notes © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Other Musical Animals

What is the language of music? – That question isn’t easy to answer, even in relation to humans. Manon Hopf asks: what’s the music of other animals about?
Illustration: A reclining person, stars above © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Issa, Fuji-san and I

In his last Word! instalment, our columnist Jan Snela is transported back to Japan by the sight of starry skies in the south of France. Over in Japan he had hiked up a hill to get a picture-perfect view of Mount Fuji floating in the sky across the bay. And has felt close to the stars ever since.
Illustration: Two people, on the left a somewhat shy-looking man with a moustache, on the right an angry-looking woman with a raised index finger © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Amaeruing Washing Machines and the Friendly Face of Shame

On his recent trip to Japan, Jan Snela learned about the concept of “amae”: A concept that gives kids – and even washing machines – licence to occasionally run amok.
Illustration: screen that is also an open mouth, next to it a person with microphone in hand and speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 In the Empty Orchestra: “wabi sabi” and the Essence of Pop

Jan Snela pays a visit to a karaoke box in Kyoto, where he continues his quest for the essence of Japan – a mix of silence and noise.
Illustration: abstract shapes – a jagged line, a jagged speech bubble and a simple speech bubble © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Ma, Mu and the Silence of Noise

Jan Snela’s memories of his trip to Japan take him back to the ambient noise in Tokyo…. and the shrill cries of Japanese cicadas, as captured in a Bashō haiku. Tokyo is overwhelming, but he comes across a Japanese word that encapsulates the paradoxical emptiness and absence he feels in the teeming city.
Illustration: A person with wide open mouth, from there a sinuous line at the end of which is a hand with stretched index finger © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 A Haibun or the Heartbreak of Things

During his trip to Japan, Jan Snela gets to know not only some fascinating spots, but also some special literary forms. This instalment of his language column is about the appeal of “haiku pillows” and “fluffy” haibun.
Illustration: A person with a speech bubble in the form of a book on which the letters B, U, C, H (German for “book“) can be read. © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Haibun, or How I Learnt to Limp from Book Learning about Japan

Our new columnist Jan Snela thinks back on his trip to Japan a few months ago, interweaving recollections with reflections on the books he lugged around – or didn’t.

 

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.
Illustration: An open laptop computer with a speech bubble containing different coloured smileys © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 The Ethical Lingua Franca

AI, globalization, and social media: how do they reshape language use? – Some reflections by ChatGPT.
Illustration: A person with a book in hand points to a picture © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 The Heart’s Language: Art and Literature

Join ChatGPT in uncovering how the language of art and literature bridges cultures, sparking creativity and connecting hearts worldwide.
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.

 

Illustration: A screen that is also an open mouth, two speech bubbles with asterisk, colon, hyphen and hashtag sign © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Thinking outside the box to tesolve the debate about gender-inclusive language

Digital tools are only helpful if we learn to think digitally. In his final column, Dirk von Gehlen explains why we’d do well to follow the example of two champion high jumpers.
Illustration: A male person who seems to be explaining something; speech bubble with the inscription "Cringe". © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Meta-Cringe! On Boomers and Memes, Shibboleths and Youth Culture

Languages are accessible to everyone online nowadays, even novelties like “Vong speak”. So it is usage that helps us tell cohorts apart.
Illustration: A person points to a presentation with diagrams; the background of the presentation looks like a football field © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Asymmetric technical jargon

The development of football is progressing rapidly, and its language is changing at the same rate. Not everyone likes that. But there’s no stopping it now.
Illustration: A person with a speech bubble, the speech bubble contains several emojis © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 A picture kills more than a thousand words

The mutability of language is no real cause for concern. Dirk von Gehlen on our misguided tendency to glorify the past and the endless adaptability of language.
Illustration: Two people with speech bubbles © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Dialectics of Correct Pronunciation

Generations Y and Z may not do much talking over the phone, but they do still attach importance to the spoken word on the Internet. Here’s Dirk von Gehlen on avocados and deliberate mispronunciations.
The Diary of Thomas Mann on Twitter © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Sprechstunde – Die Sprachkolumne
 The Oversharing Nobel Laureate

“Grosse Abneigung, nachmittags noch irgend etwas zu tun” – “Loath to undertake anything else this afternoon.” 4,400 people like what Thomas Mann wrote in his diary on 10 August – at least that’s how many likes this tweet got. Dirk von Gehlen on valuations and value not only in the sphere of the digital.
Illustration: A person on a mobile device, speech bubble with the inscription “Excuse me” © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Excuse me, but this is 2023

“Word!” is going digital – or rather, digilectal: In the next batch of articles, our new language columnist Dirk von Gehlen will be exploring changes wrought by Internet culture in the way we write and speak. How does new slang come about? What roles do abbreviations and emojis play? How might all this help resolve some serious social issues?
Illustration: A smartphone, next to it a jagged speech bubble containing the word “Bro” © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 Instagrammar

The internet isn’t just “new territory” – it also changes the way we speak and write. Footballers in particular are fond of putting their foot in it.
Illustration: A football player with raised arms, next to him a male person with a speech bubble containing the text "The Butcher" © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank

Word! The Language Column
 National bombomastics

Hardly any footballers get away without a nickname, and fantasy knows no bounds here. These pet names demonstrate an affectionate approach to language, the pun involved and their own passion.

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