Its a momentous day for those who enjoy long German words.
Compound words are used by the German language to capture precise or complex meanings, Mark Twain said they were not words, but "alphabetic processions … marching majestically across the page"
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/03/indfleischetikettierungsberwachungsaufgabenbertragungsgesetz-word-germany
Compound words are used by the German language to capture precise or complex meanings, Mark Twain said they were not words, but "alphabetic processions … marching majestically across the page"
But one compound noun has proved too much for German bureaucrats, who have decided to consign it to the linguistic history books. Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz had been celebrated as the longest word in the German language with 63 letter words.
The word, which means "the law concerning the delegation of duties for the supervision of cattle marking and the labelling of beef", was introduced in 1999, during the BSE crisis. It was given the abbreviation RkReÜAÜG – which was itself unpronouncable.
The 63-letter word was deemed no longer necessary after the EU halted BSE-testing on healthy cattle at abattoirs. The term Germans use to refer to such words is itself a compound:Bandwurmwörter, or "tapeworm words".
So now the longest word currently to be found in the German dictionary is Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung – "motor vehicle indemnity insurance".
The word, which means "the law concerning the delegation of duties for the supervision of cattle marking and the labelling of beef", was introduced in 1999, during the BSE crisis. It was given the abbreviation RkReÜAÜG – which was itself unpronouncable.
The 63-letter word was deemed no longer necessary after the EU halted BSE-testing on healthy cattle at abattoirs. The term Germans use to refer to such words is itself a compound:Bandwurmwörter, or "tapeworm words".
So now the longest word currently to be found in the German dictionary is Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung – "motor vehicle indemnity insurance".
