German word of the day: Biodeutsch
biodeutsch
has increasingly been adopted by racists and nationalists in recent years, with the intention of widening divisions between supposedly 'real' Germans and the rest of the population.
At the beginning of the year, Germany's
Unwort des Jahres
organisation selected
b
iodeutsch
as their
non-word of the year for 2024
-- a title saved for the ugliest and most discriminatory phrases that become popular in German.
Why do I need to know
Biodeutsch?
While we would not advocate using this word yourself, it's important to understand what it means to avoid any possible misinterpretations.
The prefix
bio
, meaning organic, with its connotations of progressive and environmental ideals, can lead to misunderstandings.
For example, at a BBQ or potluck, impressed by the range of healthy food on offer an ill-informed language learner could feasibly make the mistake of speaking in glowing terms about
die Biodeutschen..
.when what they really mean is to praise the organic German foods (
die deutschen Bio-Lebensmittel
).
How is it used?
In practice,
Biodeutsch
is used by racists to differentiate themselves from Germans with an immigrant background. In other cases it is used by some Germans with an immigrant background as a disparaging term for Germans without an immigrant background.
Regardless of their background, considerate German speakers tend to reject the term altogether.
READ ALSO:
Biodeutsch - Why this is Germany's ugliest word of the year
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Biodeutsch
in a sentence:
Ursprünglich war der Begriff "biodeutsch" ironisch gemeint. Doch Sprache verändert sich. Mittlerweile haben Rechtsextreme das Wort übernommen.
Originally, the term '
biodeutsch
' was meant ironically. But language changes. Right-wing extremists have now adopted the word.
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