Since arriving in Berlin, I've noticed the language that is used in public places--signs, graffiti, and so on. Often, that language is not German. My second or third day here I went to a fast-food Asian restaurant where they were serving chicken. Not Hähnchen, but Chicken. English is often inserted into signs in strange ways, and I always notice it. I've begun to wonder about the reasons for it--is it something similar to the way Americans sell shirts with Chinese characters on them? Is it cool to put English in your sign or your menu? Or does it mostly happen in places targeted to English-speaking tourists? Or has German truly assimilated these English words?
In some cases it's obviously an instance of the first reason. The brand name on the garbage cans in the WCs at Buchenwald was "Triple Willy", which obviously would never be chosen by a native English speaker. Other times it's less obvious why things are in English, as with the "closed" sign in the last photo.
There are far more examples of this than I've managed to take photos of, but I plan to begin to document the random acts of English signage I see, and try to determine their reasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment