Abstract
IN NATURE of September 28, p. 495, we published a short notice of the second edition of “Theoretische Physik” by Dr. Georg Joos. Our reviewer commented very favourably upon the book, but animadverted upon the addition of a glossary of “foreign” words (Erlaiiterung einiger Fremdworter), “in which Absorption (Verschluckung), Elastizildt (Dehnbarkeit), Kapill-aritdt (Haarrohrchenkraft) and such-like non-Prussian words are translated into the new German, although these ‘foreign’ words appear in the articles in Gehler's ‘Physikalisches Worterbuch’ of more than a hundred years ago”. We have now received an indignant letter from Dr. Joos, containing the following explanation of this glossary. “Many English readers, who according to the reporter are to be impressed comically through these things, will know that the graduates of the ‘Oberrealschule’ have studied neither Latin nor Greek and that for them an explanation of these words is very desirable”, adding, “According to the wording of the report the reader must think that it is my intention to seriously substitute ‘Verschluckung’ for ‘Absorption’ or ‘Segelstange’ for ‘Antenne’”. As regards the last sentence our reviewer suggested nothing about Dr. Joos' intentions, but stated the bare fact that the glossary had been added to the book, leaving his English readers free (if we may use the word without offence) to draw any conclusions they wished. Many will, no doubt, share his and our surprise that words which have been in regular use in the German language for four generations and more, a period sufficient, we should have thought, to guarantee their incorporation, should be regarded and named as foreign.
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New German renderings of Foreign Words. Nature 136, 675 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136675a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136675a0