English Words in German

A couple of months ago, Neil wrote about English words in German and how they are invented. At the time, I thought, "I know exactly what you mean," even though I could think of no other words than his classic example of "handy." Until today.

I was sitting in my Business German class and we were doing a listening exercise. On the tape there was a woman who was complaining about how her colleagues were treating her. My teacher asked if we knew the word for this. At that time, she looked directly at me and asked what this was called in English. I tried to look like I was thinking this over, but honestly I was clueless. I personally thought the woman on the tape was just a little paranoid. Suddenly, one of the Russian girls in my class whispered to me "Mobbing." Then it was clear. I had heard the term "das Mobbing" before, but filed it under "word not commonly used" in my brain.

In German, "das Mobbing" translates to "workplace bullying," which is what the woman on the tape was describing. However, the only time I ever use the word "Mob" in English as a noun is in reference to organized crime or a large group of dissatisfied or angry people. I also occasionally use "mob" as a verb as in "the crowd mobbed the store," but in reference to workplace bullying? Never.