I saw “The Testament of Dr Mabuse” (1933) recently. This version is in German with English subtitles.
At one point, one of the characters says “OK,” and it is translated as “OK.”
Is this something they picked up from the Yanks or has this been a German expression for some time?
when i was in france, i noticed they said it too. who knows… maybe it’s a europian thing.
“human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust; we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” - albert einstein
Picked up from Yanks but since the word has been around for some time (since 1838), it’s hard to tell if OK is a recent addition to other foreign languages.
Etymology of ‘OK’:
http://www.urbanlegends.com/language/etymology/ok_etymology_of.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/?date=19991020
Andrew Warinner
Indonesian-English dictionaries sometimes translate our word “yes” as “okeh,” pronounced “OK.” The other translation is “ya,” probably picked up from the Dutch colonizers.
My German teacher said it was picked up by Germans from American troops. This explanation makes sense, since “OK” is often used almost like a complete sentence, so its meaning would be clear to the person who sold bratwurst to the Americans even if said person didn’t speak a word of English. I’m not certain that it’s historically correct though.
An interesting, probably wrong, theory posited by the same teacher was that the modern (disjunct) sense of “hopefully” came from the German hoffentlich.
I spent 4 years in Munchen. OK was incorporated into the German language because of their exposure for so many years not only to the Americans but to the British as well.
Shit is another word that I have found that has made it’s way into the germanic language.
Here’s one of the most popular German songs of 1928:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Arial”>code:</font><HR><pre>
Ein kleiner Slowfox mit Mary
bei Cocktail und Sherry,
das waer’ so mein Ideal!
Es tanzt der Flirt und der Husband
mit Mary zur Jazzband
und sie ruft: Ach, noch einmal!
Und flammend heiss strahlt der Augen lockende Glut,
er fragt: My sweetheart, bist du mir gut?
Und tanzt den Slowfox mit Mary
bei Cocktail und Sherry
noch viele und viele mal!!
– “Die Herzogin von Chicago”
------------------
John W. Kennedy
"Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays."
-- Charles WilliamsCecil covered the entymology of “OK”, but I can’t seem to find it in the archives. It’s in More of the Straight Dope (starting on page 250).
As for how the Germans picked it up, it seems fairly obvious. Most Europeans have been extensively exposed to the American media. (Let’s face it, the media is our primary export.)
Mr. K’s Link of the Month:
Well I should’ve checked Warriner’s links first. The www.urbanlegends.com website pretty much repeats Cecil’s take (giving him credit, to boot).