# Why did he say 'jet lag' in English, not German? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687 "2006-03-09T15:15:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marine\_One](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marine_one/32/3461_2.png) [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/1 "2006-03-09T15:15:51Z")
So I’m watching Andre Rieu on PBS. And he’s speaking German and says something about ‘jet lag’ but says ‘jet lag’ in English, not German. Why didn’t he say it in German? Isn’t there a German term for ‘jet lag’? ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/2 "2006-03-09T15:23:48Z")
Not as far as I know, and I am a native German speaker living in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/3 "2006-03-09T15:25:08Z")
For the same reason you say “deja-vu” in French. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/4 "2006-03-09T15:30:29Z")
Sorry, this could have been a bit more elaborate. The German Wikipedia [entry](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet-Lag) does not mention a German term. I couldn’t find one cursorily checking some online dictionaries, either. From my personal experience, “jetlag” as a loan word is common in everyday German - at least among people who experience it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/5 "2006-03-09T15:32:38Z")
> [@Marine\_One](#): > > Isn’t there a German term for ‘jet lag’? _Schnellflugzeugermüdeheit_\*. ‘Jetlag’ is easier to say. - Actually, I made that up. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/6 "2006-03-09T15:36:28Z")
Maybe that’s the word he learned for it in _kindergarten_. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/7 "2006-03-09T19:06:36Z")
> [@Fish Cheer](#): > > From my personal experience, “jetlag” as a loan word is common in everyday German… Not relevant at all, but I can’t quite stop myself from pointing out that the phrase “loan word” is a calque of the German _“Lehnwort”_. Languages have that Reese Peanut-Butter Cup thing going on, only with several million ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/8 "2006-03-09T19:19:15Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > I can’t quite stop myself from pointing out that the phrase “loan word” is a calque of the German _“Lehnwort”_. Whereas _calquer_ is… > [@](#): > > Languages have that Reese Peanut-Butter Cup thing going on, only with several million ingredients. Yup. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/9 "2006-03-09T19:31:07Z")
Ditto on there being no other term in German ([dict.leo.org](http://dict.leo.org/?lp=ende&lang=de&searchLoc=0&cmpType=relaxed&relink=on§Hdr=on&spellToler=on&search=jet+lag)’s only other offering is _physiologische Beschwerden des Körpers aufgrund des schnellen Wechselns von Zeitzonen bei Reisen_, which is hardly an improvement.). Jet Lag is the common term, and the rule for words of recognizably foreign origin (_Fremdwörter_) is to [try to] pronounce them as in the language of origin. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/10 "2006-03-09T20:27:25Z")
Just to mention that “jet lag” is also used in french. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/11 "2006-03-09T20:29:37Z")
> [@tschild](#): > > Jet Lag is the common term, and the rule for words of recognizably foreign origin (_Fremdwörter_) is to [try to] pronounce them as in the language of origin. > [@clairobscur](#): > > Just to mention that “jet lag” is also used in french. How do the French pronounce it? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/12 "2006-03-09T20:47:35Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Just to mention that “jet lag” is also used in french. _Mon dieu!_ Haven’t the language police purged that yet? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/13 "2006-03-09T20:57:12Z")
English is the official language of international civil aviation. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/14 "2006-03-09T21:24:30Z")
And St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota. So what? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/15 "2006-03-09T22:06:07Z")
> [@Fish Cheer](#): > > Sorry, this could have been a bit more elaborate. > > The German Wikipedia [entry](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet-Lag) does not mention a German term. I couldn’t find one cursorily checking some online dictionaries, either. > > From my personal experience, “jetlag” as a loan word is common in everyday German - at least among people who experience it. **Johnny L.A.** beat me to it. I was going to say that the German word would most likely be: _Fastairplanescrossingmanytimezonesmessoneup_ ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/16 "2006-03-09T22:09:46Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > **Johnny L.A.** beat me to it. I was going to say that the German word would most likely be: > > _Fastairplanescrossingmanytimezonesmessoneup_ Or maybe _Fastairplanesmanytimezonescrossinguponemess_ ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/17 "2006-03-10T02:15:10Z")
> [@Fish Cheer](#): > > How do the French pronounce it? I dunno, but I bet they spell it with lots of extra letters. _Jette Laguequez?_ ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/18 "2006-03-10T05:51:01Z")
> [@Marine\_One](#): > > So I’m watching Andre Rieu on PBS. And he’s speaking German and says something about ‘jet lag’ but says ‘jet lag’ in English, not German. > > Why didn’t he say it in German? Isn’t there a German term for ‘jet lag’? I don’t think he did say it in German. Andre Rieu is Dutch. (In your defense, Dutch sounds an awful lot like German.) Interesting thread, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/19 "2006-03-10T07:46:23Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > I don’t think he did say it in German. Andre Rieu is Dutch. Sorry I didn’t catch this. You’re right, of course. > [@](#): > > (In your defense, Dutch sounds an awful lot like German.) Hmm… no. True, both languages are related, grammatically similar even - but most German speakers (apart from people who speak one of the Low German dialects of Northern Germany, too) won’t understand a word of spoken Dutch. Written Dutch is easier, sometimes you can guess what a Dutch text is about, but without really understanding it, either. On the other hand, a language that really sounds like German is Danish. Given the fact that it’s way less related to High German than Dutch, I can’t say why - but when overhearing people talking Danish (at airports, mostly) I always get the impression that I should be able to understand them. The tone and speech rhythm feels very familiar. The actual words remain unintelligible to me, though. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/20 "2006-03-10T09:53:19Z")
> [@Fish Cheer](#): > > but when overhearing people talking Danish (at airports, mostly) I always get the impression that I should be able to understand them. The tone and speech rhythm feels very familiar. The actual words remain unintelligible to me, though. Some Norwegian type has to say it, so it might as well be me: _Just ask them to take the hot potatoes out of their throats_😃 You’re welcome. Oh, it seems to be “jet-lag” in Norwegian, too; that’s what people seem to call it, though it sure isn’t in my copy of _Bokmålsordbok_. I heard someone using it (in Norsk) as a transitive verb, and nearly had to have my brain re-booted… :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687.md?page=2)