# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/21 "2006-03-10T13:08:11Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > English is the official language of international civil aviation. > [@Fish Cheer](#): > > And St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota. So what? So it would make sense that words or phrases specific to civil aviation would be in English. ---
**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, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/22 "2006-03-10T13:26:16Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > So it would make sense that words or phrases specific to civil aviation would be in English. But the language used among aviation professionals is of little to no importance to the average passenger. From the point of view of a European going to the, say, Caribbean, jet lag is an issue - the ICAO is not. ---
**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 10, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/23 "2006-03-10T15:02:41Z")
We had some fun with making words in one of my high school German classes. The one I remember involved a tribe of black-and-white checkered Hottentots who kept kangaroos in cages. The cages were called _Schwarzweisskariertehottentotenbeutelratenkaefige_. Only when I checked my memory by going to babelfish, _beutelraten_ translated as ‘bag-guesses’ and kangaroo is _Känguruh_. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/24 "2006-03-10T15:24:31Z")
> [@Fish Cheer](#): > > But the language used among aviation professionals is of little to no importance to the average passenger. > > . Your opinion. Mine is still that he had a valid, tho small, point. ---
**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, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/25 "2006-03-10T15:37:42Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Only when I checked my memory by going to babelfish, _beutelraten_ translated as ‘bag-guesses’ and kangaroo is _Känguruh_. You lost a “t” over the years. The word you had in mind is “Beutelratten” (literally: bag-rats). This refers to the family Didelphidae, which includes the species Didelphis, better known as opossums. ---
**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, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/26 "2006-03-10T15:40:54Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Your opinion. Mine is still that he had a valid, tho small, point. Well, but English is the “official language” of nearly everything that’s regulated by a supranational organization. That point is moot. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/27 "2006-03-10T15:47:33Z")
Funny thing is, in trying to find an actual origin for the word/phrase, I came up with scores of hits saying that the original phrase was derived from boat lag! 😃 Sonow I have to wonder, where DID it come from? And if it was derived from boat lag, was boat lag really ever such a problem? Because boats travel so slow compared to aircraft, I would think that the body’s rythyms would have the time needed to acclimate? Also, what was the phenomenon called before the advent of JET travel? When 300mph prop planes ruled the airways? I’m kind of glad I got involved in a moot argument now, as it opens up so many more questions for me. ---
**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 10, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/28 "2006-03-10T15:49:43Z")
> [@Fish Cheer](#): > > You lost a “t” over the years. The word you had in mind is “Beutelratten” (literally: bag-rats). This refers to the family Didelphidae, which includes the species Didelphis, better known as opossums. Thanks. Still, it looks as if Frau Daschiff got it wrong if she meant kangaroos while saying opossums. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687/29 "2006-03-10T16:11:06Z")
A French person is more likely to say _décalage horaire_ and not jet-lag. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-he-say-jet-lag-in-english-not-german/347687.md?page=1)