“More than most other languages, German tends to string words together to form new vocabulary. All languages, including English, do this to some extent, but German really likes to create long words. As Mark Twain said, “Some German words are so long that they have a perspective.”
German can do this because its grammar allows words to be strung together to form one lengthy term that English and other languages usually break up into several words. The classic longest German word is Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän, which in English becomes four words: “Danube steamship company captain.” But that German word has a mere 41 letters (42 with German spelling reform, which adds another f to the “schifffahrt” element), while some longest-word candidates run as long as 80 characters.[…]
Das Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (trans.: beef labeling regulation & delegation of supervision law)
This was a 1999 German Word of the Year, and it also won a special award as the longest German word for that year. It refers to a “law for regulating the labeling of beef” - all in one word, which is why it is so long. German also likes abbreviations, and this word has one: ReÜAÜG. […]”
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