Überfremdung
Encyclopedia
Überfremdung literally "over-foreignization", is a German-language term used in politics to suggest an excess of immigration
. The word is compounded from über
meaning "over" or "overly" and fremd meaning "foreign".
Successive editions of the Duden
dictionary illustrate how the meaning has changed since the term was first used in 1929, then meaning "taking on too much foreign money" (especially loans made from 1924-1929 to rebuild Germany, following the First World War). In 1934 (one year after the NSDAP came to power in Germany), the meaning changed to "immigration/imposition of foreign races", and in 1941 it became "immigration/imposition of foreign peoples". Following the Second World War, the 1951/1952 version of the Duden returned to the strictly economic definition. In 1961, the term "foreigner" came to replace "foreign races" or "foreign peoples". In 1986, the term was no longer used in economics. Since 1991, primarily the verb "überfremden" has been in use, and one could speak of a country being überfremdet ("over-foreignized").
In 1993, the Society for the German Language
(Gesellschaft für die deutsche Sprache e.V.) declared "Überfremdung" to be the unword of the year, as it makes "undifferentiated xenophobia" sound more argumentative and clinical.
Linguists, philologists, political scientists and social scientists criticise the concept for its vagueness, its use under national socialism, and its continuing negative connotation.
The word is used satirically by the Front Deutscher Äpfel
.
The word is related to terms in various languages: "foreign infiltration", "foreign penetration", French surpopulation étrangère, déculturation, envahissement par des étrangers, :es:extranjerización, and :it:infiltrazione straniera, which have all been used at various times to rally xenophobic sentiment, but are not in current usage.
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
. The word is compounded from über
Über
Über comes from the German language. It has one umlaut. It is a cognate of both Latin super and Greek ὑπέρ...
meaning "over" or "overly" and fremd meaning "foreign".
Political uses
The German term has had several meanings over the years, all of which have reflected the sense of "too foreign" and "threatening", and are generally negative.Successive editions of the Duden
Duden
The Duden is a German dictionary, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880.Currently the Duden is in its 25th edition and published in 12 volumes, each covering different aspects like loan words, etymology, pronunciation, synonyms, etc...
dictionary illustrate how the meaning has changed since the term was first used in 1929, then meaning "taking on too much foreign money" (especially loans made from 1924-1929 to rebuild Germany, following the First World War). In 1934 (one year after the NSDAP came to power in Germany), the meaning changed to "immigration/imposition of foreign races", and in 1941 it became "immigration/imposition of foreign peoples". Following the Second World War, the 1951/1952 version of the Duden returned to the strictly economic definition. In 1961, the term "foreigner" came to replace "foreign races" or "foreign peoples". In 1986, the term was no longer used in economics. Since 1991, primarily the verb "überfremden" has been in use, and one could speak of a country being überfremdet ("over-foreignized").
In 1993, the Society for the German Language
Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache
The Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache , or GfdS, with its headquarters in Wiesbaden is Germany's most important government-sponsored language society...
(Gesellschaft für die deutsche Sprache e.V.) declared "Überfremdung" to be the unword of the year, as it makes "undifferentiated xenophobia" sound more argumentative and clinical.
Linguists, philologists, political scientists and social scientists criticise the concept for its vagueness, its use under national socialism, and its continuing negative connotation.
The word is used satirically by the Front Deutscher Äpfel
Front Deutscher Äpfel
The Front Deutscher Äpfel , also called Apfelfront is a satirical organisation, founded in Leipzig in 2004. It satirizes right extremist parties, especially the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands...
.
The word is related to terms in various languages: "foreign infiltration", "foreign penetration", French surpopulation étrangère, déculturation, envahissement par des étrangers, :es:extranjerización, and :it:infiltrazione straniera, which have all been used at various times to rally xenophobic sentiment, but are not in current usage.
See also
- XenophobiaXenophobiaXenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
- NativismNativismNativism may refer to:* Nativism or political nativism, a term used by scholars to refer to ethnocentric beliefs relating to immigration and nationalism; antiforeignism...
- LTI - Lingua Tertii ImperiiLTI - Lingua Tertii ImperiiLTI - Lingua Tertii Imperii: Notizbuch eines Philologen is a book by Victor Klemperer, Professor of Literature at the University of Dresden...
- James SchwarzenbachJames SchwarzenbachJames Schwarzenbach was a far-right Swiss politician, in the 1970s head of the short-lived Republican Party of Switzerland and publicist of fascist, völkisch and antisemitic literature, his Thomas-Verlag....