German Words for the Human Condition

The Leonard Lopate Show | Oct 29, 2013

Ben Schott explains the German language and discusses his book Schottenfreude: German Words for the Human Condition, a dictionary of newly coined words that explore the idiosyncrasies of life as only the German language can. German allows you to construct specific words for a secret love of bad foods, the inability to remember jokes, Sunday-afternoon depression, the urge to yawn, the glee of gossip, reassuring your hairdresser, delight at the changing of the seasons, the urge to hoard, or the ineffable pleasure of a cold pillow.

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