The Donau­dampf­schiffahrts­elektrizitäten­haupt­betriebs­werk­bau­unter­beamten­gesellschaft[lower-alpha 1][1] (German: [ˌdoːnaʊ​ˈdampf​ʃɪffaːɐ̯ts​ˌʔelɛktʁitsiˈtɛːtn̩​ˈhaʊpt​bəˌtʁiːps​vɛʁk​baʊ​ˈʔʊntɐ​bəˈʔamtn̩​gəˌzɛlʃaft] ⓘ; lit. 'Association for Subordinate Officials of the Main Maintenance Building of the Danube Steam Shipping Electrical Services') was a supposed suborganization of the Donau­dampf­schiffahrts­gesellschaft (DDSG), a shipping company based in Vienna that transported passengers and cargo on the Danube before World War I. The DDSG still exists today in the form of the now-private companies DDSG-Blue Danube Schifffahrt GmbH (passenger transport) and the DDSG-Cargo GmbH. However, there is no evidence that the Donau­dampf­schiffahrts­elektrizitäten­haupt­betriebs­werk­bau­unter­beamten­gesellschaft ever existed.

As a compound word

With 79 letters, Donau­dampf­schiffahrts­elektrizitäten­haupt­betriebs­werk­bau­unter­beamten­gesellschaft is a compound word that serves as an example of the virtually unlimited compounding of nouns that is possible in many Germanic languages such as German or Dutch. According to the 1996 Guinness Book of World Records, it is the longest word in the German language.

The German orthography reform of 1996 abolished the rule that compound words with triple consonants coalesce them into double consonants. The reform affects the noun adjunct Schiffahrt, itself a compound of Schiff ('ship') and Fahrt ('transportation'), which is now spelled Schifffahrt (with three fs). A modern spelling of the name would thus include 80 letters. However, as the compound is (allegedly) a historical name, the original spelling with 79 letters is kept. That compound word contains the uncommon plural Elektrizitäten; Elektrizität ("electricity") is normally used only in the singular.

Long compound words are used sparsely in German conversation, but considerably more often than in English. A pre-World War I Danube steamship captain could be referred to as Donaudampfschiffkapitän more naturally than with the somewhat contrived title Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän ("Danube steamboating association captain"). According to the 1995 Guinness Book of World Records, the longest German word in everyday usage is Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften ("legal protection insurance companies") at 39 letters, narrowly beating the description of HDLC as a bitorientiertes Datenübertragungssteuerungsverfahren.

Etymology

DonauDampfSchifffahrtsElektrizitätenHauptBetriebswerkBauunterBeamtenGesellschaft
Danubesteamshipping (+ interfix)electricitiesmainmaintenance shopbuildingunderofficials'association

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also spelled Donau­dampf­schifffahrts­elektrizitäten­haupt­betriebs­werk­bau­unter­beamten­gesellschaft following the German orthography reform of 1996

References

  1. ↑ Ltd, Not Panicking. "h2g2 - The Longest German Word - Edited Entry". h2g2.com. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
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