When Berlin's interior minister, Eckart Werthebach, spoke of the German language as the nation's "most prized cultural possession" earlier this year and announced the need for a law to save it from being flooded by English expressions, some Germans were reminded of a ghost of the past.

In the 1930s, the Nazis sought to forcefully "cleanse" the German language of all foreign words by exchanging them for those of "pure" German origin.

History

Throughout Germany's history, there were repeated calls to revive the German language, to remove foreign influences, and to return to the roots of the language during periods of staunch nationalism.

At the beginning of the 20th century, linguists with strong nationalistic tendencies published so-called "Germanising" dictionaries.

Their aim was to purge the German language from words with French origin, as France was at that time Germany's "arch enemy".

French words like "portemonnaie" for wallet, "paraplus" for umbrella and "trottoir" for walkway were widely used in German. They are still considered standard in German today, even though there are also purely German words for these items.

Language protection today

All historical attempts to "purify" the German language proved largely unsuccessful, and many Germans doubt that such efforts would fare any better today.

In an open internet forum, launched by Minister Werthebach to discuss his proposed law, user comments varied greatly.

One user wrote, "The problem does not lie in the number of English words in the German language, but the long, complicated sentences often found in the press releases of certain ministries."

Another user claimed, "so many words in German derive from Latin, Greek, Arabic and French," and yet another user questioned provocatively, "Is Nazi-German back?"

Globalization vs. purification

Germany's culture minister, Julian Nida-Rümelin, says Germany has no need for language protection and that the state should not intervene in a process to which every living language is subject.

Besides, he adds, today's globilized world needs an international language. In business, science, and technology, English has a clear function.

Denglish or Germish

But it is not only the use of genuine English words which is the cause for the current debate. It is rather the use of Germanised English words or vocabulary made up by Germans and never printed in an English dictionary.

Germans, for instance, generally refer to a mobile phone as a "handy", they abhor "sex and crime" on TV - and not "sex and violence" - and they expect a good story to have a "happy end", not a "happy ending".

Of course, there are also countless English terms which stem from the world of computers and the internet and have entered the German language.

This mixture of German awash with English expressions and German-English mish-mash is known as "Denglish" and appears to be increasing in popularity - especially with younger people.

With the increasing amount of English idioms, more and more Germans are saying that enough is enough. In Minister Werthebach's internet forum, the a user poll showed that 998 versus 476 users answered the question, whether the German language needed more protection, with "yes".

Politicians speak out for the German language

Even Wolfgang Thierse, the Speaker of the German parliament, the Bundestag, who is well-known for his liberal stand, urged members and officials to protest against the "ruination of our language".

Wolfgang Gerhardt, the leader of Germany's Free Democrats, denounced the "flood of Anglicisms descending on [the Germans] from the media, advertising and technology" as a form of "violence not coming from the people, but imposed on them".

Is English becoming Europe's lingua franca - the dominating language understood by everyone? A recent survey by the European Commission of the foreign language skills of 16,000 of the EU's citizens suggests that English is on the march to the European continent.

The surge in the use of English words may be yet another result of the internet. The use of English words, however, is one thing. The use of "Denglish" is another.