Learning German? A continuation of an interactive performance art and social intervention which uses language as a medium to explore transnational identity and the question of integration/immigration to Germany
1 Feb: Kanake from kate hers on Vimeo.
Location: Berlin, Germany
Word or Expression: der Kanake
Closest English Translation: darky, foreigner, wog
Direct Translation: seafarer, sailor
Wikipedia: Kanake (or Kanaker) is a derogatory word used in German-speaking countries for immigrants from southern countries. Originally common as “Kanakermann” among 19th century mariners to refer to comrades from the South Pacific (and later all of Southeast Asia), and carrying a connotation of praise for their seafaring abilities, it was in the 1960s transferred with more ambiguous connotations to Southern European immigrants, and is now usually used with an exclusively derogatory connotation against immigrants of Turkish descent, and African or dark-skinned people who reside in the country.
13 Jan: schwul from kate hers on Vimeo.
Word or Expression: schwul
Closest English Translation: homo, gay, queer, stupid (when it’s used pejoratively)
Literal Translation: gay
wikiipedia: …a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. In the Anglosphere, this connotation, among younger speakers, has a derisive meaning equivalent to rubbish or stupid (as in “That’s so gay.”). In this use, the word does not mean “homosexual”, so it can be used, for example, to refer to an inanimate object or abstract concept of which one disapproves. This usage can also refer to weakness or unmanliness. When used in this way, the extent to which it still retains connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized.[4][5]
The German equivalent for gay, schwul, which is etymologically derived from schwuel (hot, humid), also acquired the pejorative meaning within youth culture.[34]
das deutschsprachliche Projekt Teil 2 