h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

WJH: Just found this co BBC Ticker!

Donau­dampfschiffahrts­elektrizitäten­haupt­betriebs­werkbau­unterbeamten­gesellschaft

is apparently the longest German word! But having lived in Germany for many years ... I have never used it ... but, I hasten to add, I've never been a steam ship on the Donau!

Not a lot of people know this! http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A29639046

Ah, interesting.
The longest word in French is "anticonstitutionnellement", and it means unconstitutionally (how many n's? how many l's?).
Ridiculously short, isn't it?

Did you know that the most hated football fan in Germany is the Borussiamoenchengladbach fan who stands on the terraces and yells: give us a "B"

Cannychanta

And I thought that the longest French word was "Umweltverschmutzung!" Environmental pollution

One of the longest English words that I know and use is Ethnomethodologist - any one interested you can google Garfinkel (not Simon and Garfunkel!)

Welsh have Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

and it apparently is also the longest URL

Ummm... "Umweltverschmutzung" is German for environmental pollution.

The (German, sensible) word with the most consonants in a row is "Borschtschschmaus". And only four words in German end on "...nf"
Henf, Genf, Senf, Fünf


Tube
(h2g2 official translator)

German words can be extended indefinitely. If I want, I can make up a Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmützenknopfpoliturherstellerazubistellenausschreibungslesermutterschürzenknotenbindemethode

http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/adinfinitum?view=uk

Eep.

Pardon?

supercalefragilisticexpealidocious

"And I thought that the longest French word was "Umweltverschmutzung!" Environmental pollution"
That's not a very nice thing to say/write!

Some might say the shortest word in French is "President"... Not very nice either, is it?

"Umweltverschmutzung" is a German word, isn't it?

Yes, it is.
I think what he meant by that was to say that France is very polluted.

>"Donau......methode"
Funny that you should use the short word "Azubi" in there instead of "Auszubildenden"...

No ... I would never say that AND especially not to such a nice person as Stunning. I got this piece of information from a friend of mine who works for Airbus.

As you probably know Airbus is made up of 3? Countries. England, France and Germany? And in meetings, the French people say: Umweltverschmutzung because, apparently, there is no word for it in the French language!

Perhaps SF could tell us if this is true?

The joke with president sarkozy is great!

>>Funny that you should use the short word "Azubi" in there instead of "Auszubildenden"...<<

Of course! Words that long need to be abbreviated

>>the French people say: Umweltverschmutzung because, apparently, there is no word for it in the French language!<<

Leo reveals the French word to be "pollution"... I do get 1,780 French hits when googling "Umweltverschmutzung", but many of them appear to be book titles or requests for help with translation.

Umweltverschmutzung:

Yes, "pollution" is the one.

Maybe they're using the German word just to show that they can say it without leaving any bits out...

Ah yes, of course - abbreviation. And that's probably also the reason to leave out the third "f" in "Schifffahrt"

Three Fs is just silly, unless you're Heinz Rühmann in "die Feuerzangenbowle" I refuse to go with the new spelling

And I bet you're right, SF, they're just showing off