Well, English prefers genitive constructions, and rarely compounds more than two words, so native English speakers have trouble to parse words like Kindercarnavalsoptochtvoorbereidingswerkzaamhedencomitéleden, Speciallægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode or Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz, despite compounding being a core feature of Germanic languages, not only German. English just cought a severe case of French back in 1066…-
I hope you’re aware that words like Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz aren’t exactly easy to understand for Germans, either. If there’s one thing English is usually really good at, it’s dumbing things down to a level that’s easy to understand for the reader; some scientific texts are genuinely easier to understand in the English translation than in the German original, even if you’re a native German speaker with a relevant university degree.
It’s really not that different.
German: Dampfschiffkapitän
English: steam boat captain
German, if compound words worked like in English: Dampf Schiff Kapitän
English, if compound words worked like in German: steamboatcaptain
Well, English prefers genitive constructions, and rarely compounds more than two words, so native English speakers have trouble to parse words like Kindercarnavalsoptochtvoorbereidingswerkzaamhedencomitéleden, Speciallægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode or Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz, despite compounding being a core feature of Germanic languages, not only German. English just cought a severe case of French back in 1066…-
I hope you’re aware that words like Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz aren’t exactly easy to understand for Germans, either. If there’s one thing English is usually really good at, it’s dumbing things down to a level that’s easy to understand for the reader; some scientific texts are genuinely easier to understand in the English translation than in the German original, even if you’re a native German speaker with a relevant university degree.
Sadly, for some Germans it does