Zusammengesetzte Wörter im deutsch-polnisch-tschechischen Sprachdreieck

This article examines the translatability of German compounds using the example of Herta Müller’s works into Polish and Czech. The linguistic world view of this writer is strongly characterized by the use of unusual metaphors and word images, which can be explained, among other things, by interferences from third languages. German compounds are characterized by their high productivity, their occasionality and their metaphorical potential, which makes them difficult to translate into other language systems. While both Polish and Czech tend to favor analytical structures, they differ significantly in their use of German compounds: Polish relies primarily on one-word expressions, which often results in semantic impoverishment or stylistic change. Czech, on the other hand, is structurally closer to German, relying more frequently on direct loan translations or its own compound words. These differences can be explained historically, in particular by the linguistic and cultural proximity of Czech to German as a result of centuries of contact. Exemplary translations – such as “Krepierstube” and “Fingerspitzengefühl” – are used to analyze how different strategies can lead to shifts in content or loss of meaning.