German loses longest word

A change in state laws in Germany means that the German language is to lose it’s longest word.

Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz (meaning “law delegating beef label monitoring”) was first introduced in 1999 in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in north west Germany, as the government looked to halt the spread of mad cow disease. The word is no longer in use as European union regulations have changed, and indeed was used so little that it never made the dictionary! Instead, the acronym RkReUAUG was more commonly employed.

The German language is renowned in linguistics for the use of compound words. These are known in German as Bandwurmwoerter (tapeworm words.)

The longest word now in the German dictionary is the 36 letter Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung, which refers to car liability insurance.

Some letters in German can be substituted for two letters in the absence of a German keyboard, which can make a word longer. These letters are ß (ss), which is no longer in common use in Germany, Ä (ae), Ö (oe), and Ü (ue). Indeed, I have used the longer version in this very text! Bandwurmwoerter can also be Bandwurmwörter.