Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Let's explore whether German really is awful. And use code ROBWORDS at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan:
incogni.com/robwords
In 1880, Mark Twain wrote his essay "The Awful German Language". In it, he listed what he saw as the many drawbacks of the language that he had spent years trying to learn. Are his criticisms fair or just the rantings of a frustrated student? Let's find out.
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⭐️PATREON COMMUNITY: patreon.com/robwords
📝FREE NEWSLETTER: robwords.com/newsletter
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robwords.com
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Let's explore whether German really is awful. And use code ROBWORDS at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan:
incogni.com/robwords
In 1880, Mark Twain wrote his essay "The Awful German Language". In it, he listed what he saw as the many drawbacks of the language that he had spent years trying to learn. Are his criticisms fair or just the rantings of a frustrated student? Let's find out.
👕COOL TSHIRTS: robwords.com/shop
⭐️PATREON COMMUNITY: patreon.com/robwords
📝FREE NEWSLETTER: robwords.com/newsletter
Check me out on the web, on Twitter & TikTok:
robwords.com
https://x.com/robwordsYT
tiktok.com/@robwords
![NUMPIRE, NAPRON, [N]EWT and other words were getting wrong](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XBVu4CjYZmo/mqdefault.jpg "NUMPIRE, NAPRON, [N]EWT and other words were getting wrong
Did you know an umpire should actually be a numpire?
Whats more... an apron should be a napron, an adder a nadder, a newt an ewt, and a nickname an ickname. This video explains why on earth that is.
For centuries, English scholars have been accidentally rebracketing words (its also known as metanalysis). Many of their mistakes have stuck in the language, meaning we continue to get these words wrong.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Numpire, napron & nadder
0:27 Explanation of rebracketing
1:20 Newt & nickname
1:44 Evidence in other languages
2:06 Errors that didnt catch on
2:24 Bye bye")
