Language group slams Deutsche Telekom for English terms
A group promoting German linguistic purity published an open letter on Wednesday to the head of Deutsche Telekom, lambasting the company for its rampant use of English terms.
Walter Krämer, the chairman of the Verein Deutsche Sprache (VDS), wrote to Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann to complain about the telco’s seeming preference for English names for many of its products.
Presenting Obermann with an extremely long list of offending terms, Krämer demanded Germany’s former state-run telecom end its romance with Anglicisms.
“As a German-speaking customer of a German firm I feel duped by such offerings,” wrote Krämer. “I would be greatly pleased when you used your power as chairman of the board to do away with this nonsense.”
The VDS also reminded Obermann of his promise last year to encourage the use of German in the telecommunications industry.
Germany’s national railway operator Deutsche Bahn in February announced it would re-embrace the language of Goethe after years of employing often clunky English. Deutsche Bahn said it would ditch terms such as “Service Point,” “hotline” and “Call a Bike” amid concerns gratuitous and unintelligible Anglicisms were irking its customers.
The VDS’s list of offending English terms at Deutsche Telekom:
0180call, Automatic Call Distribution Standard, Banking, Beate Uhse Live Club, BlackBerry Solution, BlackBerry Webmail, Business Analyzer, Business Flat Premium, Business National Flat, BusinessBasic, BusinessCall Advance, BusinessCall Complete ISDN, BusinessCall Complete Premium, BusinessCall Plus 20000, BusinessCall Voice Flat, BusinessMail Exchange, BusinessMail Protect, Call & Surf Basic IP, Call & Surf Comfort, Call Basic, Call Profi Premium, CallGame Manager, CallingCard, Click-Interactive, Combi Flat Business, Combi Flat Friends, Combi Relax, Combi Relax Business, Combi Relax Friends, CombiCard(s), Communication Center Services, Company Flat Mobile, CompanyConnect, Complete Business, Computer Insider (Softwareload), CountryFlat, Coupé Club, Desktop Services Plus, Desktop Solutions, Developer Garden, Domain E-Mail, Domain Name Service, EasySupport, Entertain Comfort IP, Entertain Installations-Service, Entertain Premium, Erotic Lounge Insider, eServices for CRM, Family, freecall International advanced, freecall Universal advanced, freecall 0800, Full Service PC, Games, Handy Shop Monatspakete, HotButton, HotSpot, InfoManager, Instant Messaging, Interactive Voice Response Plus, InterBusinessLink, InterBusinessLink domestic, IT-ServiceLine, Jukebox, LeasedLink MultiChannel, Max Flat Business, Max Flat Friends, MedicalExchange, Miles & More, Mobile Business Option, Mobile E-Mail, Mobile E-Mail Pro, Music Shop, MyDomain, NetCatalog, Octopus Mobility Services, Octopus NetPhone, Office Communication Port, Packet Mode-Gateway, Performance Management, Playboynet, Professional Services, Profi Local, Relax Business, Relax Friends, Secure Dataroom, Shared Cost International, Shared Cost Universal, Shops, Softwareload, SoundLogo, Surf DSL Flat, Surf Eco Classic, Surf Eco Flat, TeleSec LineCrypt, TeleSec NetKey Card, TeleSec OneTimePass, TeleSec Protection Services, TeleSec Public Key Service, TeleSec Remote Management Security, TeleSec Server und Desktop Security, TeleSec ServerPass, Trading Services, Try & Buy Entertain Comfort, TV DIGITAL Entertain Abo, TwinBill, TwinBill Pro, Unified Communications for Microsoft, Universal Server, Videoload, VoteCall, VPN Business, web'n'walk.
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Walter Krämer, the chairman of the Verein Deutsche Sprache (VDS), wrote to Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann to complain about the telco’s seeming preference for English names for many of its products.
Presenting Obermann with an extremely long list of offending terms, Krämer demanded Germany’s former state-run telecom end its romance with Anglicisms.
“As a German-speaking customer of a German firm I feel duped by such offerings,” wrote Krämer. “I would be greatly pleased when you used your power as chairman of the board to do away with this nonsense.”
The VDS also reminded Obermann of his promise last year to encourage the use of German in the telecommunications industry.
Germany’s national railway operator Deutsche Bahn in February announced it would re-embrace the language of Goethe after years of employing often clunky English. Deutsche Bahn said it would ditch terms such as “Service Point,” “hotline” and “Call a Bike” amid concerns gratuitous and unintelligible Anglicisms were irking its customers.
The VDS’s list of offending English terms at Deutsche Telekom:
0180call, Automatic Call Distribution Standard, Banking, Beate Uhse Live Club, BlackBerry Solution, BlackBerry Webmail, Business Analyzer, Business Flat Premium, Business National Flat, BusinessBasic, BusinessCall Advance, BusinessCall Complete ISDN, BusinessCall Complete Premium, BusinessCall Plus 20000, BusinessCall Voice Flat, BusinessMail Exchange, BusinessMail Protect, Call & Surf Basic IP, Call & Surf Comfort, Call Basic, Call Profi Premium, CallGame Manager, CallingCard, Click-Interactive, Combi Flat Business, Combi Flat Friends, Combi Relax, Combi Relax Business, Combi Relax Friends, CombiCard(s), Communication Center Services, Company Flat Mobile, CompanyConnect, Complete Business, Computer Insider (Softwareload), CountryFlat, Coupé Club, Desktop Services Plus, Desktop Solutions, Developer Garden, Domain E-Mail, Domain Name Service, EasySupport, Entertain Comfort IP, Entertain Installations-Service, Entertain Premium, Erotic Lounge Insider, eServices for CRM, Family, freecall International advanced, freecall Universal advanced, freecall 0800, Full Service PC, Games, Handy Shop Monatspakete, HotButton, HotSpot, InfoManager, Instant Messaging, Interactive Voice Response Plus, InterBusinessLink, InterBusinessLink domestic, IT-ServiceLine, Jukebox, LeasedLink MultiChannel, Max Flat Business, Max Flat Friends, MedicalExchange, Miles & More, Mobile Business Option, Mobile E-Mail, Mobile E-Mail Pro, Music Shop, MyDomain, NetCatalog, Octopus Mobility Services, Octopus NetPhone, Office Communication Port, Packet Mode-Gateway, Performance Management, Playboynet, Professional Services, Profi Local, Relax Business, Relax Friends, Secure Dataroom, Shared Cost International, Shared Cost Universal, Shops, Softwareload, SoundLogo, Surf DSL Flat, Surf Eco Classic, Surf Eco Flat, TeleSec LineCrypt, TeleSec NetKey Card, TeleSec OneTimePass, TeleSec Protection Services, TeleSec Public Key Service, TeleSec Remote Management Security, TeleSec Server und Desktop Security, TeleSec ServerPass, Trading Services, Try & Buy Entertain Comfort, TV DIGITAL Entertain Abo, TwinBill, TwinBill Pro, Unified Communications for Microsoft, Universal Server, Videoload, VoteCall, VPN Business, web'n'walk.
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