this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2025
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Uber isn't a German word tho?
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uber
'uber' is an English word with a German ethnology. 'über' is a German word. That's like saying iceberg is German. u and ü are different letters. They are pronounced differently and change the meaning of words (e.g. 'Schuppe' means scale, 'Schüppe' means shovel)
...I don't know what point you're making. The word came from german, and the changing of the letter only goes to my point. The word was easily simplified to be used outside of German.
You're in a thread complaining about a software using a German name for it's German meaning (Flohmarkt means flea market). Your example for a 'good German name' is an English word that has German origins. Don't you see how those are different?
I think you're splitting hairs and it's not helpful. I have only ever known "Uber" as a German word and you saying it isn't one won't change my or others' experience of it as such.
Not only is the etymology on my side, search engines also easily find several articles saying the company Uber got their name from a German word.
Uber is a loan word. Doesn't matter how your perceive it, that doesn't make it a more German. So is iceberg.
There is absolutely no way in which this even matters a slight bit. In-fucking-sufferable and entirely self unaware.
You're in a thread complaining about a software using a German name for it's German meaning. Your example for a 'good German name' is an English word that has German origins.
Right, über is a word. "uber" is very much not. The points aren't decoration or a pronunciation guide, they signify a different letter.
It's like saying that Spanish people call their country Espana.
Are you really going to argue this? Those accent marks aren't in all languages, which is mainly why they removed them. If you want to claim this isn't from the German word then you need to explain where it came from.
Removing the accent marks makes it such that the word isn't German anymore, just German-inspired. It would have to be written "Ueber" instead.
You know, like a Mr. Böing founding the company Boeing.
And yet I always knew that it came from german and when I looked up the etymology that was confirmed correct. I honestly have no idea why people want to have a "conversation" like this
Not only is the etymology on my side, search engines also easily find several articles saying the company Uber got their name from a German word.
Inspired, yes. But uber is still not a German word.
Imagine if I founded a company called "Tougt" and claimed this is an English word. Not inspired by, is. Who needs the letter 'h' anyways?
I fail to see how it matters that a word commonly known as "german" is not directly German but instead is one step removed.
They could have just as easily pulled another easy-to-grok word from German and slightly changed the spelling.
Those arguing about this technicality here are missing the point.
Something, something über alles...
über? which you'd spell ueber, if you can't type ü