[Lexicog] Re: Equivalents of German "Heimat"

Rudolph C Troike rtroike at U.ARIZONA.EDU
Thu Jun 2 17:59:20 UTC 2005


I think the recent resurrection of the term "homeland" in the US in the
aftermath of 9/11 has been intended to invoke some of the sentimental
sense of "Heimat" (as in Die Fliedermaus) -- perhaps as a deliberate
political ploy.

In Spanish, the old extended sense of "hearth" as the place the family
gathers is conveyed by "hogar", which is often used where English would
now use "home". (Real estate developers have been trying for decades to
replace "house" with "home", to reduce "home" to just the physical
building. I'm sure the same is true with "hogar".)

Rather more specific, but conveying the sense of connectedness in origin,
is the English compound "home town". With the modern mobility of the
US population, many people can claim no real home town, but just have
places where they have lived for various periods.

However, for Texans, the word "Texas" certainly evokes many of the senses
of "Heimat". The old saying is that "You can take the Texan out of Texas,
but you can't take Texas out of the Texan".

	Rudy Troike
	(a Texan living in Arizona)




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