Merriam-Webster Reports 30,500% Spike in Searches for Schadenfreude

Re:Merriam-Webster Reports 30,500% Spike in Searches for Sch... by sebmellen on Saturday October 03, 2020 @01:36AM (#24669815)

I speak German, and I really enjoy using words like this, but they don't seem that special. I don't quite understand the (mostly American) obsession with them. If any language did away with their conventions and allowed compound words, they could build similar ones.

For example, in English we could use the following as replacements for "schadenfreude":

- Demisejoy

- Damageglee

- Paindelight

- Hurtmirth

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Re:Merriam-Webster Reports 30,500% Spike in Searches for Sch... by kencausey on Saturday October 03, 2020 @11:08PM (#24676249)

Communication requires some level of common understanding. Schadenfreude has enough use within English that many listeners recognize the word even if they are unsure of its correct meaning. I've never heard of any of your alternatives.

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Re:Merriam-Webster Reports 30,500% Spike in Searches for Sch... by sebmellen on Sunday October 04, 2020 @01:52AM (#24676794)

Oh, for sure. I'm just trying to make the point that English would be a lot cooler if we constructed our own compound words.

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Re:Merriam-Webster Reports 30,500% Spike in Searches for Sch... by kencausey on Sunday October 04, 2020 @01:31PM (#24680690)

Ah, I am once again oblivious to the joke.

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Re:Merriam-Webster Reports 30,500% Spike in Searches for Sch... by ncmncm on Sunday October 04, 2020 @12:33AM (#24676549)

But I like them.

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