Americans with Odd German Names Teil Drei

Should we be worried that an American with a peculiar German name is a top adviser to the President of the United States?

“This is very much in accord with the president’s vision from the get-go,” said Karl Zinsmeister, a domestic policy adviser to Mr. Bush....

I think we should, given that his name means, roughly, "interest-rate-master."  The German word for compound interest, by the way, is Zinseszinsen: "interest-rate-interest-rate."  Ingenious, no?

Comments

[Cryptic Ned]

Here's another for your series on Americans with odd German names: Arizona freshman quarterback Cameron Allerheiligen.

[Hans]

Der Zins ist ein Meister aus Deutschland...

[Steffi]

And if Eckehart Stoiber had said it, everybody would be making fun of him. That's just not fair.

Isn't his "name" Eduard Stoiber because of his political preference for law-and-order politics? I'm especially thinking of the inventor and former presenter of "Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst" on German TV. Hey, Wikipedia says "Aktenzeichen XY" was the first manhunt TV show at all and it is the only German television format to have entered the American market...

"Zinseszins" is based on a genitive: "[des] Zinses Zins", "interest's interest" literally. So "interest-rate-interest-rate" doesn't completely catch the - in sharp contrast to Mark Twain's legendary appraisal - sophistication and beauty of German composita.

[Koch]

For God's sake, it's compound interest.

Martin - the 14-year old in me quite enjoys this blog. And it like totally pwns you.

[Sebastian Koppehel]

The German word for compound interest, by the way, is Zinseszinsen: "interest-rate-interest-rate." Ingenious, no?

Sure, sure. And if Eckehart Stoiber had said it, everybody would be making fun of him. That's just not fair.

[martin]

>Should we be worried that an American with a peculiar German name [...]

Should we be worried that this blog is approaching the level of a 14-year old? Some Americans are even named "Hammel", hawhawhaw, isn't that funny. Well actually it isn't. But what's funny is how your can push their buttons based on their little preconceived notions of how the world runs.

P.S.: Just these days Mr. Hammel is probably really happy that he handed off the financial part of his brain to someone else. But I guess it's only 'feudalism' if German universities are acting this way.

[Volker]

And to be completely anal about it, it has to be interest-on-interest (or of/from dunno, maybe not completely anal though), because of the little -es between the two Zins.

[Norbert]

I would rather translate Zinseszins with "interest-interest". Interest rate is Zinssatz in German.