German Insults in Franconian Dialect

Have you ever been tempted to call someone a silly pig or stupid cow? If so, then you are probably German, as insult words stem mostly from animals. If you call somebody a crazy potato or a horseradish rascal, I might assume you are Japanese as they like to call a person a vegetable when acting irrational. Each language reflects its attitude and values towards life through its insult vocabulary. This can be put in certain groups such as animals, vegetables, violence, sex, or humor. My roots and Franconian insult words seem to fall in the category of dominance and sloppiness.

During our teenage years, we five siblings got to hear all kinds of verbal insults. I am a bit reluctant to call them words of insult as we found them the norm while growing up and we all turned out OK. Not one of us has been in need of psychological help. Of course, for us hearing these words was part of the daily grind – insults to get going, insults for having erred, insults meant as motivators, etc. Whenever things got hectic, my mom would revert to this kind of language. And before all this verbal insult knowledge becomes extinct, I am here to save it in the name of linguistic anthropology as I doubt there are many other Franconian farmers’ friends having turned bloggers/insulting vocabulary keepers.

Mild insults were dished out, e.g., on a Sunday morning when I had to get up for church and I would be woken with the words Steh auf, du faule Sau! (Get up, you lazy pig!). This was understandable as I was the only sibling who still was in school at the late age of 17 (all others starting working after 8^th or 9^th grade of schooling). Steinbeck and Tolstoy, hidden under my pillow, gave me a little consolation and I vowed then to raise my children in a different language. On the other hand, I am sure my mom did not give me preferred treatment and used this language on my siblings on Sunday mornings and other opportunities, too. This was the only language she knew and once I asked her if she knew any words of encouragement instead. She didn’t. Most wartime kids like her were not raised on polite language.

Anyway, my mom’s verbal insults are a real treasure and here is a list addressed to us three girls:

Du Rahmsau! You cream pig! (a slow moving girl)

Du Kanallie! You brat! (a not-well mannered girl)

Du Drachonerä! You dragoon! (a dominant girl)

Du Rechimentsau You regimental pig! (a sloppy girl)

Du Luder! You hussy! (a cunning girl)

Du Sull! You pig!

The list for our two brothers is slightly shorter:

Du Hirsch! You stag! (a stubborn guy)

Du Sauhund! You pig-dog! (universal usage)

Du Brunzkübel You piss bucket! (a stupid guy)

Du Droddel! You idiot! (universal usage)

And applicable to all of us:

Ihr Bagage! – pronounced the French way – you heavy burden!

This is how we grew up and even today, we siblings can laugh about these very special words. With a great sense of humor, my brother might call and say: Hallo, Rechimentssau!, which leaves us both laughing! My mother has since then passed away and not only has she taken some original Franconian recipes with her (except Krautspudel), but I won’t let this list of insults get lost as well. This is our Franconian heritage!