Wurst case analysis – language matters

Jetzt geht’s um die Wurst, which literally translates as now it's all about the sausage, is a German idiom meaning it’s crunch time, the moment of truth, make or break.

Across the EU's 27 member states, things all came down to sausages in the true sense of the word when the European Parliament voted through a high-profile proposal; plant-based products would no longer be allowed to be marketed using words like sausage, steak, burger, beef and schnitzel. These words will in future be reserved for meat products, but what other names should be allowed instead to describe what after all still looks like, you guessed it, sausages?

A non-issue or language matters?

In Sweden, many consider the whole debate to be a non-issue. ”Drivel!”, as one parliamentarian put it. The ups and downs of the discussion are fierce all the same, as often happens when entirely unrelated conflicts are projected onto language use in general and word choice in particular. There’s already wild speculation about what veggie products should be called if marketing them as sausages and burgers is prohibited.

For anyone working with language and marketing, it’s an interesting, exciting discussion, whether you’re for or against the current proposal. In times when linguistic messages are increasingly replaced by images, or where AI is allowed to formulate things for us, the debate itself seems to be sending the opposite signal:

Language still matters; it triggers emotions, creates identities and can be linked to various interests.

Language matters – language proficiency and language awareness are key competences

Language proficiency and language awareness remain important skills for an organisation.

• Humans are incredibly creative and also economical in the way we use language. We can borrow concepts from a one sphere and transfer them to another. For the most part, we understand intuitively what things mean in different settings based on the context.
• We help shape reality, arouse desires, and highlight new perspectives through our use of words, especially in marketing.

When the word sausage is paired with vegetarian on product packaging, we quickly realise that it refers to a particular shape which in certain contexts is associated with meat, but in this case is based on another meaning of the word. At the same time, it also gives a mischievous nod to its meaty namesake, challenging the notion that a sausage can only have animal content. It will be difficult for AI software to keep up with such twists and turns right from the start, especially if the legislation changes from one day to the next.

When the word sausage is combined with ”vegetarian” on a product packaging, we quickly realise that it refers to a specific shape which in certain contexts is associated with meat, but in this case is based on another meaning of the word. At the same time, with a tongue-in-cheek nod, it also alludes to the meat sausage, challenging the notion that a sausage can only have an animal content. For AI programs, it will be difficult to keep up with those twists and turns initially, especially if the legislation changes from one day to the next.

Language matters – words are powerful

There are also more serious instances of where language and word choice matter:

• indigenous peoples should not be described against their will by names they object to
• one should try to use language that is inclusive regardless of gender
• the use of certain words can be a criminal offence
• the wording in classic children's books is increasingly being adapted to the norms of our time.

The trade-offs can be difficult and often spark debate.

Language matters. Long live the sausage! Long-live language!

Language is not only a starting point for controversy, but also a way of creating a sense of community. Language often serves to promote inclusivity. Calling a veggie product a veggie sausage or veggie burger might even lead to people who do not eat meat to join in a barbecue evening without any problems and long-winded explanations. People speak and write based on living language habits, and they try to find smart solutions regardless of any rules and regulations that may pop up. 

And in the case of the veggie sausage, it’s difficult, for practical reasons, to imagine people beginning to use some contrived name for it instead of the generally accepted words they’re already familiar with. And if new names for vegetarian foods emerge that work better than the old ones, it will probably be society as a whole, both consumers and marketing experts, who decide what tomorrow’s usage will be.

Food for thought

Korv, the Swedish word for sausage, has a somewhat unclear origin. Historically, it’s thought to date back to Old Norse and denote a stump, an offcut or something curved. Thus etymologically, it does not seem to have been reserved solely for a certain type of meat product. The roots of the word appear to have had more to do with the shape of an object than with its actual content.

From the 15th century onwards, a specific definition then emerged in which Korv primarily referred to an animal casing filled with minced meat, associated with slaughterhouse animal products. This is the definition that the European Parliament's decision has seized upon.

In modern times, however, the concept of the sausage has widened to encompass a variety of things that have a kind of round, elongated shape without necessarily ever having anything to do with food.

From a historical linguistic perspective there would be no real problems involved in calling a vegetarian foodstuff a sausage, at least not in Swedish (nor in German for that matter). Definitions change and develop all the time; language has a life of its own.

Het worstje, boudin, saucisse, bilder, kiełbasa, kobasica, klobása, klobasa, kolbász, cалам, desa, dasa, dešra, cârnat, λουκάνικο, zalzett tal-Malti, σιεφταλιά, pølse, pylsur, makkara, vorst, Wurst, Wurscht, salchicha, salsicha, salsiccia, korv etc: sausage culture is widespread in Europe and there appears to be one or more words for sausage in every language spoken in the EU. The sausage culture is widespread in Europe and there appears to be one or more words for sausage in every language used within the EU.

According to AI via Google, there are no figures for how many types of sausage exist within the EU; Germany alone is said to have more than 1,500 different varieties.

If you ask AI via Google (in German) whether there is a language that does not have a word for sausage, the answer will be that the constructed language Toki Pona has no word for sausage, because it was created with a minimal vocabulary and maximum simplicity in mind. The language was developed in 2001 by the linguist Sonja Lang and uses only 120 words to describe complex ideas. 

Almost all Swedes – no less than 97% – eat sausages.

The sausage is celebrated every year on Sausage Day, 12 March.