Ultimately iconic
12/12/2025
More is always better. That's why it's apparently no longer enough not to know just one language. If you want to make it in the writing profession, you have to be able to mix up at least two vocabularies, including grammar. And I would take this with a sense of humor if this dubious talent wasn't increasingly spreading to old-school automotive journalism. Because it becomes personal, because it damages the reputation of my profession.
But people who deal with language as their main profession should actually know better. After all, the German "ultimativ" comes from "ultimatum", the last request before threatened consequences, and is not an intensified form above the superlative. The English "ultimate sports car" therefore does not translate as "the ultimate sports car", but rather, for example, as "the sports car par excellence", "the ultimate sports car" or simply"the sports car" with an accented article.
It's a similar story with the currently very popular neologism "iconic", which is often used to elevate even the most everyday sight to the status of a divine phenomenon. Problem: The English "icon" does not necessarily correspond to the German "Ikone". So even if we pretend that it is a traditional German word, the content of this lazy neologism is still wrong. Or are we really of the opinion that the rear lights of a Corvette Sting Ray have all the characteristics of an image of a saint?
Fortunately, no one has yet "gotten into the driver's seat to hit the road." But the road has been paved. Excuse me. I mean, of course, "the tone is set". People who "go the extra mile in twenty-five because they want to do a good job" are unfortunately already much more common than those who go the extra mile in two thousand twenty-five because they want to do a good job. In most cases, these are also the people who would rather leave their "comfort zone" than their comfort zone.
If things continue like this, our texts will soon read something like this:
"An Opel Omega is an excellent car for long-distance trips. Thanks to cruise control, you don't have to look at the speedometer so often. And thanks to multiple rams, the V6 has enough torque in every revolution range to climb hills consistently. The air conditioner keeps the passenger compartment cool in summer - and in winter it prevents the windows from fogging up. Of course, we check that the turn signals, headlights and tail lights are working before every long journey. The memory seats are also very comfortable."
Understood everything? Possibly. Pretty silly? Certainly. If you don't want to sound like a Brit from anAsterix book worth reading, you have to think about what you're writing for a second longer every now and then. Simply translating English expressions word-for-word is just about state of the art, but it's still a huge pain in the ass. It's getting really ridiculous.
P.S. The excerpt shown above is from Asterix volume 8 "With the British" by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, translated by Gudrun Penndorf, published by Egmont Comic Collection.
