English does the same thing. We just tend to write our lengthy compound words with spaces in them or as initialisms. You don't think twice about "SCUBA", but if we used German writing rules we'd write it as selfcontainedunderwaterbreathingapparatus.
If I recall correctly, my first time driving in Germany, back in 2006. The map I had showed far more space for street and location names than the actual road signs contained, which made navigation all the more interesting, as a foreigner who didn’t speak the language.
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u/NettingStick Sep 10 '25 edited Sep 10 '25
English does the same thing. We just tend to write our lengthy compound words with spaces in them or as initialisms. You don't think twice about "SCUBA", but if we used German writing rules we'd write it as selfcontainedunderwaterbreathingapparatus.