Editor's Corner

Dear Editrix,

I’ve been listening to a podcast about World War II and I have some questions. The Germans refer to their country as “the fatherland.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard another country referred to in the masculine before. I’ve heard “motherland”…have I just not been paying attention or is Germany somewhat unique in that respect? Any idea why theirs is a fatherland?

Hello there, dear reader.

What a good question! Here is some information I found from a site called MCIS Language Solutions, and then I obtained some information from AI.

According to the language site, the term fatherland actually predates motherland in English. Fatherland started being used in the 1200s; motherland in the 1500s. According to the article:

Derived from the Latin word “patria,” “fatherland” implies heritage, tradition, government and order, whereas “motherland” suggests nurturing and a place of birth. While the male image of the country calls for patriotism and loyalty, the female metaphor evokes a sense of belonging and love.

Rather than assigning a particular gender to where we are from, maybe it is just safer to refer to our homeland when speaking English? But back to the article.

…(the) word “motherland” is widely used in languages with Latin roots, such as French, Spanish and Romanian. Even though Russian embraces the female image of one’s nationality “Mother Russia,” the language doesn’t have a word that translates to “motherland” literally.

“Fatherland,” on the other hand, exists universally in Germanic and Slavic languages. German, Dutch, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Polish and Czech all see their home country as a male.

From AI, here are the words some of those countries use for fatherland:

• German – Vaterland
• Netherlands – vaderland
• Icelandic – föðurland
• Norway – Fedrelandet
• Sweden – Fäderneslandet

This is just speculation, but I would guess that countries choose the term fatherland over motherland because of the power associated with the masculine. And as far as history, AI provides us with some additional information about how the word earned its negative connotations:

The term’s strong negative association for English speakers is rooted in modern history:

• Nazi Propaganda: During the Nazi era, the German government heavily used the term Vaterland in an appeal to extreme nationalism and militarism. The phrase "For Führer and Fatherland" was a common expression of loyalty and appeared in propaganda and educational materials to indoctrinate youth.
• Modern English Perception: As a result, in modern English, "fatherland" is largely associated with Nazism and is rarely used outside of historical contexts related to Germany….

I hope I managed to answer some of your questions!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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