These are the questions that keep me up at night

[conuly]

I can't figure out if the word "wanderlust" is a loanword or a calque. I think it must be a calque if we say it like we'd say an English word spelled that way, and a loanword if we say it like we'd say a German word spelled that way (or like we think Germans would say it, anyway).

Poll #19414 Wanderlust

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 125

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How do you say the word "wanderlust"?

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With a w at the beginning
112 (89.6%)

With a v at the beginning
6 (4.8%)

I'm not sure. I've never actually said it or heard it said
7 (5.6%)

I'm not familiar with this word
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[oloriel]

Amusingly enough, when I use wanderlust as an English word, I pronounce it with a [w] (as well as darkening the a and pronouncing the u as [ʌ]). I suspect I'm subconsciously trying to avoid sounding German when speaking English?

[conuly]

That's fascinating.

[oloriel]

That said, I'm really not sure that pronunciation is the key here. I mean, I've heard wunderkind pronounced like a compound of English "wonder" and "kind", even though the latter does not actually mean "child" in English...