ABSTRACT
Learners of the German language soon become aware of one of its characteristic features: the tendency to create words of considerable length by the use of compound forms. One word that appears frequently in such compound forms is the word for society, Gesellschaft. Although the German authoritarian state based on the Prussian model no longer exists and the rejection of modernity implicit in the ideology of Gemeinschaft seems on the surface antiquated, the continuing influence of both should not be overlooked. Although most of the developments outlined in this chapter will tend to continue, it is predicted that the family will remain 'the dominant life model' and 'for the great majority the most important area of life'. The traditional ideal of Prussian society was for people to be frisch, fromm, frohlich, frei, qualities that conjure up images of healthy living for the good of the state. Nowadays the talk is of individuals being, in the English phrase, 'fit for fun'.
