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#1 2010-07-21 12:33:17

klakritz
Eggcornista
From: Winchester Massachusetts
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 674

'teutonic shift' for 'tectonic shift'

The German military carries a connotation of lightning invasions and overturnings of the social order which, perhaps, is what users of this phrase are latching onto. Common. Examples-

Now with the Teutonic shift in the landscape of college athletics, the inevitability of a four 16-team conference world …
kentsterling.com/.../big-ten-expansion-college-footballs-evolution-is-timed-exactly-right/

But this is the first time Intel has outsourced a processor technology, which in itself is a ‘’teutonic’’ shift, said G. Dan Hutcheson, ...
www.eetimes.com/.../Analysis-Intel-ARM- … ion-course

... most are either not even aware of it or our habits are so entrenched, changing them will take a teutonic shift in our consciousness.
www.oregonlive.com/opinion/.../poisoned … _soup.html

The embedded world has been one of the more mature and relatively staid segments of the computing universe, but as of late it is undergoing a teutonic shift …
embedded-computing.com/magazine/articles

Thus they called Jesus the Christ – the one through whom they experienced the beauty of God, the experience that was a teutonic shift…
www.wondercafe.ca/discussion/religion-a … -jesus-die

Could this be the beginning a teutonic shift in luxury fashion? Or is it just slipping?
www.poeticandchic.com/home/2008/6/.../schadenfreude.ht

As more and more people become properly qualified and standard raise there will be one day a teutonic shift in the public’s perception of osteopathy.
www.gedop.com/entrevistajj2.html

We’re in a totally new Paradigm….a Teutonic shift. Deflation?,Yes, at first, then inflation(if we’re lucky), not Hyper Inflation.
dollarcollapse.com/.../graham-dyer-pretty-much-everything-is-headed-down/

Last edited by klakritz (2010-07-24 17:24:00)

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#2 2010-07-23 14:46:25

David Bird
Eggcornista
From: The Hammer, Ontario
Registered: 2009-07-28
Posts: 1702

Re: 'teutonic shift' for 'tectonic shift'

Though I like this interpretation of the imagery of a teutonic shift (these lightning strike interpretations are part of the fun of the site), I’m not sure that teutonic in this context does not fall closer to a pail. There are also an astonishing number of “plate teutonics” references out there. Is this the fertile and poetic eggcorn imagination at work? Difficult to say. Your first few examples do seem to imply a sudden expansion, and not merely a reorganization, of the zeitgeist. Admittedly, it is hard to imagine the use of teutonic without having at least a glimmering of its significance.

A discussion point for another day, or another forum: the use of these epithets from the Iron Age as if they still have currency. A case in point would be the use of the word “anglo-saxon” here in Quebec to describe non-francophone culture and people. It seems to me that none have had the right to call themselves anglo-saxon for at least 1000 years, if not 1500. I’ve had a genetic profile done of myself, just for fun. It showed links to Northern American Indians, to Sweden, England, Germany, France and, interestingly, Kenya (I’d love to know how that got snuck in there).


“Tectonics” is an interesting word in itself. I enjoyed reading a short explanation of the significance of tectonics, and architectonics, here. Tectonic, and indeed Teutonic, shifts take on a new meaning in the context of the German revival of “tectonics” as that practice of building which “rises above the trammels of necessity and may become powerfully representative of deep feelings.”

My intention is not to hijack or derail this entry. I do have some tectonic examples, where the emphasis seem to been on contact and building as part of tech-nology.

Terraforming Mars
Comment 1: I think it all comes back to plate tactonics. If the mantle could be heated enough to re-start plate tactonics, the volcanoes would belch out the greenhouse gasses necessary to maintain that heat
Comment 2: As for plate techtonics,does the amount of energy from the sun falling per sq/m on mars’ surface have any effect on the mechanism I wonder? [...] How would you get plate techtonics started on mars again? Any theories?

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#3 2010-07-25 09:53:53

jorkel
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 1456

Re: 'teutonic shift' for 'tectonic shift'

I don’t think the utterers know what Teutonic refers to. It just happens to sound like “tectonic” and that coincidence has the makings of a malapropism for me.

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