The adjective
fair can take on various meanings in English, including the meaning of being honest, impartial and just—as in the phrase
fair play. When used in German,
fair has that meaning. The word
fair sounds like the German prefix
ver, giving rise to the word play of the trade-union banner above, where the verb
umfairteilen is used instead of
umverteilen. The meaning of the latter should become clear by comparing the meaning of the simple verb
teilen with those of the composita that are derived by employing
the prefixes
ver and
um:
- teilen: divide
- verteilen: distribute or share
- umverteilen: redistribute
The verb
umfairteilen has
cleverly been constructed to ask for a fair redistribution of wealth. The text
umfairteilen - Reichtum besteuern, displayed over the entrance of the
Gewerkschaftshaus Bremen (trade union building in Bremen in northern Germany), calls for the redistribution of wealth via adjusted tax regulations. The noun
Reichtum means
riches or
wealth and the verb
besteuern means
to tax.
Keywords:
Wortspiel,
word play;
Steuern,
taxes;
Politik,
politics; s
oziale Gerechtigkeit,
social justice.
Detailed information on Germany's
Umfairteilen activities and demands is given at
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umfairteilen.
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