The Use of Word “Ganz” in German Language

Textbooks Netzwerk A1, A2, and B1

Hafdarani*, Nuki Nurhani, Rifqi Fakhri Santoso
German Language Education Department, Faculty of Language and Literature Education,
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
The word “ganz” in German can be categorized into three types of word classes, namely adjectives, adverbs and
particles. One adjective can function attribute (as substantive attribute), it can also be predictive (as a complement to
the predicate). The word “ganz” as an attributive functioning adjective undergoes a declination process that is adjusted
to the case that accompanies it and is used in standard languages on singular substantive. According from its function
in the sentence, “ganz” also carries different functions. This study aims to analyse the words “ganz” in teaching books
Netzwerk A1, A2, and B1. In textbooks with these three levels, he word “ganz” which includes the type/class of
adjective, adverb and particle words; functioning as attributive, adverbial adjectives, and meaning vollständig ‘whole;
complete ‘ziemlich ‘somewhat / tolerable’ völlig ‘whole’, and sehr ‘very’, Superlative ‘the most; truly’. However, there
is no explanation of the word “ganz” from the type/class of words, functions in the sentence and semantic meaning in
teaching books Netzwerk. Therefore, in textbooks there should also be an explanation of the word “ganz”, so that learners
can understand the meaning of the word “ganz” well, so there is no misunderstanding of the meaning of the word.

Keywords: Adjectives, Adverb, Particles of German, Type/class of words, Word “ganz”.

1. INTRODUCTION Pelz unserer Sprache” ‘fleas in the animal fur of our

language’ (Reiners, 1944, as cited in Vural, 2000),
The word “ganz” in German can be categorized into “farblose Redefüllsel” ‘small-word filler without color’
three classes of words, namely adjectives, adverbs (Lindqvist, 1961, as cited in Vural, 2000),
(Duden, 2022; Eisenberg, 2013) and particles (Helbig “Würzwörter” ‘spice words’ (Thiel, 1962, as cited in
& Buscha, 1986). One adjective can function Vural, 2000; Schröder 1965, as cited in Vural, 2000),
attributive (as a substantive attribute), it can also be “Füllwörter” ‘filler words’ (Adler, 1964, as cited in
predicative (as a complement to the predicate). In Vural, 2000), “Sprachhülsen” ‘language chaff’,
Duden the word “ganz” as an adjective function only “Färbewörter” ‘color-giving words’ (Colditz, 1966, as
attributively and undergoes a declination process that is cited in Vural, 2000) and “unscheinbare Kleinwörter”
adapted to the accompanying case and is used in ‘inconspicuous small words’. It’s means that “ganz” as
standard language on singular substantives. particle can have some meaning too. Métrich and
Meanwhile, in the Langenscheidt electronic dictionary Faucher (2009) talked about function, position, context,
(Haensch, Götz, Redaktion Langenscheidt, & word pressure, synonyms, equivalents of particle
Wellmann, 2010), and Wahrig (Wahrig-Burfeind, „ganz” in French,. Hecht (2002) wrote about Aspekte
2006, p. 572) the word “ganz” is categorized into der Intensivierung - Die Einzelfälle ganz und „höchst”
adjectives and adverbs. As an adjective “ganz” can be ‘Aspects of Intensivity – Special cases of ganz and
attributive and can also be predicative and adverbial. “höchst”.
There are four meanings of “ganz” that function
attributively in Langenscheidt. Observing the meaning and use of ganz” from the
There are some meanings of particles. Vural (2000, p. the books and dictionaries above (Duden,
13) collected the following meaning of particles: Langenscheidt, & Wahrig-Burfeind), it can be seen that
“Flickwörter” ‘meaningless additional words’ the variations in the meaning of the word ganz” - both
(Gabelentz, 1901, as cited in Vural, 2000), “Läuse im as an adjective and as an adverb are quite diverse.

© The Author(s) 2022

N. Haristiani et al. (Eds.): ICOLLITE 2022, ASSEHR 722, pp. 212–218, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-91-6_32
 The Use of Word “Ganz” in German Language Textbooks Netzwerk A1, A2, and B1 213

However, none of the three dictionaries mentions that type/class of the word, its function in the sentence and
the word “ganz” is also a particle. The mention of the its semantic meaning.
word “ganz” as a particle can be found in German
grammar books, for example Helbig and Buscha (1986, 2. METHOD
pp. 499-745; & 2004, pp. 419-429). According to Pusch
(1981) the word “ganz” as a particle needs to be The implementation of this research is from May to
researched and revealed in the teaching of German. November 2021 at the Department of German Language
Education. In this study, the word “ganz” contained in
Some of the meanings of the adverb “ganz” put the Netzwerk textbooks A1, A2 and B1 will be analysed
forward in Langenscheidt are categorized by Helbig based on the type/class of the word. Its function in the
and Buscha (1986) as meaning the word “ganz” as a sentence and its semantic meaning.
particle, if syntactically it cannot stand alone as an
answer to the question (meanings 1, 3, 4). So it can be The corpus or source of research data is the German
said that the word “ganz” has a unique phenomenon. textbook Netzwerk A1, A2 and B1 Kursbuch from
Klett-Langenscheidt-Verlag Munich – Germany, by
There are many German textbooks that can be used Stefanie Dengler, Paul Rusch, Helen Schmitz and
to support learning German as a foreign language in Tania Sieber in the 2016 edition. The data collection
secondary schools, course institutions and universities, instrument consisted of a description table of the word
both published by German and Indonesian publishers. ganz found in the Nerzwerk textbooks A1, A2, and B1,
One of the textbooks used in Indonesia is the tables, and field notes.
Netzwerklevel book A1, A2 and B1 which is in
accordance with the European Language Competency
3. FINDING AND DISCUSSIONS
Standards Reference Framework. This book is also
used at the Department of German Language Education
as the main teaching material to support language skills
3.1. The Type/Class of the Word “Ganz”
lectures in semesters I, II and III from the 2017/2018 Found in the Netzwerk A1, A2 and B1
academic year to the present (2021/2022). Previously, Based on the theory above that has been concluded
Studio textbooks at levels A1, A2 and B1 which at this from Helbig and Buscha (1986), Hecht (2002), Pusch
time used as companion teaching materials. (1981), Duden’s online dictionary (Duden, 2022),
In German textbooks, including in the Netzwerk electronic Langenscheidt dictionary (Haensch et al.,
textbook, the word “ganz” appears with different 2010), and Wahrig’s dictionary (Wahrig-Burfeind,
types/classes of words, which also have different 2006, p. 572), the word “ganz” in German can be
functions and meanings in sentences. Therefore, it is categorized into three word classes, namely adjectives,
the task of the teacher to help students understand the adverbs and particles. An adjective can function
phenomenon of the word ganz”. Based on the above attributively (as a substantive attribute), can also be
background, the researchers are interested in analyzing predicative (as a complement to the predicate) and
the word “ganz” in the Netzwerk textbooks A1, A2 and adverbial. In the Table 1 can be seen the results of the
B1. The word “ganz” will be analyzed based on the analysis for each level of textbooks.

Table 1. Word ganz in three German textbooks

No. Textbook Types of word ganz Function Number of occurrences

attributive 9
adjective
Netzwerk A1 predicative -
1
adverb adverb 2
particle 12
Total number 23
attributive 10
adjective
predicative -
2 Netzwerk A2 adverb adverb 5
particle 25
Not included in the category -
Total number 40
attributive 19
adjective
predicative -
Netzwerk B1
3 adverb adverb 7
particle 27
Not included in the category
Total number 53
214 Hafdarani et al.

Table 2. Examples of sentences containing word of ganz in Nettzwerk A1

The meaning of the

Type/ Class
word ganz (and the
No of Words Function Sentence Page
word that
ganz
accompanies it)
1 Adjective Attributive 2 Terminals, 60 Airlines und 125 Ziele the whole world Chapter 3
auf der ganzen Welt, das ist der P. 28
Hamburger Flughafen.

2 Adjective Attributive Flughafen : 2 Terminals und 125 Ziele the whole world Chapter 3
auf der ganzen Welt. P. 29
3 Particle Nach dem Weg fragen und einen Weg very easy Chapter 3
beschreiben: “Das ist ganz einfach. (strengthen) P. 33
Gehen Sie rechts/links/geradeaus und
dann....”
4 Particle Nach dem Weg fragen und einen Weg very easy Chapter 3
beschreiben: “Das ist ganz einfach. (strengthen) P. 37
Gehen Sie rechts/links/geradeaus und
dann....”
5 Adjective Attributive Populär ist er aber in ganz Deutschland. all over Germany Plattform 1
(without P. 41
declination)
6 Adjective Attributive Und Kaffee trinke ich immer viel, den all/all day Chapter 4
ganzen Tag. P. 44

3.1.1. Analysis Results of Netzwerk A1 Langenscheidt dictionary (Haensch et al., 2010), and
Wahrig dictionary (Wahrig-Burfeind, 2006). Of the 40
From the data sources, 23 data have been found data found, ten of them are adjectives with attributive
containing the word ganz. The data is grouped into functions, five adverbs with adverbial functions and 25
three types of words, namely adjectives, adverbs, and data are Particles that are mostly meant to strengthen
particles (see Table 2). the adjectives that follow them. The following data
were found in the data source (see Table 3 & Table 4):
1) Adjective
1) Adjective
From the data sources, there are nine data belonging
to the adjective class. The data is an adjective that has From the data source, the word ganz which is
an attributive function only. included in the adjective class is found as many as 10
data, and 10 of these data function as attributive
2) Adverb substantives.
There are two ganz words that belong to the adverb 2) Adverb
word class and function adverbially.
There are five adverbs that function as adverbials in
3) Particle the Netzwerk A2 textbook.
From the data sources, it was found that there were 3) Particle
12 data containing the word ganz as a particle, most
of which meant strengthening and some of them From the data source, it was found that as many as 25
weakened (four data). data contained the word ganz as a particle which
mostly strengthened the adjectives that followed it.
In the Table 2, some examples of sentences
containing ganz from Nezwerk A1 are presented.
3.1.3. Analysis Result of Netzwerk B1
3.1.2. Analysis Results of Netzwerk A2 In the Netzwerk B1 textbook, 53 data were found
containing the word ganz. Ganz words which are
In the Netzwerk A2 textbook, 40 data were found categorized into particle word types/classes according
containing the word ganz. Ganz words are categorized to Duden online dictionary (Duden, 2022), electronic
into particle word types/classes according to Duden Langenscheidt dictionary (Haensch et al., 2010), and
online dictionary (Duden, 2022), electronic Wahrig dictionary (Wahrig-Burfeind, 2006, p. 572)
 The Use of Word “Ganz” in German Language Textbooks Netzwerk A1, A2, and B1 215

found as many as 27 data, while the remaining 19 of included in the adverb class found as many as five
them function as attributive, and seven data including data.
the types of adverbs The following data were found in
3) Particle
the data source:
From the data source, it was found that 27 data
1) Adjective
contained the word ganz as a particle, most of which
From the data sources, 19 data were found attributive functioned to strengthen the adjective that followed
adjectives. it.
2) Adverb In Tabel 4 can be seen examples of sentences
containing ganz in Netzwerk B1.
From the data source, the word ‘ganz’ which was

Table 3. Examples of sentences containing word of ganz in Netzwerk A2

Type/ Class The meaning of the word

No of Words Function Sentence ganz (and the word that Page
ganz accompanies it)
Particle Ganz schön mobil really busy
1 P. 5
(strengthen)
Particle Der Weg ist ganz einfach... very easy (strengthen)
2 P. 5

Particle Ein Restaurant ohne Licht – es ist ganz very/ Chapter

3 dunkel. completely dark (strengthening) 1
P. 14
Adverb adverbial Jetzt sehe ich das natürlich ganz anders Very different Chapter
4 2
P. 20
Particle Und danach wieder Jeans tragen und very normal Chapter
5 ganz normal an der Uni lernen ... (strengthen) 2
P. 23
Particle Das Internet macht es auch möglich, Very different (strengthen) Chapter
6 dass ich mit Leuten an ganz anderen 3
Orten zusammenarbeite. P. 32
Particle Ganz gut, aber nicht mehr. somewhat/pretty good (weaken) Chapter
7 Der Film ist ganz gut, aber kein 3
Highlight. P. 34

Table 4. Examples of sentences containing word of ganz in Netzwerk B1

The meaning of the

Type/ Class
word ganz (and the
No of Words Function Sentence Page
word that
ganz
accompanies it)
1 Particle Ich höre einerseits gerne laute Musik, very slowly (strengthen)
andererseits stört sie mich manchmal auch, P. 3
dann mag ich es ganz ruhig.
2 Adjective Attributive Wir sind den ganzen Tag auf dem Wasser. all day/
Erholsam, viel Ruhe und tolle Landschaft, aber Chapter 1
wir langweilen uns auch ein bisschen – den P. 8
ganzen Tag auf einem Boot ... full day
3 Particle Urlaubstyp 1: Ganz spontan completely spontaneous Chapter 1
(strengthen) P. 9
4 Particle Sie wollen sich im Urlaub um nichts kümmern? very precise (reinforce) Chapter 1
Dann sind Sie bei uns ganz richtig. P. 12
5 Adjective Attributive Wie ihr wisst, habe ich mich für diesen all winter
Aufenthalt entschieden, weil Freunde den
ganzen Winter begeistert von ihrem
Almsommer erzählt haben. Chapter 1
Und danach sind wir eigentlich die ganze Zeit P. 15
draußen.

all the time

216 Hafdarani et al.

In this sentence the word ganz is a particle that

3.2. The Function of the Word “Ganz” in
weakens the adjective “gut”.
Sentences Found in the Netzwerk Textbooks A1,
A2 and B1 4) Sehr

Based on the conclusions of several opinions Dieses Braun steht Ihnen ganz ausgezeichnet.
regarding the word ganz, such as in the Duden online ‘This brown color looks absolutely amazing on you’.
dictionary (Duden, 2022), the electronic Langenscheidt The word ganz in this sentence is a particle that
dictionary (Haensch et al., 2010), Wahrig (Wahrig- reinforces the adjective “ausgezeichnet” that follows it.
Burfeind, 2006), and Helbig and Buscha (1986), the word
ganz is categorized into adjectives, adverbs, and Der Ball war nicht im Aus, ich weiß es ganz genau.
particles. As an adjective “ganz” can function as an ‘The ball wasn’t out, I know for sure.’
attributive, predicative and adverbial.
3.3.2. The Meaning of the Word ‘Ganz’ in the
Table 2, 3 and 4 shows an example of ganz word data Netzwerk A2
which is categorized into adjectives and adverbs with
attributive functions. In the data source found 10 data that The meaning of the word ganz in examples (1), (2),
ganz as an adjective that functions as an attribute, and (3), and (4) in the Netzwerk A1 textbook is also found in
there is one data of the word ganz as an adjective that the Netzwerk A2 textbook. In addition to these meanings,
functions as an attribute (without declination). there is also the word ganz which belongs to the adverb
word class which means to strengthen the adverb.
3.3. The Semantic Meaning of the Word ‘Ganz’
Wer braucht am kurzesten? Er/Sie steht ganz hinten.
in the Netzwerk Textbooks A1, A2 and B1 Who is the fastest? He stood at the very back.

3.3.1. The Meaning of the Word ‘Ganz’ in the The word ganz in the sentence above is an adverb that
Netzwerk A1 strengthens the adverb hinten (behind).

The word ganz found in the Netzwerk A1 textbook 3.3.3. The Meaning of the Word ‘Ganz’ in the
has several meanings, namely vollständig ‘whole/whole’, Netzwerk B1
sehr ‘very’, ziemlich ‘somewhat/fair’, and völlig ‘really’.
The two meanings of the word ganz can be observed in The meaning of the word ganz in examples (1), (2),
the following two sentences: and (3) in the Netzwerk A1 textbook, is also found in the
Netzwerk textbook B1. In addition, the word ganz is
1) Vollständig found which belongs to the adverb class which means
Ich koche etwas schönes, trinke Tee und lese with ganzen völlig ‘whole’ and functions adverbially, and the word
Tag. ganz which follows the noun which is assumed to mean
“I cook something delicious, drink tea and read all day vollständig’ complete’. The word ganz means völlig and
long.” vollständig referred to in point 3 can be seen in the
following sentences.
The word ganz in this sentence becomes an attributive
adjective of the noun Tag (day). Er verkaufte sein erfolgreiches Unternehmen und begann
tatsächlich ganz von vorn.
2) Vollig He sold his successful company and started over
Im Flur der Wohnung ist alles ganz normal. completely from scratch.
‘In the corridors of that house everything is completely The word ganz in the sentence above is an adverb
normal’. which means völlig ‘whole’.
The word ganz in this sentence becomes a particle. Das muss doch nicht so laut sein! Ich konnte die ganze
Aber in drei Wochen kaufe ich mir meine Nacht nicht schlafen.
Lieblingsschokolade und esse sie ganz allein. It doesn’t have to be so noisy! I couldn’t sleep all night.
‘But in three weeks I will buy my favorite chocolate and The word ganz in this sentence is an attributive
will eat it completely myself.’ adjective which means vollständig ‘complete’.
The word ganz in the sentence above is an adverb The word ganz is one of the most productive words
whose function is adverbial allein (alone). used in German. In the Netzwerk textbooks A1, A2 and
3) Ziemlich B1 the word ganz is found which is an attributive
adjective, adverb, and particle, but unfortunately there is
Der Film ist ganz gut, aber kein Highlight. no explanation about the word ganz either in terms of
‘The film is pretty good, but nothing stands out’. word type/class, function in sentences, or its semantic
 The Use of Word “Ganz” in German Language Textbooks Netzwerk A1, A2, and B1 217

meaning. With this unique phenomenon, there should be Eisenberg, P. (2013) Grundriss der deutschen Grammatik
a discussion or explanation about the word ganz in the – Stuttgart: JB Metzler – Springer.
textbook, both in terms of the type/class of the word; its
Gabelentz, G. (1901). Von der (1891). Die
function in the sentence; as well as in terms of its
sprachwissenschaft, ihre Aufgaben, methoden und
semantic meaning, so that the learners can understand the
difference of its semantic meaning. bisherigen Ergebnisse [Linguistics, their tasks,
methods and previous results]. Leipzig: ТО Weigel
The word “ganz” in German can be categorized into Nachfolger.
three classes of words, namely adjectives, adverbs and
particles. An adjective can function attributive (as a Haensch, G., Götz, D., Redaktion Langenscheidt., &
substantive attribute), can also be predicative (as a Wellmann, H. (2010). Langenscheidt e-
complement to the predicate) as well as adverbials, and Großwörterbusch Deutsch als Fremdsprache
particles. The word “ganz” as an adjective in a sentence [Langenscheidt e-Großwörterbusch German as a
can function only attributively and undergo a declination foreign language]. Berlin – München:
process that is adapted to the accompanying case and is Langenscheidt.
used in standard language on singular substantives. The Hecht, N. (2002). Aspekte der Intensivierung [Aspects of
word ganz which is an adjective and has a predicative
intensification]. Grin Verlag. In
function is not found in the Netzwerk textbooks A1, A2,
http://www.grin.com/de/e-book/130891/aspekte-
and B1. The meaning of the word ganz in the Netzwerk
der-intensivierung, accessed on 27th December
textbooks A1, A2, and B1 includes vollständig
2014.
‘whole/whole’, ‘complete’, ziemlich ‘somewhat/fair’,
völlig ‘whole’, sehr ‘very’, and Superlativ ‘most; truly’. Helbig, G., & Buscha, J. (1986). Deutsche Grammatik
An explanation of the types/classes of words, their Ein Handbuch für den Ausländerunterricht
functions in sentences and the semantic meaning of the [German Grammar a Handbook for Teaching
word “ganz” in the Netzwerk textbooks A1, A2 and B1 in Foreigners]. Leipzig–German Democratic
the Netzwerk textbooks A1, A2 and B1 found the word Republic: Verlag Enzyklopädie Leipzig.
ganz which is an attributive adjective, adverb, and
particle, but there is no explanation about the word ganz Helbig, G., & Buscha, J. (2004). Deutsche Grammatik
either in terms of word type/class, function in sentences, Ein Handbuch für den Ausländerunterricht.
or its semantic meaning. Métrich, R., & Faucher, E. (2009). Wörterbuch deutscher
Partikeln: Unter Berücksichtigung ihrer
4. CONCLUSION französischen Äquivalente [Dictionary of German
particles: Considering their French equivalents].
The results of the study showed that the word ganz is
a word with a unique phenomenon. This is evidenced Berlin. New York: Walter De Gruyter. Berlin und
from the results of the analysis which show that the word München: Langenscheidt KG.
ganz can be categorized into three word classes, namely: Pusch, L. (1981). Ganz. In Partikeln und
adjectives, adverbs, and particles. As an adjective the Deutschunterricht, Abtönungspartikeln für Lerner
word ganz can function both attributively and des Deutschen [Particles and German lessons,
predicatively; as an adverb function adverbial; and as a tinting particles for learners of German].
particle can mean to strengthen or weaken the adjective Heidelberg: Julius Groos Verlag.
that follows it. In the data corpus, there are no adjectives
that have a predicative function. The results of this study Reiners, L. (1944). Deutsche Stilkunst: Ein Lehrbuch
are expected to be useful for both students and German deutscher Prosa [German style art: A textbook of
language teachers. Based on these findings, the German prose]. Beck.
researchers suggest to textbook writers to include a little
Vural, S. (2000) Der Partikelgebrauch im heutigen
explanation about the word ganz in the textbook, so that
Deutsch und im heutigen Türkisch. Eine kontrastive
students who use the textbook can understand the
Untersuchung [The use of particles in today’s
meaning of the word ganz well, so that there is no
German and in today’s Turkish. A contrastive
misunderstanding of the meaning of the word. This
examination]. Uni Mannheim.
explanation can also be useful for German teachers who
are not native German speakers. Wahrig-Burfeind, R. (2006). Wahrig Deutsches
Wörterbuch. Gütersloh [True German dictionary.
REFERENCES Gütersloh] München: Bertelsmann Lexikon Institut.
Duden. (2022). Duden online Wörterbuch [Duden online
dictionary]. Mannheim: Duden Verlag.
218 Hafdarani et al.

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution
and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a
link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter’s Creative Commons license and your intended use
is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright
holder.