Begriff instead of Wort-A Terminological Mix-Up

The abuse of the lexeme Begriff 'concept' in contemporary German language usage is illustrated with examples from journalistic & academic domains, where it is incorrectly used in place of the lexeme Wort 'word'. It is noted that concept as a thought unit is increasingly used as a language unit, ie, the word. Examples of the type there is no right concept for it instead of there is no right word for it typify this confusion. Clarifications are offered, discussing the distinction between concept & word on the one hand & differentiating between lexical & inflectional word on the other. Gottlob Frege's (1892) definition of concept & its distinction from meaning & Katharina Morik's (1993) treatment of concept as a mental, cognitive unit with a categorial reference are outlined. It is concluded that these misuses of Begriff in Contemporary German indicate that speakers "have no concept of the word concept." 16 References. Z. Dubiel