Ansprache

Ansprache is a German noun with several closely related meanings centered on speaking to an audience or to an individual. The most common sense is a formal speech delivered to an audience, such as a political, ceremonial, or official address: Der Präsident hielt eine bewegende Ansprache. The term can also refer to the text of such a speech or to the act of delivering it.

A second sense concerns addressing someone directly, or the act of direct communication. In everyday language this is expressed by the verb ansprechen (to address, to speak to; to address a topic) and its noun forms. The noun Ansprache can denote the act of addressing someone or, in certain contexts, the content of a speech addressed to a group. In writing, the formal form of how one is addressed is typically Anrede, while Ansprache more often points to the speech itself or to addressing a group.

Usage and context vary by genre. In public discourse, Ansprache refers to prepared remarks or a produced speech; in interpersonal communication, the related verb means to speak to someone. The term is common in media reports on political or ceremonial events, and in rhetoric and discourse analysis.

See also: Rede (speech), Anrede (form of address). The distinction between Ansprache and Anrede centers on whether the focus is the act or content of addressing versus the social form of addressing a person.