On not knowing German
If you’re familiar with the writings of Virginia Woolf, you might recall an essay titled “On not knowing Greek“, where the author attentively spoke of the Greek language or, to be more precise, about the way the Greek culture was perceived in the 1920s.
The title would hint at the knowledge of the Greek language, thus hiding a far deeper analysis of what is left of the Greek culture. In this article, I will merely talk of the German language for what it is, mostly about ‘Germanism’ as a concept, exploring its current status, my approach to it and all of this that is summed up in the medium that is the German language. Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
The European Union is facing its most crucial time since its foundation and there’s no doubt its core is represented by Germany, its economic growth, and consequently its predominance in the cultural landscape of Europe. Germany has slowly risen from the ashes of World War II to become the leading nation in terms of economic power and growth, so it is no wonder that some sort of continental suprematism prevails on a linguistic basis too. The divided and struggling nation of the post-War era is now the most modern country in the continent, and it looks like it’s now setting the bar for the other countries. This morning, the Economist posted an article titled “German culture in Britain“, highlighting the similarities between Germany and Britain, aswell as talking about their mutual admiration (except past, or perhaps still current, rivalry).
It’s not just culture I want to focus on. Let’s go back to the medium of all this, the language. Having studied tourism, I had grown up knowing German was closely related to the business world and such association could ever hardly be removed from my mind. Maybe, this is one of the reasons why I wanted to study German at University; I wanted to see German under a brand new light. In some way, society led me to think that business and history had already labelled German for me, so it was time to dig for answers and rebel against that! Besides, knowing German would have allowed me to know more about art movements such as German Expressionism (surely, there are many sources in English too, but it’s in Germany that it took place) and moreover, literary works. I had started to read Thomas Mann in my first German Literature course. I enjoyed it, but not knowing the language was a major hurdle with my little knowledge of the language.
I had discovered a whole new world, full of new ‘worten’ and agglutinative features that would allow words to unite as in ‘Kartoffelsalat’ (Potato salad; this is the first example that I could come up with!)
Maybe I gave up too soon. I lost myself in the jungle of the different cases (Dative, Accusative…) which made German so unique in comparison to English or other Latin-derived languages, but also made it less charming and much more difficult for me to digest.
I will give it a try, someday. Why learn German? Here’s my personal advice: do it for yourself, do it because it’s the language of Goethe and Beethoven, do it because it would allow you to confront your culture with that of amazing countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
72 Comments on “On not knowing German”
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Great article. I love Germany and the German language, and I like the German way of thinking too. It’s not often that we hear / read good things about Germany and Germans in the UK, for some reason, so it’s refreshing to read a different view in that wonderful country’s defence. Thank you!
Thank you, Karine! Yes, the thing is, labels won’t do German and Germany any favour it seems. So, I’m always against stereotyping cause it makes people see bad things where there’s good too. There’s so much light and joy in the German world too! But it often tends to be neglected :\
Quite right. Clichés never help. They only give (silly) excuses for people to stay narrow-minded. I like to look at things differently, keep an open mind and give each individual a chance, rather than generalise.
Definitely the right attitude
My first textbook had an introduction by someone called Winston Churchill who said that learning another language is like taking a holiday from your own. I like this idea, but so much of the basis of our tongue is German, it’s probably the easiest language to learn. And I love some of those agglutinative words. Wissenschaftlig means literally busy knowledge, but in English is science. I like it a lot. And Pete Seeger admits that the German version of his ‘Where have all the Flowers Gone’ is better than his original.
Definitely! And since German is closely related to English, I have no excuses
Maybe you have a life. You can’t do everything.
Wunderschön, this article of yours!
Well, it seems we have a lot more in common than we may probably think!
(Barb, “sag mir, wo die Blumen sind, wo sind sie geblieben”, ist echt ein tolles Lied! Auf Deutsch!- Translating to those who haven’t yet discovered the pleasure of learning (and teaching!) German: the song Barbara Drummond referred to is much better in its German version!)
I must confess I’m a bit surprised… it’s not that often that someone tells/writes something positive about Germany/ German and then, coming from the UK… Sorry… But I must be honest and tell you people are a bit too snob towards other languages…
Actually I graduated in English and German. I’ve had great experiences both in Germany and England. I’ve met very nice people. (Well, I’m quite sure good and bad are everywhere, that’s not the point.) But I can see huge differences between both people! That’s normal and that’s ok so.
Well, what I mean is that when you people travel, generally speaking, and you come a lot here (to Portugal) you don’t even try to learn a word, as if everybody was supposed to speak English! Even though it is the most spoken language in the whole world, it doesn’t give you the right (and north-Americans are even worse!) to behave so and to be arrogant and snob… sometimes as if we were sort of slaves or inferior or something.
Germans are different… They try to speak Portuguese… a few words… then to build a few sentences… it doesn’t matter… But they try. And they’re kind, friendly and “reachable” . Most of them. Portuguese people tend to change their (bad) opinions about Germans when they get to know them or even after just a brief contact. I hear a lot:”After all they are not that bad!” (World world 2 is still “flying” around their heads and most people think they hide a small “Hitlerchen” in their pockets.)
(…)
Apart from that I’ve learnt to accept and tolerate differences so… And that is also part of the process of learning a foreign language. A highly important one!
I’ve always been in love with foreign languages, even with those non-existent I “invented” when I was a kid.
I started by learning Spanish since we lived almost at the Spanish border. It was sort of a natural process, listening and speaking… unfortunately no writing. It’s harder. Later I tried and no and then I do it with the help of my PC’s dictionary…
Then came English, my first love. I chose it in my 5th grade under the influence of my older brother who I love above all and who loved / loves English, too. French was at that time choice 1.
Then French in the 7th grade, as second foreign language. I was quite good at it, but I didn’t feel that “click” inside. Then I started with German in the 10th grade ’cause I was told English and German “married well”. And it was THE adventure of my life.
German is a difficult language, with no doubt, but so different… the “Umlat” (¨), the “Komposita”, the cases, the endless words, the character used to replace double ‘s’ (no longer on my keyboard, due to the “Neuerechtsschreibung”), u.s.w.
Knowing English makes it very easier to German learners. Both languages have the same root and many words are very similar. German language imported a lot of English words, “germanizing” them or adopted them to their own language. We may never forget the north-american and British influences and legacies left in the period after the 2nd world war in what the English language is concerned.
Learning German… why? Why not?
Simply because…
Simply because of the fact of knowing “etwas anderes” (something different).
Simply because… learning a foreign language (and why not German?) is a way of getting closer to its people, its history, its culture, traditions… to its soul. Close to the soul of a language and of a country or countries- also: Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein).
And… do you know what? The German language has changed my thinking process, if one can call it like this. It is such a logical language that I’ve developed a more organized way of thinking and a more logical one.
When you know a language very, very well, you can think in this language. I’ve gone so far in German. And I’m very proud of it. But only in the country, speaking, speaking and speaking, you can get there. School or university are not enough.
No way!
Germany… dear Germany… my German…
(…)
Dear old England…
But, please, don’t ask me to choose between both languages… Never! Couldn’t answer! I guess they both belong together in me! Together but separate.
See you!
Hugs and kisses.
C.
Very interesting point. And thanks for highlighting a few things. This inspired me to write more about this topic and I’ve got a few more ideas for future articles!!
I totally understand what you mean. History has influenced the way people think, and it could not be otherwise. The way both German is considered as a WW2 relic by some, and English is still the dominating language are the consequences of history and most people are not aware of it! It’s just a social/cultural thing that has been slowly established throughout generations.
It’s not about making judgements, any more than liking one sort of cake or song over another. Or pens to write with, as languages are, ultimately, a tool to get what is inside your head or heart to reach another person.
I partly agree. See, a language is strongly tied to its stereotypes (of any sort), and I agree with you, but this only applies to some people, open minded individuals. They acknowledge the stereotypes but they’re willing to make an effort and lift the veil. Others find it really difficult to see a language for what it is: a language.
But ultimately, I think most English speakers are just lazy. OUr tongue is the world language and they think that is enough. I once came across a Japanese cyclist who travelled the world without knowing any other language. HOw? And how much did he miss out along the way? Learning another language and culture is such a wonderful way of bonding with people. I spent a whole afternoon with a Spanish guy in a kitchen explaining the difference between jugs and jars. Then I opened the door a bit and told him it was ajar. His expression was priceless. He thought I had gone completely mad.
>I think most English speakers are just lazy. OUr tongue is the world language…
English is largely the business language, but not the world language. The British Empire collapsed a while back, remember
As for laziness, having taught French in school, I strongly believe that unless children are taught the grammar of their own language and understand how it works first, they cannot be expected to learn another language.
Karine, I teach English and know exactly that it works like that. But may I add, it has a lot to do with one’s willingness and interest to find out more. For me, the foreign language is the medium (sorry to repeat myself!) to compare my culture to that of the other country! What is music like there? What is art like there? This? That? And how cool is it when languages have common grounds. It makes things so interesting and amazing, because you can trace things back in time, you travel through time, history, society… You either have this willingness or you don’t. It’s all about laziness perhaps, isn’t it? Or it’s just a choice.
It seems odd that we tend to learn our own language through literature, ie without grammar, but then learn other languages with grammar, so this makes it hard for us to learn, but also makes it hard to teach it to others. We are using a different language to learn and to teach. I think I’m pretty good with English but am crap with crosswords. I know how to use the words, but really struggle to explain what they mean, nevermind comprehend someone elses’ definition.
I entirely agree with you, Karine!
In the process of teaching / learning a foreign language teachers often refer to the mother tongue as a parallelism to make it easier for students to understand how language works in the language they’re learning. This usually happens at a beginners stage, but it may also occur when needed.
Their own language can be a rather useful tool to compare languages and to find out differences and similarities between them. It is often used as far as grammar, words order in sentences and (some) vocabulary are concerned.
Priority of priorities: Ss should understand how their own language works.
Another priority: Teachers should practise the skill of talking freely, in an organized way, iso that Ss don’t get so stuck when asked a question in a foreign language. We all know that fear of failing stops people from talking. In a language people don’t know or don’t know well, it is even worse.
(..)
Yes but what better way to learn ones own grammar than to study another language. It takes the abstraction out. Lends a certain comparative quality that, I think, really helps in concrete comprehension.
This is true, and doesn’t just apply to languages. More than once I’ve found myself analysing aspects of my own grammar after comparing that to a foreign language!
Haha! That’s nice. And I do agree that languages are such a great medium for people to get to know each other (and each other’s cultures).
I’m quite happy!!!
All these comments on your post!
That’s really awesome!
Ausgezeichnet, “brightoldoak”!
Liebe Grüsse, diesmal auf Deutsch.
Beijinhos, (kisses) in Portuguese.
xxx
C.
> It’s all about laziness perhaps, isn’t it?
I don’t disagree that some students will not show any interest in languages, no matter what. That’s true about any topic at school. My point was about the English, as opposed to other nations, being lazy. Why are the British “lazy”? I think if we gave the students better tools, like they do on the Continent, it would make learning a language easier and the positive results would generate more interest. But of course students will always have their preferences in terms of school subjects, so we wouldn’t quadruple the figures of those taking languages to uni level. But to say “we are lazy” sounds like we’re giving up, that we think we’re rubbish. No one is rubbish if given the right tools and training
Thanks mcfsantos
And I agree with you Karine- I interpreted the ‘lazy’ comment as something connected to a generalisation. Individuals may have preferences of subjects at school, but it’s up to a country/culture/society/community to implement more instruments to make languages interesting. For example, is there a channel that broadcasts movies in foreign languages only (with subtitles)? I’m not aware of any. That would be one small step in that direction!
I don’t have television so I can’t comment on the choice of channels, but I listen to the radio in various languages via the internet, and if my DVDs have language options, I sometimes watch them in a different language (one that I know, of course). Dracula in German is really cool
There is something about the language that lends itself so well to really high octane ranting. Klaus Kinski was a master of it, especially when he through in a few other languages – there are some clips of him when filming Fitzcaraldo that rattle window panes. Amazing stuff.
I don’t have a talent for language. Even after living in a Spanish speaking country, and trying to learn, I still couldn’t “hear” it. I learned to speak enough that people thought I might know more than I did. I admire and envy those of you who have mastered another language.
Thank you Alethea. I agree that one should also be able to *feel* that language. I think learning doesn’t necessarily come just by ‘eavesdropping’ on a language, and sometimes it’s all about motivation! But if you managed to communicate with other people in a foreign language you probably do know more than you think
We are all diffferent with different abilities, language is harder for some than others. what got me hooked on German was film and music. And knowing that it could be better than the English original- see above where have all the flowers gone. This is not supposed to be possible, especially for a language with such a bad press as German. Hunt out Spanish songs – in the 1960s a lot of English singers were doing versions in other languages – there’s a very strange version of a place in the sun by Stevie Wonder when he sings in Italian but the backup singers are still in English.
I’ve taken a lot of classes in German though I’m still far from speaking it fluently, love the article. Germany is a world leader with their endowment for the arts and I think their culture will continue to spread for quite some time, if not from an artists standpoint then from the fact they’re the economic powerhouse of the EU
Thanks for liking the post! Yes, Germany has always had a pivotal role in European history it seems! So, one way or the other, they’re surely going to be in the spotlight!
imho, the word “kummerspeck” is reason enough to learn the german language and i will do so once i’ve got the basics of french down (this might be never). thanks for the like and the follow
Love the article. Germany is far too under-related by the Brits. As well as not learning the language we ‘re pretty poor at visiting the country as well. Brits don’t really get the idea of gemany as a tourist destination. All the better for those of us in the know. A wonderful language and a beautiful country!
Definitely! It took me ages to see Germany that way myself. And I’m not letting go of the idea! So I understand why people don’t see it as a tourist destination, but know that something’s got to be done to make it more popular!
Maybe it’s too like Britain, only cleaner and better run. And it’s not cheap, which is allways a problem. they have great walking an cycling paths, and their old buildings. …
Yeah there might be similarities, but Germany has a soul of its own and it’s where it all began!
I have just watched the dvd of Pina Bausch, by Wim Wenders. Both of them could onlly have come from Germany. I have been a fan of her work for decades. I have no idea why I like it but it is mesmerising, not just what she does, but the people she works with.
Learning another language is rewarding, not only for travel but for personal development and self-fulfillment!
Exactly! Thanks
It certainly is a difficult language to learn but easier than Russian with its six cases. Language-learning really must be a focus of one’s attention if it’s to happen.
I did not know that abour Russian. Surely, Russian also implies another alphabet, so it’s double the effort when you learn it, I’m guessing.
Actually, Cyrillic is surprisingly easy to pick up. The Russian alphabet has, I think, 30 characters and some of those are unusual for the English speaker. Having said that, I have not attempted to learn Russian, just visited it recently,as you know from my blog. (Thanks for visiting, by the way).
You’re welcome. And thank you for stopping by and sharing your view
Intersting post. I will be moving to Germany soon (end of the year) with my lady because she is going to do a post-doc there. The necessity of learning German is scary. I have done some reading about the language and it seems extremly complicated – the example of the dative is a good one. Depending on the word and the sentence using der, dis, dam, dor, dus, dadadadada – argh. I remember reading a quote somewhere about learning german being a lifetime project – as I do have problems with learning new languages I guess this will be a double lifetime project for me.
Oops! Good luck there! I’m kidding! I think by moving you’ll make an extraordinary effort but you’ll be surrounded by Germans and you’ll be forced to learn the language. Which is a good thing cause you’ll pick it up faster! But I understand the stress of having to learn the cases. Speaking English or other case-free languages, they almost look redundant to us, but they make complete sense in German! It’s like added value!
The best way to learn a language is by living in the country – good luck!
I agree that it is the best way. But it’s not the only one! One can perfectly try to recreate connections to the place where the target language is spoken, and gain a lot in communication skills.
Well, I don´t know if I will be sorrounded by Germans as it will be Munich which seems to be the most international city in Germany. Still I think it will be different from Brussels where most things can be solved in English. I was impressed that the site of all mobile operators (t-mobile, 02, vodafone) do not have sections in English hahaha.
It helps if you can learn to love the language. A lot of the nouns are like kids building blocks – I love the word for scientist – wissenschaftlig is literally busy knowledge. there are lots like that. If you can find some fun stuff it becomes less of a chore. Maybe have a look at some old english to see how close the two once were. hope this helps. I got hooked when i met a couple of hippies who taught me the words to ‘where have all the Flowers Gone’ and i realised the german lyrics were better than the original english by pete seeger, who agrees.
I like that you mentioned the words. I speak portuguese (mother tongue), english, french and a bit of dutch. The big problem with the german words is that I cannot relate to any other language I speak. Even dutch is quite different!
There’s a post on YouTube by a guy who speaks – I think 19 languages. He thinks of them as having different personalities, even Afrikaans and Dutch that are not that different. You really need to find a way to connect with them. Have you tried films, movies? You really need to just cram your head with words, get used to the sound so it sounds as normal as possible, then it might make sense and draw you into it. I absolutely adore the sound of German, in all its varieties. Yes, the grammar is difficult, but doing anything well takes effort. good luck with it.
Science is in german “Wissenschaft”, the word “Wissenschaftlig” doesn’t exist in our language. “Wissenschaftlich/wissenschaftlich” exists, but that means “scientific” in english.
I do remember the -lich suffix which stands for adverbs and adjectives. Am I correct?
You’re right, Barb! I remember how amazed I was when I started studying German Philology and all the connections between German and English came up. It all made sense, and I never realised!
And yes, Dutch is different, but very close to German!
We are all different, we all learn different ways. We need to find a way into it. We need to find our own way of enjoying it in order to learn it without a struggle.
That’s what I’ve been saying hundreds of times to my students. The cool thing about languages is that they’re a medium of communication so you can talk or learn about something you’re interested in and you can use the foreign language to do so!
I loved learning German and reading German literature. But in the last 30 years I’ve greatly neglected it. You’ve inspired me to have another look.
Oh, I’m glad about that!
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In college I had a wonderful German TA who began each class with a frame from the comic The Far Side *auf Deutsch*. Since that is a tricky, smart, witty cartoon with clever word play in English, getting the German right was really hard, but ultimately, greatly rewarding.
It is true! Small steps in learning German feel like great accomplishments! I for example feel rewarding to just think “Ich weisse es nicht” or “Wie geht’s dir?”, which I am aware it’s the most basic German stuff ever, but having neglected it for so many years, it feels good to know it’s not *completely* gone from my mind
Just recalled, that was also the teacher who asked us to read Mark Twain’s great essay “The Awful German Language,” with that quote we can all enjoy (even as we love the special challenges of German): “I’d rather decline two drinks than one German adjective.”
I wasn’t aware there was an essay Mark Twain wrote about German. I should have thought so, as I’ve recently found a quote from him stating one could go to the other side of the Atlantic before a German finishes pronouncing a word, or something alone those lines!
Oh you need to hop on that right away. I think you’ll find the full text here: http://books.google.com/books?id=jtUiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA290&dq=%22awful+german+language%22+inauthor:twain&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MM-3T5fBKYmNgweZ6eWmCg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Thanks!!!
As a lover and teacher of German, I can definitely relate. Nice post!
Is there something inherent in the German language that precludes it’s use to convey humor, or am I missing out on a whole world of hilarity: famous German humorists, stand up comedians, comic improv groups etc.? By the way thanks for dropping by my place and liking an entry.
You’re welcome. Thanks for visiting!
Well, I cannot think of German comedians actually! But that is one thing I have to research now!
We have a lot of german comedians, i know Britains probably think that’s not possible. “Germans have no sense of humor, they go down in the basement to laugh”. We don’t laugh that often than many other Volks, that may be true, but we do laugh and we do have humor. If you visit Germany, you will see Germans laughing from the deepest of their heart, and Germans who don’t even smile.
I have the impression that we don’t laugh that often anymore since world war second, I’m seroius. I saw much video material and footage from before second world war and I had the impression that there we laughed much more.
At the end of my post I want to give you names of german comedians:
Stefan Raab (late night show)
Mario Barth (standup comedian)
Michael Mittermeier (standup and more)
Matze Knoop (makes parodies)
If you want to know more just use google.
Greetings, Saxon from north sea coast
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate it deeply. See, it’s great talking about a subject with someone who definitely knows more than me!
I’m sure what was meant is that Germans are not exactly famous for their comedians, to which you kind of agree. But of course, people laugh!
It’s interesting what you say about WW2 and people laughing. I guess it’s because the aftermath was way bigger and way more serious than that of WW1.
Excellent article. Language helps us preserve our identies both individually and culturally. I am going to persevere with my challenge I for one find learning a foreign language really difficult – it is learning the sound of the laguage that I struggle with, maybe sound is the link to our primitive ancestors.
Thanks for the like and I will drop by again.
Thank you for your comment! Yes, I believe learning a language by its grammar is not so different from learning maths. It’s when you start ‘speaking’ it that difficulties arise. But, languages are meant to be spoken, right?
I think the first real problem is physical: having never spoken a new language, the tongue finds itself in positions it never had in communication in the native language. Together with this effort comes the shyness of listening to ourselves (and then having others listening to us) struggle with another language (and to sound silly).
Good luck with your perseverance in learning another language. Will is power!
After WW2 others had a lot of influence in Germany (in the east the Russians, in the west mainly the US-Americans) and to me it looks kind of like that we lost a part of our identity and also part of our humor or the “sense” to see life easier. I don’t know, it is hard to explain, even more in a language that is not my mother tongue.
I think without the damn war we would be another volk today, a better one, to me. That means not I think we are bad people.
What I realy dislike about your country is that we Germans are still a kind of enemy for you guys. I very dislike that many of you think we are still Nazis or something like that. And that despite we Germans are ancestors of 50% of you. You know why they call you Anglosaxons? You know who Angles and Saxons were and where they came from? I don’t not understand the distance between us, because in the past we were 1 volk.
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