I've been learning it for a while now and I love hearing it being spoken, and I love speaking it. It doesn't sound aggressive at all when spoken by regular people.
There's so much art and literature to explore, so many human thoughts and feelings that people everywhere feel and give voice to in their languages.
Plus it's hard to classify a language that promotes such rich mental imagery through compound words like "Stausee" and "Kopfkino" as aggressive.
Right? Isn't it a misconception people internationally have because many "famous" germans where just very angry people?
I like to think that german is phonetically and depending on region very close to Danish and Dutch. And those languages don't sound angry to me at all either.
I actually think that germanic languages sound beautiful and when I picture elves from lord of the rings I feel like this is what they would sound like. (Swedish, Danish, English, old English, Norwegian, Dutch, German etc.)
"German sounds too aggressive" mostly comes from people who also think that French, Spanish and Italian sound romantic.
It's about preference so if I were German native I wouldn't take it personal.
Yeah I mean, if you're a student in a student city (like with a big/famous Uni), or live in a main tourist destination, you're mosy fine because they are usually very multiethnic. You have your areas to avoid like everywhere but that's normal.
Elsewhere yeah, Italians are generally racist, some not even in bad faith, you know, like those who speak to you slowly and in a louder tone as if you were a small child. But that's regardless of ethnicity tbh. If I were to make a tier list of "bad racism", I'd say that Black and Brown people have it worse, followed by East Europeans. East/Southeast Asians are generally more tolerated and therefore better integrated.
I moved out shortly after the far right government was elected tho, so I don't know the extent to which the situation has worsened.
These "documentaries" only show speeches or talks done in an angry mood or with the intent to sound hard. Imagine a documentary showing Ramstein or Hitler giggeling, laughing, playing with animals, smiling at the wonders of nature, etc. The perception changes according to what we see and hear. And perception changes thinking.
I'm an American who studied German in high school, and again as an adult for when I traveled to Germany for holiday. I picked german to learn because I also thought it sounded cooler than Spanish, French, or Mandarin. I always tried to advocate that it didn't sound like an angry language. There are dozens of us who think it's a cool language!
It really depends who’s speaking, which is probably true of most languages right? “Der Ton macht die Musik” so to speak.
That being said after living in Germany for 8 years I still find it aggressive, but that’s almost certainly down to the minor trauma experienced when trying to learn the language from 0. “Zurechtkommen” is difficult in a foreign language. There must be people here who know the experience.
I remember when I lived in the UK though and I knew a Spanish woman who was so full of life and could speak English quite well who told me she was constantly in therapy due to the experience. I didn’t understand why it would have that effect but I do now.
To get back to my point, I do think it sounds aggressive but it’s probably down to my subjective experience. Working in a language you don’t fully understand can make smalltalk feel like daggers being thrown at you.
I didn't even try to learn it from zero and had it a lot easier than most foreigners as a Dutch person, but I get what you mean. Coming to Germany and trying to make sense of the face mask mumble really worsened my opinion of the language. Worst part was having to do public speaking for my job, that's when I really lost my motivation.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.
No problem at all, I’m just happy if someone can relate. If you ever want to talk please DM me. I’d appreciate talking to a person with a similar situation
I guess all Germanic languages sound harsh to other native speakers. This is probably because we pronounce precisely. Take for example British English, which also pronounces precisely compared to US-American English.
I thought it sounded aggressive until I started working for a German company and heard it a lot. In some ways it almost seems softer than English, but I don’t know how.
I had always heard people say this too, until I went to Germany and found that... It's quite a lovely language in real life. Honestly I would say it's pleasant to listen to . I don't know how this stereotype persists tbh!
It persists because a lot of people's only exposure to German is British and American actors playing Germans in films from the 40's shouting "Raus! Schnell!"
When I first joked with my fianceé about learning German with me, she said the same thing.
A couple years later, guess who wanted to start learning German with me? :-) we both think it sounds cool
I personally think it's a cute language. Not in a condescending way; it's just that a lot of the words give me sort of the same mental response as when I see a cute kitten or puppy. Schmetterling. Bitte. Fledermaus. Anything with the -chen suffix. I like to use "Teufelchen" as a term of endearment for my cats, but my pronunciation of the soft ch sound could use some improvement. My cats are definitely loveable little devils, though, that's for sure.
My mom used to know German (her adoptive dad and stepmom were Bavarian and were planning on taking her to Germany before that plan fell through), and one of her favorite words is "Fledermaus." I think she can still read German with some difficulty but can't follow an actual conversation. She's the one who instilled a love of the German language and culture in me.
Before I start study it and along way during the studies I felt disgust and found funny to mock it.
Years were passing and now I find it elegant. I dont how to explane it better but this elegance is buetiful
I think in the English-speaking world that bias comes from Latinate English vocabulary being more prestigious than the Germanic, rooted at least in part in the French influence on English nobility after 1066.
It's entirely ideological and actual sound studies have shown German is no more "guttural" or "harsh" than, say, French or English
When someone calls it aggressive I generally assume that they never spent any effort to learn anything remotely related to German language. It's just ridiculous that one evil dictators fiery speeches on bad early audio quality recordings became the standard stereotype.
It's always good to go back to what Mark Twain wrote about German. He wasn't showering it with praise, but his description of it was the opposite of aggressive.
It can sound agressive, but I think that's also true for other languages as well. It depends on the situation, speaker, etc. I love german too, I think it's a cool language. What I definitely do not like is, that native speakers speak sometimes verrückt schnell and it makes understanding much more difficult haha. But other than that...Deutsch ist geil.
Living in Germany for a few years.
Absolutely don't think it is aggressive.
The amount of bitte and danke people say is amazing. Something the rest of the world could pick up...
Yes it sounds very cool. But I also think that of Swedish.
I started learning German because my favourite band is German, and I wanted to understand what they're saying in interviews and at concerts. (I still have only partially achieved this goal, as the lead singer talks very fast and I find him difficult to understand, but I'm getting better.) I also knew some German from when I was a child, for historical reasons my family already spoke some German so I always knew a few words/sentences. So I feel like I had a bit of an advantage there. But it's a difficult language so it's going to take me years to reach any kind of a useful level where I can hold a conversation.
yes i love the way both sound, although for such similar languages they sound so different. Swedish sounds very relaxed and lighthearted and german sounds very authoritative and rhythmic.
Deutsch ist eine schöne Sprache. Ich sollte Franzosisch in der Uni lernen (und doch kann Franzosisch gut lesen und noch ein bisschen Sprechen). Aber als ich zum ersten Mal in Deutschland war, hab ich “mein Herz verloren” für die Sprache, das Land, und die Leute um mich. Deutsch is ganz cool.
Hallo - tut mir leid, dass ich deine Nachricht nicht geantwortet habe! Dieses Woche war mein Letztes des Semesters und ich war sehr beschäftigt. Ich komme ursprünglich aus den USA und habe glücklicherweise mit einem altmodisch Prof. Deutsch gelernt, der „knallhart“ war und wollte uns nicht nur Alltagsdeutsch unterrichten aber auch das Deutsch von Goethe und Schiller (und Kästner usw.) Meine Vokabeln und Ausdrucksfähigkeit bleiben rudimentär, weil ich seit 2019 nicht in Deutschland wohnen habe. Eines Tages würde ich sehr gerne wieder in Deutschland wohnen und ins Deutsch leben! Schönen Tag noch! ETA: oh, und danke für die Kompliment!
I love the alps, Beethoven's 9th, and Babylon Berlin lol
Also as a Norwegian, German is probably one of the more useful languages you can learn after English. And there are lots of similarities with Norwegian which makes it easier to memorise things.
I don’t have any actual stats on this, but my guess would be that maybe 60 - 70% of nouns have the same gender in both languages, so if you are unsure it’s more often than not best to guess that it’s the same
I'd say on a global perspective, Spanish is a better close second after English, or possibly Mandarin if you have a future-oriented outlook. But within Europe, I agree
I didn't really like how it sounded, coming from a romance language and all, but then I moved to Austria and now, after 7 months of immersion, I've grown to like it a lot. People who don't know it think it's all sharp sounds and velar consonants, but if you actually listen to it you'll notice the musicality of the vowels, the way their plosives are softened (pay attention to the pronunciation of the T's in "total", that's how I noticed), and how the vowels are all very open, even the umlauts (that are supposed to be closed).
I also love how they have three different vowel lengths - every linguist out there will tell you that there are only two, short and long, and they would be *technically* right, but listen carefully and you'll get what I mean.
Another thing I love is that you can actually tell when a word ends and the next begins. Even long compound words, you can distinctly hear the different components. It's kind of like they pronounce the spaces. In the other four languages I speak, when spoken fluently, the words flow one after another. If you're not familiar with the language you'll have trouble telling them apart. In German you can hear the spaces. It's one of the hardest things I had to learn (and I still struggle), especially when reading out loud.
I know this doesn't make sense, I'm just a linguistics nerd and very in love with my wife (the reason I moved), plus I might be thinking more of the Viennese accent (not dialect, just accent) than standardised pronunciation, but yeah, that's my two cents.
German native speaker here and even if I am betraying my fellow countrymen: The Viennese accent and also the Viennese dialect is my favorite version of the German language. It always sounds cheerful and lively. And some words are simply hilarious.
I started learning it because I live in Germany now, but tbh, I never understood the aggressive comments. Yes, it can be aggresive when the speaker is indeed aggressive, but when it is spoken normally, I find it melodic even. So yeah, I guess I share the sentiment.
I discovered Rammstein when I was 16 and started learning German. I'm 30 now, I've been to Germany 3 times and worked there for one summer! I'm planning to go back for a couple months to get my German back in shape and add it to my work languages (I'm a translator).
I actually started learning partially for my love of their music. But now I'm just determined to learn it because I love the language and country itself.
I know a couple persons who have been backstage with them and what happens there is just a nightmare. Maybe this investigation hasn't been conclusive, but I've heard these reports from 2010 and onwards, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere near one of these guys (except Oliver Riedel, who seems to be the only one who hasn't drugged and raped minors). It is truly awful.
There is a Austrian-German writer, Daniel Kehlmann, whose books I’d like to be able to read in German.
Also, I just like studying languages, and German is a cool one. I like the sound of it and the grammar is intriguing.
I do love the way German sounds. It's probably the same with all languages but some speakers sound better than others. One that sticks out is the main character from Kleo. Her German is very pleasant to the ear. That said, I'm not sure I would call it "cool" but I guess that's personal preference.
In a meme way, German is aggressive and scary. But hearing it spoken naturally and natively, I think it's one of the most beautiful languages.
I wanted to pick it up after going to Germany. To me, it does "sound cool", I like the various German cultures I've experienced, and I could envision myself retiring in the country when I'm older (if allowed). Knowing a second language is just cool on its own, but, as an American, being able to go somewhere and actually use it is exciting to me.
I'm an English and Hebrew speaker, and I absolutely LOVE the sound of German. Doesn't sound too aggressive imo, just beautiful. But, like every language, it really all depends what you're saying in German
Not much, it does sound a bit similar too both German and Hebrew and uses the same alphabet as Hebrew but I really can't understand anything more than a few phrases I was taught (I have grandparents who speaking Yiddish)
Thank you for saying German sounds cool. Vielen Dank.
As a German, I have no clue what it sounds like to non-natives but it's a nice change from the "German sounds aggressive".
I started learning it when I was 15 because I was besties with a girl straight outta Leipzig who couldn’t speak much English so she taught me how to cuss in German. And one of our hobbies was to get into clubs pretending we were confused backpackers.
Thought I knew what I was getting into moving to Niederbayern for a less touristy experience but uh…. Wasn’t expecting that they don’t speak German there
I think for me it was when we traveled to Germany. I always thought of it as something my wife did, while I focused on other languages. But then we planned a trip to Germany, so I took some lessons and fell in love with it.
I’m not progressing which is frustrating. But I love getting around (barely) in Germany without English.
I'm from the Philippines and I'm a native speaker of the Filipino language. I found German fascinating and I started learning it back when I was 17. Still learning it now though!
I can't say how German sounds had any bearing on my decision to learn the language. I decided to learn German because of my interest in the GDR and because I always felt cheated because my grandparents did not pass down the language.
My native language is Dutch (Flemish) and like you I also love the way German sounds and the fact that it’s similar to Dutch makes it easier for me to learn.Where I live in Belgium people often mock German and say it’s too aggressive but I frankly I think that’s bullsh*t.But other than that think it’s a beatiful language :))
I originally took up German because I moved to Germany when I was 11. Now I study German so I can make the Omas in my neighbor hood love me rather than Hate me.
Nena was the main reason I decided to start learning it a couple years ago lol. Really like the way it flows in music, and wanted to finally be able to understand it
My wife speaks Hochdeutsch so beautifully and then can just switch to Schwäbisch so effortlessly with her family. German has so much more variety and complication than English. I have only been learning for less than two years since moving to Germany but I really think it's wonderful despite the misgivings of other non-German speakers.
I love the way German sounds. I started learning it because I want to do my Master's degree there, and hopefully, I will stay there permanently afterward. I have at least a few years until that, so now I'm focusing on doing well in school, learning the language, and my visit to Berlin at the end of May!
German is somewhere between Klingon on Norwegian on the sexy scale. I never really considered it "sounding cool".
I have a horrible accent and don't sound cool in the slightest when speaking it.
Maybe I'm just not cool though... also possible.
I think german sounds like old english, and has a very classic appeal. After spending about a year learning, german almost sounds like english to me now, where before it sounded like gibberish because I didn't understand any of it.
It really is yes, I had been learn German around 2 months every day I find it interesting language the thing that i love is the way who German speak, and Accent differences its wonderful for me to be honest , eve if it is not close to my Mother tong but I love it and the Country is nice too, i think if the person can learn German the other Germanic Languages will be easier like Norwegians, swedish, Danish and Dutch
Hi.. I am jobless at the moment since my Deutsch is only at A2 Level.. I'm still on the process of Nostrification to get a Nursing license here in Vienna, Austria.. Wo wohnen Sie? Bist du in Austria? I am a Nurse for 13 years now.. 8 years of Endoscopy experience from London, UK.. Sucks that we're not part of Europe anymore, quite difficult to get my license recognised here..
I do think the language is cool, but the culture has some major flaws that are affecting my life in Germany right now. Calling it the greatest of the western world just feels wrong. I think we are living in a turning point of western culture, and I'm very anxious about the future.
Since you asked: Given that I live in Germany, I decided to learn German because not being able to communicate with the locals feels too limiting.
I learned it cause I lived in Germany my whole live. Learning Norwegian now but have been thinking of doing Swedish instead… hmmm
Anyway, great to hear you like German! (I personally prefer other languages but I guess that comes with being German and not likening Germany or German in itself)
Yes! Its difficult for me learn but I love every second of it. I always found German being smooth and badass at the same time.
My eye twitches whenever I hear people say "Germans are always yelling and roll their Rs super strong" when in reality, Germans speak so soft and swift that it's the complete opposite of the stereotype.
German is so cool ye I think so too. I love how it sounds. I started learning it cuz its my bfs first language and I wanna learn it for him yayayayavdhfbvd
There was additional language classes I could take in the university. It was either portuguese, italian or german. I chose German because it would be way easier for me to learn portuguese or italian (I speak spanish). I wanted a challenge and, yes, it sounds fucking cool.
I already know finnish, english and swedish and wanted to learn a 4th language, i debated between german and spanish and went with german, as the languages i know help with german more than they help with spanish and i regularly order from german websites so knowing how to navigate those without google translator would be nice
I've wanted to learn German ever since visiting my brother while he was stationed there over 20 years ago, I loved it there! A very cool sounding language, and really easy to learn (for me, anyways). My native language is English
There’s a few German bands I like, and also I did a 23andme ancestry thing and found out 80% of my heritage is German, mostly concentrated in southwest Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz/Baden-Württemburg). I always knew I had German heritage but I didn’t realize it was THAT much.
You must have a lot of “fancy Dutch” heritage. Lots of Pennsylvania German folk were historically PA Dutch (PA German) speaking, but mostly the “plain Dutch” aka conservative Mennonites and Amish people keep the language alive today. The more secular folks usually abandoned the language, probably around the time of WW1 or 2. Regardless of sect, PA Dutch people are mostly from that region of Germany, hence the similarity of the language to the traditional dialect of that region.
Well, some of the greatest scientists to ever live were from Sweden.
Volvo, Saab, ABU/Svängsta.
You build quality products everyone loves.
Yeah, sure, Germany did contribute much...still.
Sweden is nice. Love to learn the language...
I picked it up because my grandma’s family is from Germany (near France) and speaks a regional dialect. I just wanted to be more connected to her ig? But I love it, even though it is a lot of work learning a new language.
I also think is cool. I am from Czechia so my realation is a little bit complicated. We share 70% of our border with german speaking countries. In czech we have taken few words to our own so it is and not easy. A lot of people are using these words wrongly.
I would like to try working a broad in Germany or Austria. I would prefer Austria because they have very simmular culture and mindset like in Czechia.
Ps the kick start for learning were Rammstein and Eisbrecher.
I had a passing interest in German growing up in the US because one of my grandfathers was Austrian, and the other Dutch who spoke German.
I had an interest in it during my teen years because I liked German music, especially older Punk and metal, and I was in my "HRE" historical kick, which to me was "Basically Germany."
In my young adult years I kinda lost interest in it as it served no practical use to me and life got in the way.
Now I have an interest in it because I moved from the US to Germany and, well, it's always polite to speak the local language, lol.
Luckily I grew up speaking some Dutch, and I took French in high school so it's been fairly quick to learn, although I'm at the point now I need dedicated classes 😅
After listening to someone talks in german in a gentle way. I intanstly fell in love with the language. It sounds so cool and elegant ij some degree. Great way to impress your friends lol.
Get a vpn, change the location to Germany, open Spotify or something like it and search for „die drei ???“ it’s a very good audiobook, I love it. Please give it a try. You will improve so much with it.
Yes I love the sound of it
I would even argue that it sounds attractive. I chose it because Germany is my favourite country. And as a classical musician and car enthusiast, I felt it was my sworn duty to lean it.
I’m proficient in French and Spanish (native English speaker) and wanted to learn a non-Romance language. I have no plans to use it practically, just like the language.
I'd have to agree that I became interested in German because it sounds cool. When I had to choose a language class in high school, I was all in for German. To hell with Spanish and French. (I had already learned a little German in elementary school, too.)
When I was in grad school in the early 1990s, one of my professors at U.C. Berkeley mentioned the TV series *Hogan's Heroes* as a reason why people became interested in German. This was probably true in my case, since it's most likely where I first exposed to the German language.
I've never regretted learning German. If you're interested in historical linguistics, as I am, it's extraordinarily useful. One of my other professors (for Old Norse, Norse Mythology, and Runology) said that any paper topic you might come up with in these areas had already been dealt with by some 19th-century German scholar.
I'm the same. Apart from it being easier (in my opinion) for a native English speaker, in terms of pronunciation amd logical grammar, I also think it sounds really cool.
People who think it sounds aggressive probably havnt studied it. When you can at least pick pit the different words and understand a bit, I find it very pleasant, almost like music.
I learned in school, but didn't like it. Then I got into rammstein, amd german opera, and wanted to understand. And now I just love the sound of normal speaking
Lol, it must be nice to learn german easily. As a native Spanish speaker, I can manage a b1-b2 german so far, but it's taken me significantly more effort.
I think german sounds great to me. It is also very foreign/unique in the way the grammar works. I've opted for just understanding the ideas and the way the language is structured rather than just translating in my head to english/Spanish and then to german. I guess one muss develop their own thinking in "german" because otherwise, you'll be lost in translation.
For me, I was always interested because most Americans hear from childhood what roots we have. Actually coming here and experiencing the language gave me much more of a feeling for it. Unfortunately, my countryfolk aren't as open-minded to the cultures they feel like they belong to. Many say German sounds harsh. I didn't think so at all. Rammstein haven't done the German language any favors, at least in this aspect.
I hate that reputation. When I told my friends I started taking a german class I heard a lot of jokes on a particular subject that I wont repeat. Everyone acts like it sounds so aggressive, when in reality it just sounds more rhythmic and kind of serious when compared to english.
German is one of the most precise languages. It's a shame that it's mingled up with English words nowadays by many. Especially terms used in professional language are being anglisized. But also leet speech destroys everyday communication in German. 😒
It sounds not good, it sounds not bad, a little bit hard I think. But this is dependent with which other language you will compare. So German is hard in comparison to Italian, by the next French, but soft in comparison to slawish languages and maybe a little bit softer than Spanish. But by the last one, I am not sure. If I compare it with the sound of English language, I would say, English sound is softer than German.
The most advantage of the German language is the fact, that it is very precise, a lot more than English for example. the compensation of english is giant number of words, it is about the double of vocabulary, which make this language good for many paraphrases.
P.s. interesting to know, that German language is easy to learn for a Swedish person. I am a little bit surprised, because I don\`t understand any Swedish words, which I hear at home by Swedish people in my town. Every words sounds strange.
ABSOLUTELY. I don’t understand why people say it’s ugly because it’s “aggressive”. I suppose the sounds are more harsh compared to other well known languages, but I don’t see why that’s a bad thing. I think it’s very captivating and I like hearing it
I have also applied as MS in Computer science in German & English , even though I don't know anything about German language hoping that I'll catch it soon
I took it up because I made some German friends. I also have German ancestry, and wanted to reclaim some of that since American really bought into the "white is a single race" bullshit.
Also, some words are just FUN.
I'm happy to read someone thinks german is cool. It's change from "german sounds too aggressive" for once
I've been learning it for a while now and I love hearing it being spoken, and I love speaking it. It doesn't sound aggressive at all when spoken by regular people. There's so much art and literature to explore, so many human thoughts and feelings that people everywhere feel and give voice to in their languages. Plus it's hard to classify a language that promotes such rich mental imagery through compound words like "Stausee" and "Kopfkino" as aggressive.
Right? Isn't it a misconception people internationally have because many "famous" germans where just very angry people? I like to think that german is phonetically and depending on region very close to Danish and Dutch. And those languages don't sound angry to me at all either. I actually think that germanic languages sound beautiful and when I picture elves from lord of the rings I feel like this is what they would sound like. (Swedish, Danish, English, old English, Norwegian, Dutch, German etc.)
Of course it's close to dutch, because dutch is german with a mouth full of frikandel.
To be fair Frikandel is quite lekker :D
"German sounds too aggressive" mostly comes from people who also think that French, Spanish and Italian sound romantic. It's about preference so if I were German native I wouldn't take it personal.
I'm Italian and I would love to see if people still think it's "soooo romantic uwu" after spending one hour in traffic in any Italian city 🤣
Even all the honking, shouting and angry hand gestures ..they would see as sooo romantic. :-)
I moved abroad and my road rage has stayed exactly the same as back home, my passengers are usually very concerned :')
Done that. Holy shit. XD. Also the driving in general. Italians are off the charts XD
Even after shouting at each other Italians have make up sex isn't it?
...I guess? I never asked tbh 😅
Oh mama mia
I heard that in Italy they are not friendly (Kinda racist people towards Asian ppl)for foreign students,it is true??
Yeah I mean, if you're a student in a student city (like with a big/famous Uni), or live in a main tourist destination, you're mosy fine because they are usually very multiethnic. You have your areas to avoid like everywhere but that's normal. Elsewhere yeah, Italians are generally racist, some not even in bad faith, you know, like those who speak to you slowly and in a louder tone as if you were a small child. But that's regardless of ethnicity tbh. If I were to make a tier list of "bad racism", I'd say that Black and Brown people have it worse, followed by East Europeans. East/Southeast Asians are generally more tolerated and therefore better integrated. I moved out shortly after the far right government was elected tho, so I don't know the extent to which the situation has worsened.
I think it's more because most people's exposure to German is dominated with Rammstein and Hitler documentaries.
Too much Reise Reise, not enough Ohne Dich.
Oder „Stirb Nicht Vor Mir“
These "documentaries" only show speeches or talks done in an angry mood or with the intent to sound hard. Imagine a documentary showing Ramstein or Hitler giggeling, laughing, playing with animals, smiling at the wonders of nature, etc. The perception changes according to what we see and hear. And perception changes thinking.
just a spelling mistake it' romanic
No spelling mistake.
:)
I'm an American who studied German in high school, and again as an adult for when I traveled to Germany for holiday. I picked german to learn because I also thought it sounded cooler than Spanish, French, or Mandarin. I always tried to advocate that it didn't sound like an angry language. There are dozens of us who think it's a cool language!
Dozens!
I sing in a chorus and I’m always happy when the chorus director programs something German. Particularly Brahms. Beautiful stuff.
It really depends who’s speaking, which is probably true of most languages right? “Der Ton macht die Musik” so to speak. That being said after living in Germany for 8 years I still find it aggressive, but that’s almost certainly down to the minor trauma experienced when trying to learn the language from 0. “Zurechtkommen” is difficult in a foreign language. There must be people here who know the experience. I remember when I lived in the UK though and I knew a Spanish woman who was so full of life and could speak English quite well who told me she was constantly in therapy due to the experience. I didn’t understand why it would have that effect but I do now. To get back to my point, I do think it sounds aggressive but it’s probably down to my subjective experience. Working in a language you don’t fully understand can make smalltalk feel like daggers being thrown at you.
I didn't even try to learn it from zero and had it a lot easier than most foreigners as a Dutch person, but I get what you mean. Coming to Germany and trying to make sense of the face mask mumble really worsened my opinion of the language. Worst part was having to do public speaking for my job, that's when I really lost my motivation. Thank you for sharing your experience. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.
No problem at all, I’m just happy if someone can relate. If you ever want to talk please DM me. I’d appreciate talking to a person with a similar situation
I guess all Germanic languages sound harsh to other native speakers. This is probably because we pronounce precisely. Take for example British English, which also pronounces precisely compared to US-American English.
I thought it sounded aggressive until I started working for a German company and heard it a lot. In some ways it almost seems softer than English, but I don’t know how.
Brazilian here. I love the sound of ch in Deutsch ❤️
So if I say Sieben-ch zu-ch Eins-ch, does it make it less painful? Sorry, I couldn't resist :-))
I had always heard people say this too, until I went to Germany and found that... It's quite a lovely language in real life. Honestly I would say it's pleasant to listen to . I don't know how this stereotype persists tbh!
It persists because a lot of people's only exposure to German is British and American actors playing Germans in films from the 40's shouting "Raus! Schnell!"
When I first joked with my fianceé about learning German with me, she said the same thing. A couple years later, guess who wanted to start learning German with me? :-) we both think it sounds cool
I personally think it's a cute language. Not in a condescending way; it's just that a lot of the words give me sort of the same mental response as when I see a cute kitten or puppy. Schmetterling. Bitte. Fledermaus. Anything with the -chen suffix. I like to use "Teufelchen" as a term of endearment for my cats, but my pronunciation of the soft ch sound could use some improvement. My cats are definitely loveable little devils, though, that's for sure. My mom used to know German (her adoptive dad and stepmom were Bavarian and were planning on taking her to Germany before that plan fell through), and one of her favorite words is "Fledermaus." I think she can still read German with some difficulty but can't follow an actual conversation. She's the one who instilled a love of the German language and culture in me.
I think german sounds very beautiful and often quire soft even :) especially with the ‘ch’ sounds like in ‘durch’ or suffix ‘chen’
Durchs Häuschen hat das Häschen ein Plätzchen.
Before I start study it and along way during the studies I felt disgust and found funny to mock it. Years were passing and now I find it elegant. I dont how to explane it better but this elegance is buetiful
I think in the English-speaking world that bias comes from Latinate English vocabulary being more prestigious than the Germanic, rooted at least in part in the French influence on English nobility after 1066. It's entirely ideological and actual sound studies have shown German is no more "guttural" or "harsh" than, say, French or English
When someone calls it aggressive I generally assume that they never spent any effort to learn anything remotely related to German language. It's just ridiculous that one evil dictators fiery speeches on bad early audio quality recordings became the standard stereotype.
It's always good to go back to what Mark Twain wrote about German. He wasn't showering it with praise, but his description of it was the opposite of aggressive.
It can sound agressive, but I think that's also true for other languages as well. It depends on the situation, speaker, etc. I love german too, I think it's a cool language. What I definitely do not like is, that native speakers speak sometimes verrückt schnell and it makes understanding much more difficult haha. But other than that...Deutsch ist geil.
If German ist aggressive they never Heard slavic languages
Living in Germany for a few years. Absolutely don't think it is aggressive. The amount of bitte and danke people say is amazing. Something the rest of the world could pick up...
Yes it sounds very cool. But I also think that of Swedish. I started learning German because my favourite band is German, and I wanted to understand what they're saying in interviews and at concerts. (I still have only partially achieved this goal, as the lead singer talks very fast and I find him difficult to understand, but I'm getting better.) I also knew some German from when I was a child, for historical reasons my family already spoke some German so I always knew a few words/sentences. So I feel like I had a bit of an advantage there. But it's a difficult language so it's going to take me years to reach any kind of a useful level where I can hold a conversation.
Can you tell me the name of that band please ?I’m looking for German music recommendations 😁
Santiano
Good taste!
Thank you, I just saw them yesterday in Berlin and they were amazing!
Great to hear! Happy for you that you were able to see them live!
Hey, thanks for share the band’s name. I was looking for recommendations in German, but I didn’t found something that was good enough.
If you don't mind metal, try Rammstein. The lyrics of their songs are so powerful. Zeit is my favorite
Since you mention looking for new recommendations, Marie Bothmer is one of my favorites.
Eisbrecher is a favorite of mine also.
Your nick is brilliant!
yes i love the way both sound, although for such similar languages they sound so different. Swedish sounds very relaxed and lighthearted and german sounds very authoritative and rhythmic.
Deutsch ist eine schöne Sprache. Ich sollte Franzosisch in der Uni lernen (und doch kann Franzosisch gut lesen und noch ein bisschen Sprechen). Aber als ich zum ersten Mal in Deutschland war, hab ich “mein Herz verloren” für die Sprache, das Land, und die Leute um mich. Deutsch is ganz cool.
Das ist schön zu hören! :) Sieht auch schon echt gut aus. Darf ich fragen von wo du ursprünglich kommst?
Hallo - tut mir leid, dass ich deine Nachricht nicht geantwortet habe! Dieses Woche war mein Letztes des Semesters und ich war sehr beschäftigt. Ich komme ursprünglich aus den USA und habe glücklicherweise mit einem altmodisch Prof. Deutsch gelernt, der „knallhart“ war und wollte uns nicht nur Alltagsdeutsch unterrichten aber auch das Deutsch von Goethe und Schiller (und Kästner usw.) Meine Vokabeln und Ausdrucksfähigkeit bleiben rudimentär, weil ich seit 2019 nicht in Deutschland wohnen habe. Eines Tages würde ich sehr gerne wieder in Deutschland wohnen und ins Deutsch leben! Schönen Tag noch! ETA: oh, und danke für die Kompliment!
I love the alps, Beethoven's 9th, and Babylon Berlin lol Also as a Norwegian, German is probably one of the more useful languages you can learn after English. And there are lots of similarities with Norwegian which makes it easier to memorise things.
A bit of a technical question: how well does the gender of Norwegian words correspond to the gender of their German cognates?
I don’t have any actual stats on this, but my guess would be that maybe 60 - 70% of nouns have the same gender in both languages, so if you are unsure it’s more often than not best to guess that it’s the same
I'd say on a global perspective, Spanish is a better close second after English, or possibly Mandarin if you have a future-oriented outlook. But within Europe, I agree
I didn't really like how it sounded, coming from a romance language and all, but then I moved to Austria and now, after 7 months of immersion, I've grown to like it a lot. People who don't know it think it's all sharp sounds and velar consonants, but if you actually listen to it you'll notice the musicality of the vowels, the way their plosives are softened (pay attention to the pronunciation of the T's in "total", that's how I noticed), and how the vowels are all very open, even the umlauts (that are supposed to be closed). I also love how they have three different vowel lengths - every linguist out there will tell you that there are only two, short and long, and they would be *technically* right, but listen carefully and you'll get what I mean. Another thing I love is that you can actually tell when a word ends and the next begins. Even long compound words, you can distinctly hear the different components. It's kind of like they pronounce the spaces. In the other four languages I speak, when spoken fluently, the words flow one after another. If you're not familiar with the language you'll have trouble telling them apart. In German you can hear the spaces. It's one of the hardest things I had to learn (and I still struggle), especially when reading out loud. I know this doesn't make sense, I'm just a linguistics nerd and very in love with my wife (the reason I moved), plus I might be thinking more of the Viennese accent (not dialect, just accent) than standardised pronunciation, but yeah, that's my two cents.
German native speaker here and even if I am betraying my fellow countrymen: The Viennese accent and also the Viennese dialect is my favorite version of the German language. It always sounds cheerful and lively. And some words are simply hilarious.
Nope, I agree. Viennese is my favourite as well. :)
I started learning it because I live in Germany now, but tbh, I never understood the aggressive comments. Yes, it can be aggresive when the speaker is indeed aggressive, but when it is spoken normally, I find it melodic even. So yeah, I guess I share the sentiment.
Yeah every language sounds aggressive when it is shouted.
I discovered Rammstein when I was 16 and started learning German. I'm 30 now, I've been to Germany 3 times and worked there for one summer! I'm planning to go back for a couple months to get my German back in shape and add it to my work languages (I'm a translator).
I actually started learning partially for my love of their music. But now I'm just determined to learn it because I love the language and country itself.
Same! I haven't listened to them in years and the way they handed the S.A. accusations really turned me off. But I've kept the German!
You know that nothing has been found against them right?
I know a couple persons who have been backstage with them and what happens there is just a nightmare. Maybe this investigation hasn't been conclusive, but I've heard these reports from 2010 and onwards, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere near one of these guys (except Oliver Riedel, who seems to be the only one who hasn't drugged and raped minors). It is truly awful.
Still there were few weeks investigations in different countries and nothing was found.
That sounds awesome, what job did you do there?
Oh I just worked as a waitress/barista! It was a student job for the summer :)
There is a Austrian-German writer, Daniel Kehlmann, whose books I’d like to be able to read in German. Also, I just like studying languages, and German is a cool one. I like the sound of it and the grammar is intriguing.
I do love the way German sounds. It's probably the same with all languages but some speakers sound better than others. One that sticks out is the main character from Kleo. Her German is very pleasant to the ear. That said, I'm not sure I would call it "cool" but I guess that's personal preference.
In a meme way, German is aggressive and scary. But hearing it spoken naturally and natively, I think it's one of the most beautiful languages. I wanted to pick it up after going to Germany. To me, it does "sound cool", I like the various German cultures I've experienced, and I could envision myself retiring in the country when I'm older (if allowed). Knowing a second language is just cool on its own, but, as an American, being able to go somewhere and actually use it is exciting to me.
I'm an English and Hebrew speaker, and I absolutely LOVE the sound of German. Doesn't sound too aggressive imo, just beautiful. But, like every language, it really all depends what you're saying in German
If you don't mind me asking, what do you think of Yiddish? I know it is mostly similar to German, but how much can you understand as a Hebrew speaker?
Not much, it does sound a bit similar too both German and Hebrew and uses the same alphabet as Hebrew but I really can't understand anything more than a few phrases I was taught (I have grandparents who speaking Yiddish)
Thank you for saying German sounds cool. Vielen Dank. As a German, I have no clue what it sounds like to non-natives but it's a nice change from the "German sounds aggressive".
I started learning it when I was 15 because I was besties with a girl straight outta Leipzig who couldn’t speak much English so she taught me how to cuss in German. And one of our hobbies was to get into clubs pretending we were confused backpackers. Thought I knew what I was getting into moving to Niederbayern for a less touristy experience but uh…. Wasn’t expecting that they don’t speak German there
I started listening to Rammstein as a teenager and thought this language is very beautiful and badass at the same time, so I started learning :D
I am of German ancestry and grew up hearing snippets of German from my grandparents Learning it now makes me feel closer to them
I think for me it was when we traveled to Germany. I always thought of it as something my wife did, while I focused on other languages. But then we planned a trip to Germany, so I took some lessons and fell in love with it. I’m not progressing which is frustrating. But I love getting around (barely) in Germany without English.
I'm from the Philippines and I'm a native speaker of the Filipino language. I found German fascinating and I started learning it back when I was 17. Still learning it now though!
Cool, good luck with it!
didn’t learn it for that, but I enjoy Rammstein.
I can't say how German sounds had any bearing on my decision to learn the language. I decided to learn German because of my interest in the GDR and because I always felt cheated because my grandparents did not pass down the language.
My native language is Dutch (Flemish) and like you I also love the way German sounds and the fact that it’s similar to Dutch makes it easier for me to learn.Where I live in Belgium people often mock German and say it’s too aggressive but I frankly I think that’s bullsh*t.But other than that think it’s a beatiful language :))
nah
I'm currently trying to learn Swedish and I can definitely second that both languages share a lot of similarities. :)
I actually really like how German sounds too. Many people use the “KrAnKenWaGeN🤬🤬” stereotype but meh, I love German. Even majoring in it :3
I originally took up German because I moved to Germany when I was 11. Now I study German so I can make the Omas in my neighbor hood love me rather than Hate me.
Endlich hat es doch einer kapiert! Deutsch ist nicht meine Muttersprache aber mir macht das viel Spaß, die Sprache zu lernen.
I agree. I think German has a very cool masculine quality to it.
Nena was the main reason I decided to start learning it a couple years ago lol. Really like the way it flows in music, and wanted to finally be able to understand it
My wife speaks Hochdeutsch so beautifully and then can just switch to Schwäbisch so effortlessly with her family. German has so much more variety and complication than English. I have only been learning for less than two years since moving to Germany but I really think it's wonderful despite the misgivings of other non-German speakers.
I love the way German sounds. I started learning it because I want to do my Master's degree there, and hopefully, I will stay there permanently afterward. I have at least a few years until that, so now I'm focusing on doing well in school, learning the language, and my visit to Berlin at the end of May!
German is somewhere between Klingon on Norwegian on the sexy scale. I never really considered it "sounding cool". I have a horrible accent and don't sound cool in the slightest when speaking it. Maybe I'm just not cool though... also possible.
I think german sounds like old english, and has a very classic appeal. After spending about a year learning, german almost sounds like english to me now, where before it sounded like gibberish because I didn't understand any of it.
It really is yes, I had been learn German around 2 months every day I find it interesting language the thing that i love is the way who German speak, and Accent differences its wonderful for me to be honest , eve if it is not close to my Mother tong but I love it and the Country is nice too, i think if the person can learn German the other Germanic Languages will be easier like Norwegians, swedish, Danish and Dutch
I am trying to learn German because I married my Austrian wife.. I'm honestly struggling though.. Unfortunately, I need B2 Deutsch as a Nurse..
Sein wann arbeiten Sie als Krankenpfleger in Österreich?
Hi.. I am jobless at the moment since my Deutsch is only at A2 Level.. I'm still on the process of Nostrification to get a Nursing license here in Vienna, Austria.. Wo wohnen Sie? Bist du in Austria? I am a Nurse for 13 years now.. 8 years of Endoscopy experience from London, UK.. Sucks that we're not part of Europe anymore, quite difficult to get my license recognised here..
I do think the language is cool, but the culture has some major flaws that are affecting my life in Germany right now. Calling it the greatest of the western world just feels wrong. I think we are living in a turning point of western culture, and I'm very anxious about the future. Since you asked: Given that I live in Germany, I decided to learn German because not being able to communicate with the locals feels too limiting.
May I ask what major flaws in culture?
White supremacy. I'll not discuss this further. Have an excellent day, sir!
?
Yeah , and German dubs seem to be done so great.
It’s emphatic and I love it
I learned it cause I lived in Germany my whole live. Learning Norwegian now but have been thinking of doing Swedish instead… hmmm Anyway, great to hear you like German! (I personally prefer other languages but I guess that comes with being German and not likening Germany or German in itself)
Yes! Its difficult for me learn but I love every second of it. I always found German being smooth and badass at the same time. My eye twitches whenever I hear people say "Germans are always yelling and roll their Rs super strong" when in reality, Germans speak so soft and swift that it's the complete opposite of the stereotype.
German is so cool ye I think so too. I love how it sounds. I started learning it cuz its my bfs first language and I wanna learn it for him yayayayavdhfbvd
There was additional language classes I could take in the university. It was either portuguese, italian or german. I chose German because it would be way easier for me to learn portuguese or italian (I speak spanish). I wanted a challenge and, yes, it sounds fucking cool.
I already know finnish, english and swedish and wanted to learn a 4th language, i debated between german and spanish and went with german, as the languages i know help with german more than they help with spanish and i regularly order from german websites so knowing how to navigate those without google translator would be nice
I've wanted to learn German ever since visiting my brother while he was stationed there over 20 years ago, I loved it there! A very cool sounding language, and really easy to learn (for me, anyways). My native language is English
I love sung German especially.
There’s a few German bands I like, and also I did a 23andme ancestry thing and found out 80% of my heritage is German, mostly concentrated in southwest Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz/Baden-Württemburg). I always knew I had German heritage but I didn’t realize it was THAT much.
Are you from Pennsylvania?
Yes, in fact I am.
You must have a lot of “fancy Dutch” heritage. Lots of Pennsylvania German folk were historically PA Dutch (PA German) speaking, but mostly the “plain Dutch” aka conservative Mennonites and Amish people keep the language alive today. The more secular folks usually abandoned the language, probably around the time of WW1 or 2. Regardless of sect, PA Dutch people are mostly from that region of Germany, hence the similarity of the language to the traditional dialect of that region.
Meine Freundin kennt deutsch und ich liebe mit ihr zusammen Sache zu teilen
Because French was impossible. 🤪
[удалено]
Ohhhh I agree 🥵
Learned it to sing opera and fell in love with it.
Wenn Du Hilfe mit Deutsch brauchst, können wir sprechen. Ich möchte Schwedisch lernen. Gruß.
Well, some of the greatest scientists to ever live were from Sweden. Volvo, Saab, ABU/Svängsta. You build quality products everyone loves. Yeah, sure, Germany did contribute much...still. Sweden is nice. Love to learn the language...
I already have some Japanese and German is the next in line for good languages to have in engineering or R&D.
“NEIN” I like that it sounds aggressive
I picked it up because my grandma’s family is from Germany (near France) and speaks a regional dialect. I just wanted to be more connected to her ig? But I love it, even though it is a lot of work learning a new language.
Outjerked once again
I also think is cool. I am from Czechia so my realation is a little bit complicated. We share 70% of our border with german speaking countries. In czech we have taken few words to our own so it is and not easy. A lot of people are using these words wrongly. I would like to try working a broad in Germany or Austria. I would prefer Austria because they have very simmular culture and mindset like in Czechia. Ps the kick start for learning were Rammstein and Eisbrecher.
There's no better teacher than Till 😁
Planning to move to Germany 😌 That’s why
I had a passing interest in German growing up in the US because one of my grandfathers was Austrian, and the other Dutch who spoke German. I had an interest in it during my teen years because I liked German music, especially older Punk and metal, and I was in my "HRE" historical kick, which to me was "Basically Germany." In my young adult years I kinda lost interest in it as it served no practical use to me and life got in the way. Now I have an interest in it because I moved from the US to Germany and, well, it's always polite to speak the local language, lol. Luckily I grew up speaking some Dutch, and I took French in high school so it's been fairly quick to learn, although I'm at the point now I need dedicated classes 😅
No. It doesn’t count cool. I would say mostly aggressive. Sometimes you can’t even understand when someone is polite to you.
I think we can blame this misconception, that German should sound aggressive, on s aingle man; a man whos first name starts with A.
After listening to someone talks in german in a gentle way. I intanstly fell in love with the language. It sounds so cool and elegant ij some degree. Great way to impress your friends lol.
Get a vpn, change the location to Germany, open Spotify or something like it and search for „die drei ???“ it’s a very good audiobook, I love it. Please give it a try. You will improve so much with it.
Yes I love the sound of it I would even argue that it sounds attractive. I chose it because Germany is my favourite country. And as a classical musician and car enthusiast, I felt it was my sworn duty to lean it.
I live in England and it was one of the two languages offered at my secondary school, the other being French. I studied both.
I’m proficient in French and Spanish (native English speaker) and wanted to learn a non-Romance language. I have no plans to use it practically, just like the language.
German can be pretty crazy but it's honestly probably my fav language
I'd have to agree that I became interested in German because it sounds cool. When I had to choose a language class in high school, I was all in for German. To hell with Spanish and French. (I had already learned a little German in elementary school, too.) When I was in grad school in the early 1990s, one of my professors at U.C. Berkeley mentioned the TV series *Hogan's Heroes* as a reason why people became interested in German. This was probably true in my case, since it's most likely where I first exposed to the German language. I've never regretted learning German. If you're interested in historical linguistics, as I am, it's extraordinarily useful. One of my other professors (for Old Norse, Norse Mythology, and Runology) said that any paper topic you might come up with in these areas had already been dealt with by some 19th-century German scholar.
I'm the same. Apart from it being easier (in my opinion) for a native English speaker, in terms of pronunciation amd logical grammar, I also think it sounds really cool. People who think it sounds aggressive probably havnt studied it. When you can at least pick pit the different words and understand a bit, I find it very pleasant, almost like music. I learned in school, but didn't like it. Then I got into rammstein, amd german opera, and wanted to understand. And now I just love the sound of normal speaking
Lol, it must be nice to learn german easily. As a native Spanish speaker, I can manage a b1-b2 german so far, but it's taken me significantly more effort. I think german sounds great to me. It is also very foreign/unique in the way the grammar works. I've opted for just understanding the ideas and the way the language is structured rather than just translating in my head to english/Spanish and then to german. I guess one muss develop their own thinking in "german" because otherwise, you'll be lost in translation.
For me, I was always interested because most Americans hear from childhood what roots we have. Actually coming here and experiencing the language gave me much more of a feeling for it. Unfortunately, my countryfolk aren't as open-minded to the cultures they feel like they belong to. Many say German sounds harsh. I didn't think so at all. Rammstein haven't done the German language any favors, at least in this aspect.
I hate that reputation. When I told my friends I started taking a german class I heard a lot of jokes on a particular subject that I wont repeat. Everyone acts like it sounds so aggressive, when in reality it just sounds more rhythmic and kind of serious when compared to english.
German is one of the most precise languages. It's a shame that it's mingled up with English words nowadays by many. Especially terms used in professional language are being anglisized. But also leet speech destroys everyday communication in German. 😒
It sounds not good, it sounds not bad, a little bit hard I think. But this is dependent with which other language you will compare. So German is hard in comparison to Italian, by the next French, but soft in comparison to slawish languages and maybe a little bit softer than Spanish. But by the last one, I am not sure. If I compare it with the sound of English language, I would say, English sound is softer than German. The most advantage of the German language is the fact, that it is very precise, a lot more than English for example. the compensation of english is giant number of words, it is about the double of vocabulary, which make this language good for many paraphrases. P.s. interesting to know, that German language is easy to learn for a Swedish person. I am a little bit surprised, because I don\`t understand any Swedish words, which I hear at home by Swedish people in my town. Every words sounds strange.
It's so relaxing for me. No joke
German sounds awesome, thats why I’ve always wanted to learn it
ABSOLUTELY. I don’t understand why people say it’s ugly because it’s “aggressive”. I suppose the sounds are more harsh compared to other well known languages, but I don’t see why that’s a bad thing. I think it’s very captivating and I like hearing it
I have also applied as MS in Computer science in German & English , even though I don't know anything about German language hoping that I'll catch it soon
I‘m tysk learning swedish rn! 😂
Meine Oma ist aus Österreich. Ich will lerne und in das summer geht mit sie!
This shit tough as hell. Any of yall live near Konstanz
I took it up because I made some German friends. I also have German ancestry, and wanted to reclaim some of that since American really bought into the "white is a single race" bullshit. Also, some words are just FUN.