this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2025
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I don’t like the stereotype (and it is just a stereotype) of German being a ‘screamy’ language. As a Dutchman who also speaks German, it’s a perfectly pleasant language to me in 99% of the cases (but then I think it’s beautiful anyway, hence why I learnt it). There’s nothing inherently ‘screamy’ about German.
Though I have to admit that when I do hear it being screamed in, it immediately triggers associations with that period in history like I was there myself. I blame movies.
Well, it's no secret anymore that you guys actually speak German at home and have your funny Dutch language only for the tourists, so no wonder you like how it sounds!
https://www.der-postillon.com/2018/05/niederlaendisch.html
Yeah it's exactly that: Stereotype and being used to a certain melody in a language. For me (German) Arabic often sounds aggressive for some reason... Farsi and Dari sound pleasent though. I don't understand neither of them...
Even in Germany we consider some other dialects rude or aggressive sounding. For a lot of people Berlin's dialect sounds rude or some people from the north have the same feeling with some dialects from the sound. (For me it's the dialects spoken in the Black Forest).
Language is weird.
When I attended presentations in English by researchers from e.g. Egypt, I've always wondered what they are so angry about.
Honestly Saxonian ist the worst. I automatically assume I am talking to a Nazi and brace myself. The fact that that I am right in about 1 of 2 cases doesn't really help either
I blame what have done Germany 80 years ago in Europe as the main reason, we are barely getting out of the phase were all people that lives through these times are dead but it is still rembered.
This is exactly what it is. That reputation has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual sound of German. The stereotype, btw is not about it being screamy, but ugly. People claim it sounds ugly and aggressive, for no reason other than Nazis. It's a cultural stereotype that was completely projected onto the language, most notably how it sounds.
It could just be that for a lot of people their only exposure to German is that clip from Der Untergang where Hitler gets super pissed and it does indeed sound like yelling in German is way more aggressive than yelling in English - but the other people in the room don't yell back at him and there's nothing aggressive about their speech.
That and the videos of people pronouncing words in different languages and of course ambulance is said in a normal tone while Krankenwagen is yelled because stereotyp funni, but that's based more on how the words look when written down I think.
I bet most people who believe this have never heard normal German speech, only exaggerated phrases from movies and comic sketches, where Germans are bad guys who intentionally sound threatening.
You sound just like people from the UK who talk about not liking the word fookin' used in jokes because they don't talk like that.