LL-L: "Pronunciation" LOWLANDS-L, 01.SEP.2000 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 01.SEP.2000 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Morado3197 at aol.com
Subject: LL-L: "Pronunciation" LOWLANDS-L, 01.SEP.2000 (01) [E]

Hello,
 Is there anybody else who finds the idea of generalizing Germans as 'grumpy'
etc.because their language pronunciation makes them so, utterly childish? When
you speak German, you can still smile when pronouncing any
'Umlaut'..Just try... If the context of a conversation is a serious  one, you
keep your countenance 'serious', just as if and when you are delivering a
formal address, or  discourse.
And yes, I am fluent in German.
Best regards,
Lila Honsberg at morado3197 at aol.com

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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Pronunciation

Hi, Lila!

You wrote:

> Is there anybody else who finds the idea of generalizing Germans as > 'grumpy'  etc.because their language pronunciation makes them so, > utterly childish?

I am pretty sure you aren't alone there.  However, I don't think it is worth
expending much energy on dealing with such things.  Whatever the supposedly
scientific reasoning behind it was, the popular British media digest of a
somewhat touchy subject like this comes across as fed by and as designed to
further feed prejudices held by people who can't let go of events that ended
in the middle of the last century, involving ethnically, culturally and
linguistically closely related people.  You need only watch British TV
sitcoms, even fairly new ones, that feature supposed Germans or refer to
Germans, goose-stepping all over the place, grimacing while shouting
ridiculous vowels and gutteral fricatives, something you find rarely, if ever,
in sitcoms produced in other English-speaking countries nowadays.  This kind
of thing used to offend me, but these days I don't think it is *my* problem.

As John Tait said, language is the last topic area in which many people still
feel free to openly express their prejudices, and we who frequently deal with
language come across this a lot.  (Example: Not too long ago two people
applied for LL-L subscription stating that they were interested in all
Lowlands language varieties with the exception of Appalachian ...)

To return to the Lowlands, the supposedly grumpiness-inducing "umlauted" sound
is used in all Lowlands languages (including Scots) except English, thus is
not at all specific to German.  It is only foreign to English, and that's what
all this is about.  Producing it in no way forces the speaker to frown as has
been alleged.  He/she merely rounds his/her lips, a little more than when
sounding the "full" [u] sound (vs the "slack" non-Scottish English version).
Rounded lips may perhaps be interpreted as pouting (or as sucking on an
imaginary drinking straw), certainly not as frowning.

> Umlauts on vowels such as "u" cause the mouth
> to turn down.

Yep, better stay away from them Continental dots and chicken-scratches on
letters, because they will turn you into a grumpy foreigner!  I guess that's
why they are routinely omitted from foreign words and names in the popular
English language media.

> The English sounds of "e" and "ah", on the other hand, create
> happy faces."

And German and the Lowlands languages have these too.  But I assume that
doesn't make up for the offending _ü_.  Rats!

> The German consulate in Edinburgh refused to comment. The subject was
> "too scientific," it said.

Perhaps they said it tongue-in-cheek ...  Nah!  Just wishful thinking.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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