Saturday, November 15, 2014

We Don't Say That in Germany

According to G, my German emails are still too polite.


13 comments:

  1. I can so relate to that!!! when I arrived here, I would greet my husband´s friends with a "how are you" until A. told me " we do not ask that as a greeting" :)

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    1. I used to say "How are you" on the phone too, but stopped after many, many awkward and confused moments of silence (talking to electricians, the Hausmeister, etc...). ahahaha!

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  2. So what do Germans say as opposed to "We enjoyed meeting you." ?

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    1. Kerstin (two comments below) puts it nicely, and it's true, it IS used (sorry, I made it sound like it's not said at all -- it IS -- but my general impression is that it's used less frequently than in English and people say it only when they mean it (and less simply out of politeness, which the Japanese are pros at)! :)

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  3. hahaha you shld have compiled all these into your next comic!
    We don't do "it is nice meeting you" here too. Once i did it to a distance american fren who stayed here for a while and she was stunned/shocked.

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    1. Really!? I thought Americans liked saying friendly stuff like that?

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    2. yea i think she just did not see it coming because we don't use it here.

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  4. lol, we DO say that kind of stuff! G's German is guy!German, so he might not, but them ladies sure do. Especially if it was a close friend you haven't seen in a while (hi there, yes, I just visited home and met old friends ;D )
    So, if it's someone you met for the first time, a "war schön dich kennen zu lernen" is perfectly nice; or if it's a friend you met again "war schön dich wieder zu sehen / dich noch mal zu sehen" is nice too :3
    - K

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    1. Kerstin! After I drew the comic I was like, "Crap, but I DO say that and hear that a lot" and then remembered that the context was that we were writing to reject some people who came in for the WG-Casting (which I hate doing! I mean, I do love meeting nice people that I want to live with, but you can only choose one -- so awkward!). But yes. I guess in English I would have written "It was nice meeting you, but..." but in German it sounded somehow unnecessary. What do you think? AND you are totally correct that G's German is Norddeutscher/GUY-German and it tends to be rather direct and non-beating-around-the-bush-y compared to my German girlfriends' German.
      But yes! Thanks for bringing that up, it was kind of bothering me too! Hope you had a great visit back home...where is home btw?

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    2. Oh, I see. Yes, in that context I wouldn't use it. In combination with a "nope, not you" it would sound like it's just said for politeness and... well, we'd prefer it short and honest? I mean, if it was /so/ nice meeting them why choose someone else. People might go OH EFF YOU upon reading such mails and might rant to their friends about it ;) (yes, a friend ranted a lot about this. The "Es tut mir/uns Leid, aber wir haben uns für jemand anderen entschieden" mails were fine, maybe frustrating but ... can't be helped. The ones that were like "you were so nice and we loved meeting you but" made her steam though XD ).
      So basically, ok for use for the one that gets your ok, just not for the nope-folks.
      (but I agree, WG-casting is hard D: on both sides! haha)
      Ah, G's a Northener. Yes, the rough sea folk up there is even more direct than the rest of us according to stereotypes XD I'm more or less from central Germany? The beautiful Odenwald <3 as in, small village close to Mannheim / Heidelberg. Convenient because Frankfurt is still the closest airport with international flights, whee. And yes, I had a lovely visit, thanks! Your recent trip to Japan seemed to have been nice too, according to your comics?
      - K

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    3. Yeah, in the context I guess it would sound kind of contradictory... :( And ah -- Hessen! I've only ever been to Frankfurt briefly but it sounds like such a nice area! Yes, my trip to Japan (Hokkaido and Tokyo) was great! I'd have to think twice about going back to work/live there, but I do love visiting Japan. I always come back a few kilos heavier than when I left...!

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    4. Oops, late answer... sorry!
      I lived in Hessen, but for secondary education I went to Baden Württemberg ;D (you'll find that people living close to borders between the states will feel strongly about having attended secondary in one state or the other. there is actually a ranking of german states for which one is the most difficult / where you have to study the most for your grades and such. Bavaria is by far the hardest, then BaWü on 2, then... others. Hessen and Rheinland Pfalz were both crap, haha. And as I lived just 3km over the "wrong" side of the border in a village with no higher schools, I had to commute anyways). What I meant to say, I somehow feel more connected to BaWü, even though I like my hometown, Frankfurt and Hessen's dialects a lot! (the latter is apparently rare, it's commonly chosen as (one of) the ugliest german dialects. huh. people are strange. or maybe I am, I also totally love all the kansai dialects.)
      Frankfurt is awesome by the way! You should visit it sometimes with more time, nudge nudge.
      Ah, I feel you with those additional kilos after visiting Japan. I manage quite well with everyday live, but when travelling and, you know, /having/ to try all those local specialties... Yup. Coming back heavier is a given. Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit though!

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