Germany – Page 16 – understand-culture

Passive form

When Germans learn English they are told to avoid the passive form! Active form: “Joe fixed the car.” Passive form: “The car was fixed by Joe.” In Germany the passive form is far more common than the active.

Even when the subject – Joe – is known, Germans still tend to use the passive form: “The car was fixed” (leaving out poor Joe altogether).

Or the Germans will use the so-called one-form: Man wird sehen – one will see – instead of Ich schaue mal – I will take a look. The passive and the one-form are meant to signal objectivity, a distance between messenger and message.

Term paper

German universities have clear guidelines concerning term papers and the formal presentation of their results. Objectivity and precision (accuracy) are a must. Statements not supported by sources are considered invalid.

The focus of the presentation should always be on the subject matter. The discussion thereafter serves the purpose of delving deeper into that subject matter in an objective, impassionate, and academic way.

Distanz! – literally: distance. Personal pronouns (I, he, she, they, we) are avoided, in order to avoid “drifting into subjectivity.” Instead the passive form is expected. German professors watch very closely. Not following these guidelines leads to lower grades, or worse.

Frank und frei

Honest

Honesty. Honorableness. Straightforwardness. Truthfulness. Candor. Directness. Fairness. Honesty is often confused with impoliteness.

In Faust II (1832) written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany‘s greatest writer, Baccalaureus is criticized for being rude, rough, abrasive. He responds with: “Those who are polite in German are lying“.

Literal: In the truest sense of the word; without interpretation. “He literally took apart the automobile, piece by piece.“

Euphemism

A euphemism is a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing: pre-owned car instead of a used car; sex worker instead of a prostitute; in between jobs instead of unemployed; senior citizen instead of old person; underserved neighborhood instead of impoverished neighborhood.

frank und frei

Literally frank and free, as in “Let me speak frankly and freely with you”. The term ‘frank’ is an age-old German word for free. The Franks were a Germanic tribe which successfully withstood the influence of tribes migrating from the Nordic countries into what is today’s northern Germany. Frank as a male first name was derived from Franko: a member of the Franks, meaning courageous, free.

No Cult of Personality

Germans reject any form of cult of personality. They know relatively little about the men and women running their largest companies. High level management in these companies seldom participate in the marketing of products and services. How would the Germans have reacted to the Dr. Z television ads in the U.S. years ago?

Friend. Freund.

What is a friend?

MerriamWebster online writes: a person who you like and enjoy being with; a person who helps or supports someone or something; one attached to another by affection or esteem; a favored companion.

Middle English frend, from Old English frēond; akin to Old High German friunt friend, Old English frēon to love, frēo free. First Known Use: before 12th century. Among its synonyms are alter ego, amgo, buddy, chum, compadre. comrade, confidant, crony, familiar, intimate, pal.

What is a Freund?

dwds(dot)de writes: Vertrauter, someone you can trust; jemandem innerlich verbundener Mensch, a person who is especially close to another. Old High German (8th Century) vriunt, friend, next closest, mate, relative.

This is not the place to address how Americans and Germans diverge in the understanding of friend, friendship, what it means to be a friend. But here is a thought:

Is it not the true friend who has your best interests in mind, and therefore is willing to risk the loss of your friendship in order to convey a message which is painfully important for you to hear?

Formulated differently: What true friend, who sees that you are on the wrong path, would not speak to you about it?

Oliver F.

A German. Consultant. Expertise in several areas. Primarily in change management. This guy is very experienced and very good. The following statement is on the landing page of his website:

“My great strength is putting my finger in the wound. And I consider it to be the right, effective, honest, professional thing to do. To say what I think. I enjoy pointing it out to people when the king is wearing no clothes, especially when his clothes are being praised by the people.

I do this with folks both at the top and the bottom in organizations. From C-Suite, to middle management, to colleagues in sales, all the way down to folks working on the factory line. In each case I do so in the language they speak and understand, and making sure that directness and truth take center stage.”

VW is not Alfa Romeo

When a car is designed for the German market the focus of both maker and consumer is primarily on technical requirements, features and overall performance.

A Volkswagen, for example, is not an Alfa Romeo. Functionality is more important to Germans than beauty and elegance. Sachlichkeit – dispassion, objectivity, relevance, practicality – trumps emotions. As the Germans would say: Ordnung ist das halbe Leben – literally: order is half of life.

German children learn at an early age, in grammar school, that a presentation should be objective, unemotional and topic-oriented. They should speak in an even tone. Be objective, not emotional. The agenda and structure should be clear.

The German understanding of order is taught early, reinforced throughout one’s life, and then passed on to the next generations.

Warning: Manipulator!

Germans are very wary of any form of emotional manipulation. It is considered indecent and unprofessional to appeal to emotions. If at all, emotions are spoken to in a subtle, rational way. Playing on emotions is not persuasive. Germans very quickly become suspicious.

In the media, politicians, business leaders and journalists alike criticize each other for using populism – appealing to emotions and deeper fears – in order to influence public opinion. Sweeping statements, crude generalizations and blanket placing of blame are considered to be insulting, counterproductive and inappropriate.

Speakers who try to get their message across via emotions such as sadness, anger or happiness are not taken seriously by the majority of German listeners. Speaking to the emotions of the masses is viewed very negatively. The German media warns time and again about its dangers.

Leaders in politics and business take a cool, rational, objective, almost clinical, approach to persuasion. When German banks and financial institutions are criticized harshly for suspected manipulation and greed they defend themselves by claiming that their critics are populists and that the problems are far too complex to be generalized.

Avoid using I

The Germans avoid using the word I. Whether in letters, postcards or emails, a sentence should never begin with I. Germans prefer to use either indirect speech or the passive form.

Especially common in German is the use of the word man or one. Germans believe that they should not speak too much about, or directly refer to themselves. To place yourself in the middle of attention is considered to be self-centered, not objective, and therefore not persuasive.

There is a German figure of speech: Der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst, literally meaning the donkey always names itself first. German children are taught to say: Hans und ich … instead of Ich und Hans. Hans and I, instead of I and Hans.

German schools teach their pupils to remain analytical, objective and to leave themselves as individuals out of the discussion. Textbooks explicitly avoid the word Ich, instead recommending: “The logical conclusion follows, that …”. Or “From based on the presented arguments, one could draw the conclusion, that …”. Or “It should be noted, that …”.

sachlich

Germans strive to be sachlich or objective, business-like, factual, to the point, matter of fact. To be sachlich means to focus on the matter while leaving emotions out. A sachlich report, critique, comment, argument, judgement. Sachlich also means to leave out superfluous or gratuitous language. To be sachlich is to get to the point.