Yes Archives - understand-culture

A Yes That Becomes a Debt

die Verbindlichkeit
Binding force. Duden’s example is diese Regel hat für mich keine Verbindlichkeit, this rule does not bind me. In business language, the plural Verbindlichkeiten means debts. Verbindlichkeiten eingehen means to take on debts.

die Zusage
Duden gives two meanings. It is a positive answer to an invitation. It is also an assurance that one will act as the other person wishes in a certain matter.

versprechen
To promise.

sich versprechen
To make a slip of the tongue. Duden defines it as saying something other than one intended. With sich, the verb for a promise names a word that came out wrong.

A Yes on the Phone Is Not Enough

German households can buy electricity or gas from the local default supplier, or they can sign a contract with another supplier. For the second kind, the Energy Industry Act sets a form. Section 41b says: Energielieferverträge mit Haushaltskunden außerhalb der Grundversorgung und deren Kündigung durch den Energielieferanten bedürfen der Textform. Energy supply contracts with household customers outside the default supply, and their cancellation by the supplier, require text form. The contract must exist as a readable text that can be stored, such as a letter or an e-mail. A yes spoken on the phone does not meet this requirement. The same section also obliges the supplier to confirm a customer’s cancellation in text form within one week.

Free Until the Signature

Under German law, each side may break off negotiations until the contract is signed. Money spent in the hope of a deal is spent at one’s own risk. A judgment of the Federal Court of Justice of 29 March 1996 shows how narrow the exception is. A printer rented space in a building. The new owner planned to sell the units, and the two sides negotiated a price of 750,000 marks for the printer’s space. From April 1991 to February 1992, the printer paid to convert the rooms. Then the owner asked for 1,000,000 marks, and the sale failed. The court said that such costs can be claimed only if the contract could be taken as certain. Because a property sale needs a notary, the court set a further condition. As a rule, the other side must have acted on purpose, for example by pretending to be ready to sign. The court gave its reason. Liability for an honest change of mind would mean einen indirekten Zwang zum Vertragsabschluß, indirect pressure to conclude the contract.

The Jawort

Germans call the moment of marriage the Jawort, the yes-word. At the registry office, the registrar is to ask the two partners one by one ob sie die Ehe miteinander eingehen wollen, whether they want to marry each other. Only after both have answered yes does he declare them married. This is Section 1312 of the Civil Code. Section 1311 requires both to make the declaration in person, with both present at the same time. It adds one more sentence. Die Erklärungen können nicht unter einer Bedingung oder Zeitbestimmung abgegeben werden. The declarations cannot be made subject to a condition or a time limit. A partner who answers with a joke, a doubt or a condition can stop the ceremony. The newspaper Nordkurier put the rule in one line. Im Zweifel darf die Ehe nicht geschlossen werden. If there is doubt, the marriage may not take place.

The Guarantee Must Be Signed

A German who promises to pay another person’s debt must give that promise in writing. Section 766 of the Civil Code says: Zur Gültigkeit des Bürgschaftsvertrags ist schriftliche Erteilung der Bürgschaftserklärung erforderlich. For the guarantee to be valid, the guarantor must give his declaration in writing. An e-mail is not enough. The same section excludes the electronic form. In a judgment of 17 February 2000, the Federal Court of Justice described the purpose. The form requirement soll den Bürgen warnen und vor nicht ausreichend überlegten Erklärungen sichern. It is meant to warn the guarantor and to protect him from a declaration he has not thought through. Merchants are the exception. Under Section 350 of the Commercial Code, a guarantee that is part of their business is valid without the written form.

Without obligation

To avoid being bound, a German offer must carry an explicit disclaimer — freibleibend, without obligation, or ohne Obligo. The escape has to be stated. Silence does not preserve your freedom, it removes it, which is why Germans are careful about what they put in writing.

The binding offer

Under German law, whoever proposes a contract to another is bound by that proposal — unless he has expressly excluded the binding. The provision is § 145 BGB.

The default is commitment. Once the offer has reached the other side it cannot be withdrawn, and the recipient can bring the contract into existence by saying yes.

A German who makes an offer has already given something away.

Said and done

In general Germans place very high value on reliability. Colleagues who keep their word are considered to be treu (constant, faithful, loyal). A Ja from a reliable person means I really can count on that person.

Germans are particularly aware of the importance of this virtue in their culture. They expect commitments of any kind to be kept. Zuverlässigkeit ist Gold wert – reliability is as valuable as gold.

Ein Mann, ein Wort – one man (person), one word – is a sought-after character trait in Germany, in both the work environment and the private sphere. A quick, but not fully reliable, Ja is considered to be of low value.

Gesagt, getan – said and done. Germans expect words to be put into action. Versprochen ist versprochen und wird nicht gebrochen– promised is promised, and will not be broken. Germans are determined to keep their promises. Ein Ja ist ein Ja – a yes is a yes. Once said, it should be kept.

Pflicht

Pflicht means duty, obligation, liability, responsibility. Pflicht in Germany is a serious matter. Germans have a high level of Pflichtbewußtsein, literally duty-consciousness. Once they have made a commitment Germans feel obligated to meet it 100%. A Pflicht is like a contract.

Eigentum verpflichtet. With property come obligations. Adel verpflichtet. With nobility (gentry, wealth) come obligations. Wehrpflicht. Duty to serve in the armed forces. Rechte und Pflichten. Rights and obligations. Sich aus der Pflicht stehlen. To steal yourself out of responsibility. Jemanden in die Pflicht nehmen. To obligate someone. Pflichtfächer in Schule und Studium. Required courses in high school and university. Seine Pflicht verletzen. To breach your responsibility.

To be obligated. Rechte (rights) are things which are permitted. Pflichten (duties, obligations) are things which must be done. A German chancellor has not only Richtlinienkompetenz, literally guiding rules of authority or policy direction, she is also responsible for executing those policies.

German companies are not only obligated to pay their taxes. The automobile and chemical industries, for example, feel obligated to abide by voluntary environmental standards.

Employees obligate themselves legally to perform their work duties. Pupils and students obligate themselves to complete required courses and be tested in them.

Those professions which are viewed as important role models, such as medical physicians, civil servants and educators, have even a higher level of duty consciousness. Breaking their obligations is a sign not only of professional failure. It would damage their reputation.

For once you have obligated yourself, you cannot go back. Pflichtbewußtsein – duty consciousness – is the only way out.

“They pay their bills“

The German newspaper, Die Welt, complimented the Chinese highly when it wrote that they pay for their Mercedes Benz automobiles on-time. Zahlungsmoral literally means payment morals.

Zuverlässigkeit is not only a human, but also a product characteristic. Germans expect dependability and durability, especially in technical areas. German power producers constantly stress the Zuverlässigkeit of their nuclear power plants.

Infrastructure in Germany is expected to have 100% Zuverlässigkeit. Brown- or blackouts of the electricity grids occur very rarely. The telephone network almost never fails. Lack of reliability in Germany quickly leads to protests by customers and citizens.

Tausend gute Taten machen keine schlechte gut. A thousand good deeds don‘t make up for one bad one. Wenn ich mich auf Dich verlasse, bin ich verlassen. To be dependent on you means to have been abandoned.

Unzuverlässigkeit is the opposite of Zuverlässigkeit. In the German context, to be labeled unreliable or undependable is a serious criticism, a flaw not easily removed. Unreliable people are not trusted, their reputation is damaged. It is the same for unreliable products.

If commitments are not met it is imperative to prove that external factors were the cause. Unzuverlässigkeit – unreliability – costs time and money and increases risk, which Germans do their best to keep at a minimum.

A German reporting from a state in the former Soviet Union: “The same problems keep repeating themselves. Aspects of important agreements are changed suddenly, which is not a problem as long as everyone is informed quickly. In team meetings we agree to a schedule, which shortly thereafter is not held to due to delays in the delivery of material, which had been ordered two weeks late. When we then contact other sources we find out that they are out of stock. Our work processes get written down, but within a month or two no one knows where they are or what they mean.”

Germans have great difficulty dealing with lack of reliability. Even with their own high standards do they have their problems. Compared to other countries, public transportation in Germany is very reliable. But not dependable enough for the Germans. The same goes for weather forecasts, an imprecise science. Not reliable.