Line #15 Analysis/GratuitousGerman


1	!! Japanese Perspective
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3	[[GratuitousEnglish English]] isn't the only language the Japanese think is cool. Much of their western vocabulary was adopted from Europe, so not all pronunciation differences stem from Engrish. Quite a few anime series include German words and phrases instead of, or in addition to, English words to add an exotic flair. Like English, the quality of German in an anime series can be [[SugarWiki/SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage quite good]] or [[BlindIdiotTranslation very bad]].
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5	In many cases, German sounds [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench angry]] to most English listeners (and plain annoying/stupid to others), regardless of what is being said; this is rather different from how it is spoken in Germany, where it is more nuanced and even quite pleasant to listen to. Ja! That movie of Hitler getting angry and speaking in German might have something to do with it. The fact that he's speaking with an Austrian accent never dawned upon us, and neither did the fact that Hitler's speaking style is quite unique and hard to comprehend for the average German OR Austrian to begin with.[[note]]That accent wasn't even how Hitler really spoke. He only used it in speeches to sound more powerful. There are a few recordings floating around of his real accent, dubbed his "secret voice".[[/note]]
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7	In Japan, the opposite effect happens. Since the more guttural parts of German cannot be written or spoken in their language, [[LostInTranslation they just disappear]]. The result sounds [[Main/AppearanceIsInTheEyeOfTheBeholder ridiculously sleek and stylish]] by their standards, though bizarre and butchered by many others'. Even common names like Schneider come off so majestic and [[Main/{{Bishonen}} bishounen]]-exclusive, it's a [[Manga/ZatchBell joke]] when they're [[{{Gonk}} not]]. This difference in perception results in German practically fueling RuleOfCool there rather than being PlayedForLaughs. The same thing happens to other languages, like [[Myth/HebrewMythology Hebrew]] losing the throaty parts, contributing to their [[Main/OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] becoming [[Main/BishieSparkle excessively pretty]] even by Japan's standards. [[note]] Unless they are [[AngelicAbomination faithfully terrifying]].[[/note]]
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9	The popularity of German is possibly also related to good relations between Japan and Germany during the 20th century. Or because when Japan was modernizing in the late 19th century, it borrowed heavily from Germany, which was also a newly forming nation-state at the time, and world class in technology and science (e.g., the Japanese legislature is called the ''Diet'' in some countries as it was partially patterned on the 19th-century Prussian ''Diet''. In Japanese, it is apparently called the "Kokkai", literal translation is National Assembly which makes a lot more sense.).
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11	A variation on this trope is that when an anime character is [[ButNotTooForeign mixed Japanese and something else]], the "something else" often turns out to be German. This may result in the character speaking some garbled German at some point.
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13	!!Western Perspective
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15	In Western media, Gratuitous German is often associated with ThoseWackyNazis, but also crops up in philosophy and psychoanalysis - any [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed substitute]] for [[AllPsychologyIsFreudian Sigmund Freud]] will litter his flavour of PoirotSpeak with it. In other words, Everything Sounds Smarter in German, so don't be surprised if he starts talking about how the Kantian ''Ding an sich'' ist inherently incompatible with the ''Weltanschauung'' of the ''{{Ubermensch}}'' because for him, ''[[GodIsDead Gott ist tot]]'', and the ''Wille zur Macht'' ist such that.....
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17	Although both are West Germanic languages and thus closely related, the UsefulNotes/GermanLanguage has kept a bit more of the original comparatively high amount of grammatical inflection than English. This often makes it difficult for foreign language speakers, resulting in frequent and very visible grammatical errors even if the sentence is understandable in general. [[GrammarNazi Never expect the grammar to be proper]]; expect a BlindIdiotTranslation. Another common pitfall is the pronunciation, that contains the ''Umlaut'' (German plural Umlaute) "ä"[[note]]Like a in "cat"[[/note]] "ö"[[note]] Very similar to "i" in "dirt"[[/note]] "ü"[[note]] somewhere between "i" in "pity" and "u" in "butcher" - a similar sound exists in French[[/note]], which are actually sounds that exist in several dialects of English for the most part and "ch" (kind of like Spanish "j") which only exists in Scots. Works that get those right have really ShownTheirWork and most likely had a native speaker look at the German at some point.

Context Analysis / GratuitousGerman