Deutschland Forum < Are Germans rude??

  • response to: are Germans rude

    Aufgegeben von Gelöschter Nutzer in Deutschland Forum  

    Hello. I was reading everyone’s response yesterday to your interesting question and was hooked.

    I did a little research on the topic and found this awesome link. It's a pretty detailed paper, scientifically written by a university student in the foreign language studies program at the University of Texas. This study took years. It’s really a book of interviews on the subject and broken down for us to understand.

    Basically it's about stereotyping in both directions. The typical stereotype is that Germans think Americans are superficial, too friendly, too casual and ignorant...while Americans can think of Germans as cold and rude. Actually the result of this study is pretty amazing. It’s not what you would think. It's all about how each of us are socialized in our environmental culture. We 'perceive' others according to how we were raised. Germans and Americans were raised with a different set of rules' and because we don't understand each other...we can create misunderstandings that result in anger.

    I think the key here is to understand where each culture is coming from. Our ways are very different than Germans. We do things differently. We go about establishing relationships differently…everything is different.

    Read this article...it's fascinating. It really opened my eyes. I have a lot of new German friends…and I think I understand them better. My friends are very nice…but can come across kind of “stiff and formal” to me. Now I understand why. The directness is just part of the culture…not being rude at all.
    Anyway, for everyone whos reading this thread... I'm really thankful I came across this... If you live in Germany or have German friends…do yourself a favor and read this.

    here's the link: http://langlab.uta.edu/german/personal/rings/Americans.And.G
    ermans/Intro.html

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