Do you think German sounds "aggressive" ???

[linguaholic]

I don't know why but so many people reckon that German sounds aggressive. When having a normal conversation in German (in China), there were quite often some people (other foreigners) asking me if we got an argument or something.

I personally think that German can sound quite rough at times, however it does not sound that aggressive to me.

[Czarownica]

"Rough" is definitely a good word in this case. German is not very soft or subtle  :wacky: I don't think it's aggressive, though, and I think it can be quite beautiful sometimes.

[linguaholic]

That's interesting Czarownica :=) However, I think some Swiss-German dialects are much rougher than the usual "standard german", aka "Hochdeutsch".

[kitkat0124]

I don't think aggressive is the right term to describe it. but maybe a little lesser than rough.  if you will compare it to other languages.

For few mos in germany and hearing it everyday. I agree with Czarownica that it's not soft or subtle. But there is one person, I hear him talking and it's different from others. it seems so sweet. I think it has something to do with his voice.

[Jellyfish]

For people that are not used to hear and understand it it might sound aggressive. I just think it's raw and rough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKtj2apUQXE

[cinderr]

I guess it does. I have heard it spoken in a soft voice and in kindness, though.  I think there are many words that are similar in English and German. :emo:

[altrouge]

Some people who are not used to it will probably think that way, but for me who has heard quite a good amount of German it really isn't that bad. I guess it's a bit rough like you say, but definitely not aggressive. I have one Spanish friend whose accent is just aggressive sounding it sounds like she's shouting all the time, and she speaks quite fast as well. Now that's pretty aggressive.

[GearZ]

Honestly, I haven't found that German sounds rough or harsh.  At least not across the board.  I've heard my wife sing quietly in German many times and it is a very soft and beautiful sound.

[BWL]

Some German dialects can sound harsher than others. I think Swiss German and some of  the Southern accents can sound a little rough. The harshest languages I've ever heard would be some dialects of Arabic like Yemeni and Moroccan, everyone sounds like their ready to pick a fight!

[Cuppycake]

It might sound aggressive to people who aren't used to hearing it. I don't think I've ever heard German in person. I think it would be a lovely language to learn. It sounds unique. (:

[MyDigitalpoint]

I like how German sounds, particularly German from Germany, which is stronger that Swiss German or Austrian German, this latter probably the softer.

However there are many German dialects inside and out Germany and all other German-speaking countries and aggressive tone may come from the wording they use.

[limon]

A little rough, I agree that aggressive is not quite the right description.

I disagree with folks who claim it isn't a musical language though, usually when comparing it to a romance language.

[SpiralArchitect]

Wouldn't call it aggressive as much as it is a rough sounding language. Of course it depends on the speaker but I have noticed that German usually sounds more raw around the edges when contrasted with other languages. The German accent also seems to highlight the roughness.

[Jellyfish]

I guess foreign people often just hear Hitler speaking out of every German who opens his mouth.

[SpiralArchitect]

Nah. I remember seeing interviews after football matches and most German players sounded pretty rough when talking in their native language.

[LauraM]

I never thought of German as sounding "aggressive."  The language came across to me as expressive and dramatic.  I think that's probably due to my early exposure to German opera as a child and a bit later on, in foreign films and documentaries.  I always thought of the language as somewhat theatrical in a good way, in that you could express a range of emotion and the words and the sounds of the words seemed to match the emotions both positive and negative. 

I perceived it as quite different from the mellifluous sounds of the romance languages in which you can say terrible things and still sound quite soothing!

[polybus]

I don't know if German sounds "agressive", but I would say to a lot of English speakers it does sound rough. This is partly because of the guttural sounds but I do think it is partly because of negative associations with hearing German, such as movies with Nazi speeches.

I doubt they would feel quite the same way if we were more used to hearing Miss Germany contestants answer questions for example.

[pxyc]

Yeah, depending on who's speaking. Some people can make anything sound pleasant, and some people sound grumpy all the time. Most native German speakers I've heard do make the language sound aggressive, and some of the words sound to me like someone yelling at another person no matter what it means.

[Jellyfish]

That's odd, a lot of people seem to think like that. People seem to have a pretty odd impression of us anyway.

[evapfromm]

I am a native German speaker of standard German, and I always get offended when I hear someone say that German sounds "aggressive." I personally believe Americans get that stereotype from having seen too many World War II movies. My American boyfriend used to have this belief, but now he admits that the German my family speaks sounds very soft and sweet. Stereotypes sadden me.

[melisapink]

I do think that there is a lot of emphasis on German words, but I wouldn't say aggressive as such. I can see why some people would think so though. There are a lot of languages that would appear the same.

Isn't it strange how we how sound different? 

[caparica007]

To me German sounds pretty aggressive and I think it's because it has a lot of rshhh sounds and similar and that is not smooth in the ear. Your "A" letters many times also have strong accentuation so that possibly helps too.

[Jellyfish]

To me German sounds pretty aggressive and I think it's because it has a lot of rshhh sounds and similar and that is not smooth in the ear. Your "A" letters many times also have strong accentuation so that possibly helps too.

So.. it's the A and the RSH.. I can make some nice German word with that.

[Hank]

As a native Dutch speaker I'm not ashamed to say that Dutch often sound more aggresive than German.

I find that German can actually be quite a soft spoken gentle language.

[Guest isabbbela]

It always depends on who is speaking I think. German sounds strong, almost harsh. But for example, I met a girl from German who was tiny and very sweet, and I would never say she sounded aggressive!

I think German is often spoken loudly, and put together with it being a strong language, and the accent sounding almost 'harsh', I can see how some people may sound aggressive while speaking it.

Now for example, Russian almost always sounds aggressive to me, but that is also because Russian men tend to be that way too.