Sublime Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Or you have no sense of humor? :eek: Maybe.... I think it's the translation thing. I could be wrong. Of course Germany as a nation was lampooned for having no sense of humor on South Park. So perhaps I'm not the only one who thinks that way. The pic of Hitler with the kid made me wonder - anyone know what happened to the Hitler Youth kids getting Iron Crosses in late April 45? The famed last pic of Hitler, patting the kids cheek as he gives out medals outside the Fuhrerbunker? Whatever happened to them were they all killed, does anyone know? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poesel Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 ... Of course Germany as a nation was lampooned for having no sense of humor on South Park.... The pic of Hitler with the kid made me wonder - anyone know what happened to the Hitler Youth kids getting Iron Crosses in late April 45? ... South Park? At least Monthy Python if not much longer. IIRC the kid survived. I think I once saw a documentation with him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Examiner2 Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 The pic of Hitler with the kid made me wonder - anyone know what happened to the Hitler Youth kids getting Iron Crosses in late April 45? The famed last pic of Hitler, patting the kids cheek as he gives out medals outside the Fuhrerbunker? Whatever happened to them were they all killed, does anyone know? I actually am curious as to this as well. Sorry for the thread hijacking. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFF Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 :D ... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFF Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Hitler jams with Mumford and Sons? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasMorbo Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Germans DO habve humour. But a completely different one compared to the British. And it is much less present in all day live/conversations. My own little explanation is this: It is all about the language. German is much more precise, has much more words for different items and so on, while English has many words with many different meanings, depending on context. So to me it seems, it is much more easy to play with words in English than in German. There are so many covered funny meanings in the British language, it is astonishing to me. So it is much easier to build not-so-harmeless sentences into an all day conversation. My two cents on cultural awareness. Cheers Olf 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'd like to add I was born and lived in Germany, as an American. We lived off base the entire time, so most of my friends there were Germans. So they do have a sense of humor, though it seems Germans pick the most awful of American cultural influences to enjoy ( at the time Milli Vanilli was huge with my German friends..?) But yes English is perhaps more flexible. It lacks many of the rules of German or Spanish, etc. And so we can make up words, etc all the time. The Germans not having a sense of humor I think is just a cultural thing that stems from the image of shouting Prussian officers with dueling scars. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agusto Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Germans DO have humour. As long as you dont mention the war! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I think English is probably easier to make jokes in than many other languages, because of its mongrel nature. We've stolen words from all over the world, for more than a millenium to get to the current state of the language. Combined with some of the class distinctions in language, adoption of jargon and regional dialects, and aided by the lack of needing to "agree" adjectives with gender, and the minimal declension of verbs, we end up with a large selection of homonyms, homophones, synonyms and the like to riff with. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I think womble has put his finger on it. Britain was easy to invade from the Continent (Churchill had an interesting theory why this was so). For a couple thousand years it was like a party to which everyone was invited. And when they came, either as conquerers or more recently as refugees, they brought their languages with them. Modern English is like a big stew pot that is continually receiving contributions of whatever is in the kitchen. This gives it a very different character from those languages that have evolved over a long time in relative isolation. There are huge numbers of ways to say almost anything in English with subtly different colorations of meaning and connotation. But at the same time it is very difficult to master the tool set that is English. Hence the frequently wretched attempts at expression one encounters on the web...such as on this very board. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeDog Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 For anyone interested in the subject, I highly recommend "English and How It Got That Way" by Bill Bryson. It doesn't go into as much detail as some other more scholarly works I've read; It's a causal read, not an academic tome. But it's wonderfully entertaining and for the lay reader, I think it's a very good survey of the history of the English language in all its beauty and absurdity. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agusto Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Hence the frequently wretched attempts at expression one encounters on the web...such as on this very board. I think it is great though that english is such a common second language, enabling people from all around the world to communicate with each other. Probably english was the most useful subject i had at high school. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedorf81 Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Is there anyone else that considers what it looks like Hitler ("The old wanker") is doing when the banjo is removed from this clip? Or is it just my dirty mind ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 How subliminal! Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 My own little explanation is this: It is all about the language. German is much more precise, has much more words for different items and so on, while English has many words with many different meanings, depending on context. So to me it seems, it is much more easy to play with words in English than in German. There are so many covered funny meanings in the British language, it is astonishing to me. So it is much easier to build not-so-harmeless sentences into an all day conversation. I dated a girl from Germany once. She was endlessly amused by double entendres when speaking English and rarely missed an opportunity for one :cool: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Or is it just my dirty mind ? .................. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I think it is great though that English is such a common second language ... ... including some folk for whom it should be their first 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 There are huge numbers of ways to say almost anything in English with subtly different colorations of meaning and connotation. One of my favourites in that vein is Wilde's take on manners: “A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally.” 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Joch Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Churchill was one gentleman who knew how to wield the english language like a scalpel: Q. Who was Lady Astor and what was her relationship with Churchill? A. Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, b.1879, first woman Member of Parliament (elected 1919, served until 1945) and wife of Waldorf Astor. She was an American, born in Greenwood, Virginia. You can find out more about her in an Encyclopedia. Although a Conservative, like Churchill after 1924, she clashed often with him over Dominion Status for India and British relations with Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. She was a strong backer of the appeasement policies of Prime Ministers Baldwin and Chamberlain. The famous exchange between them is apparently not apocryphal, as we had previously believed: "Winston, if I were married to you I'd put poison in your coffee"...."Nancy, if I were married to you I'd drink it." This occurred during a weekend house party at Blenheim Palace in the early 1930s. Another amusing encounter in the House of Commons is reported to have occurred as Churchill was orating about mankind, saying "Man" this and "Man" that. Every time he would mention "Man," Lady Astor would interject: "...And Woman, Mr. Speaker...And Woman!" Finally Churchill is supposed to have exclaimed, "In this context, Mr. Speaker, the understanding is that Man EMBRACES Woman." This did not improve his relations with the Noble Lady. http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/speeches/quotations/quotes-faq 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeDog Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Churchill was one gentleman who knew how to wield the english language like a scalpel: Indeed. One of the best Christmas gifts I ever received was a CD containing recordings of a selection of Churchill's speeches. He was quite the orator. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 "Around the Horne" was a notorious radio programme for double-entendres in the 60's ... incidentally double entendre is not an expression in modern French. This from Wikipedia Round the Horne featured a parody a week, several catchphrases, and many memorable characters. The show often opened with a deadpan delivery by Horne of "the answers to last week's questions" - questions which had never been asked, and which were laced with (what were for BBC Radio at that time) incredible double entendres and sexual innuendo, such as "First, the 'Where Do You Find It?' question. Well, the answer came in several parts, as follows: wound round a sailor's leg; on top of the wardrobe; floating in the bath; under a prize bull; and in a lay-by on the Watford Bypass. At least, I found one there - couldn't use it - it was covered in verdigris. I gave it to the Scouts, actually, and they exhibit it proudly next to a daguerreotype of Baden-Powell's woggle." 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Churchill was one gentleman who knew how to wield the english language like a scalpel: Churchill and George Bernard Shaw used to like to trade quips. Once Shaw sent Churchill a telegram that read: "Have reserved at box office two tickets for the opening night performance of my new play for you and a friend. If you have one." Not to be outdone, Churchill replied: "Impossible to make opening night. Will attend second night. If there is one." Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonRocko Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Maybe.... I think it's the translation thing. I could be wrong. Of course Germany as a nation was lampooned for having no sense of humor on South Park. So perhaps I'm not the only one who thinks that way. The pic of Hitler with the kid made me wonder - anyone know what happened to the Hitler Youth kids getting Iron Crosses in late April 45? The famed last pic of Hitler, patting the kids cheek as he gives out medals outside the Fuhrerbunker? Whatever happened to them were they all killed, does anyone know? The kid who gets his cheek pinched in that famous clip, survived. I saw him on a documentary, made around 2000,telling his story. Sorry, I can't recall what show it was. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Damn. You're the second person in this thread mentioning that. Now I really wanna know. So what'd he say? Hitler had a weak pinch? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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