Small talk’s not in German vocabulary

It is not rudeness which leads to German abruptness, it is a desire for security.

GERMANS may seem rude and humourless but their direct approach stems from a chaotic history, according to the country’s leading cultural institute.

The Teutonic tendency to come to the point and make little effort to disguise true feelings in polite language does not mean that they are ‘‘bossy’’ or abrupt, the Goethe Institute suggests.

It actually reflects a deep-seated fear that careless chitchat might unleash another bout of hyper-inflation, civil war or fascist dictatorship.

‘‘Germans never leave anything to chance,’’ explains a short video by the Goethe Institute for business students learning the language and culture of a people whose vocabulary does not even include a phrase for ‘‘small talk’’.

‘‘Germany used to be divided up into lots of states so each one was constantly surrounded by enemies. They could never take their safety and stability for granted,’’ an instructor explains.

‘‘Germany has also often experienced hard times through the centuries since then – chaos, wars, depressions.’’

It is not rudeness which leads to German abruptness, it is a desire for security, the institute suggests.

Websites for British expatriates living in Germany reveal a cultural misunderstanding. One comment read ‘‘Are most Germans in the work place rude, stuck-up and unfriendly or what?’’ Another said: ‘‘I guess it’s cultural, but I’d much rather work in an office where people are polite to each other. I also like when store clerks smile and hand me my change, rather than dumping it in a dish on the counter.’’

Not everybody agreed, however. One said: ‘I find being ignored if that person has no interest in talking to me refreshing . . .’’

Juliane House, professor of applied linguistics at the University of Hamburg, said small talk was regarded as ‘‘empty verbiage’’ by Germans. ‘‘Saying things like ‘It’s nice to meet you’ are rarely meant the way they are said,’’ she said.

From a German perspective, pretending that you enjoyed meeting someone comes close to deceit.