Watching old movies I never knew whether to laugh or cry when German soldiers appeared speaking English even amongst each other. Was the viewer deemed to dumb to realise that this doesn’t make any sense? A film almost entirely in German on UK tv was a big step when Deutschland 83 started, but having it introduced in (some kind of) German is really sensational. Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Let’s hope it’ll make German more popular again in the UK.
Andreas G. Wolff, MA – Videojournalist & Polyglot
BBC Correspondent in Argyll, Scotland and Europe/ Lecturer/ Languages: DEUTSCH, ENGLISH, GÀIDHLIG, ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, PORTUGUÊS, РУССКИЙ, GAEILGE, SVENSKA, 中文/ Fear-naidheachd, Fear-camara, Fear-cànain/ Deutscher Journalist und Kameramann in Schottland
Andreas G. Wolff, MA - Videojournalist & Polyglot 
Difficult one this: should dramatic license allow unlimited “speaking in tongues”. After all, do we bridle when Romeo and Juliet speak Shakespearean English? Here in Germany everything is dubbed which is an accepted cultural practice I suppose. Less easy to swallow, though I am not sure exactly why, are German dramas filmed in the UK (usually Cornwall, occasionally Scotland though) where all the actors are unblemished blonde Germans dressed in tweeds. I saw a bunch recently in Bruar “taking tea” improbably clad in stuff doubless recently purchased there. My wife (German) bought me a Bavarian looking collarless jacket (Jancker) to wear to a conference which allowed the session chair a few guffaws at my expense. Next time I wear my hey-you-Jimmy bonnet………….
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Hi Rod, Don’t see a problem with Shakespearan English. Haven’t ever watched the series you refer to, but it sounds hilarious. What’s it called? I had a Janckerl once as well (being a Prussian :-)). Suppose that’s as problematic as an Englishman in a kilt. Then again I have one of them, too, because I need it as a choir uniform. So keep wearing the Janckerl!
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I suppose the ultimate uniform test are the bewilderingly various face and head coverings adopted by some cultures in the name of religion. Some impulse within those of us brought up to with other dress codes finds these garments somehow threatening. The French most notably have tried to ban them in schools and UK and Germany are now imposing similar bans in court, I believe. I can well remember my unease (we lived in Edinburgh) at granny (Harris) wearing her black beannag to church after grandpa died; but maybe the parallels are far-fetched. Banning burkas has given extremists a concrete example of alleged French anti-Muslim attitude: so why not play a dead bat?
BTW ZDF Cornwall films are written by a Mills&Boonesque writer little known in her native England, Rosamunde Pilcher. Is Germany so lacking in boring schmalz they need to import it?
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Sorry, I’m no expert in Schmalz. I do agree though that the burka is a step too far.
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