You mean badly translated subtitles? Yeah, they are pretty common. Just yesterday I watched a movie with German subtitles where they translated "you're full of shit" literally, although there's no such saying in German. The dubbing often has better translation than the subtitles, but sometimes it can miss the point, too.

???

Ah, yes, there's this stereotype too (which is indeed more prevalent), but there's also this other stereotype I've seen on the internet that Germans do have humour, but nobody else understands it (guess 2 similar versions about a particular stereotype can co-exist...). I personally am more inclined to this 2nd version of the stereotype, because, as I've been trying to learn German for the past few years (took a beginner level at the university, and German was offered as a language in my lyceum and took it then -I should really go somewhere more institutionalized though, like Goethe institute, indeed...), I browsed through the internet a few times to find educational resources for German and also to learn more about German culture, and the consensus from non-Germans learning the language was that German humour does exist, but most non-Germans don't get it, because it's a weird kind of humor (I've seen it compared to British black humour, which I indeed do not like much...).
So in short, according to this 2nd stereotype, to someone that doesn't understand German humour, a German person might seem like he doesn't have any humour, because he doesn't have much of the humour non-Germans understand more and prefer (plus, some German humour is untranslatable to other languages because it depends on wordplay)... So, a clarification from a proper German sure would be welcome in that sense (that is, maybe there's some German humour that can be translated well to other languages and understood)...

I am interested in Return to Castle Wolfenstein.


What I like about Germany (and miss it when abroad for holidays or business) is German bread.
Admittedly, there are a few "German Bakeries" outside of Germany, sometimes you can even get good bread in supermarkets like Morrisons, but it is not quite the same.

I could imagine that ridiculing others directly (or teasing them with what appears to be more or less veiled insults) as a form of (harmless) humor is more common in others countries, and a German could easily be confused or offended by jokes like that, coming across as touchy. Is that what the stereotype is about, maybe?

! Or if you want it with subtitles, [url=https://www.youtube.com/user/71ComedyInt/videos]here you are.

Beer, of course!:D

Freedom, Family and Good Health are the things i like most about Germany at the moment.As well all know those things have been different in the past here and can always change in the future.No matter where you live freedom can never be taken for granted.Freedom, Family and Good Health to everyone around the world, especially now to our friends in France.Je Suis Paris.

Thx for the giveaway, very cool.I'm in for Quake 2 since it is a game i can't purchase on GOG.Censorship.Now that is something i don't like about Germany or anywhere else.

Absolutely no idea. Most Germans I've interacted with do seem to both understand humor, and be able to tease just as much as I did, though that does require to know the other a bit better. It could have the same roots as the whole "German Discipline" stereotype, since Germans are often portrayed as cold and efficient machines.

This could be an interesting discussion about stereotypes, and whether they are embraced by the ones being stereotyped, but best if we keep it outside this thread.

That's an example for mediocre German television, not for German humor. ;)

You're right, back to to giveaway!

Hello, thank you for your great giveaway !!

I'm in for Quake 2

In Germany I like
- German Football
- classic culture (Beethoven, Bach etc.)
- landscape ! (alpine scenery , german forests
- liberality and freedom

Sorry for not seeing your reply earlier, but not all my reply notifications work today... Anyways, better late than never I guess... What I meant by "German" humour is a kind of humour that is typically German, and doesn't exist in other countries or if it does exist it isn't as prevalent. What usually comes to my mind when thinking of German humour is thus a humour similar to the British black one, or jokes based on wordplay, untranslatable thus to other languages (and this although other languages have wordplay jokes too). In case that is of any comfort to you, although I can usually (but not always) detect irony and veiled insults as being joking, I don't like this kind of humour, and personally whenever I use irony, I use it when I'm annoyed by something, that is not in humour, but in annoyance/anger...

Will check these out, maybe they'll help me see more of that famous German humour -and thanks for providing the subtitiled version, as I'm not sure if my oral comprehesion is as good as the video might require yet...

edit-@ Leroux just saw you said to JMich his link includes rather mediocre humour-so should I check it out anyways, or will I get the wrong ideas if I do so?

Thanks a lot for this great giveaway! I hope you know, that we can buy Quake 1 and the Doom series. Only the Wolfensteins and Quake 2/3 are region locked.

I'm in for:
1. see my avatar -;
2. Quake
3. Quake 2

What I like about Germany:
- German language
- Bundesliga and our Nationalmannschaft (national football team)
- Autobahn
- german cars
- our culture
- our landscape

Danke!

Because the dubbing studios seem to hate regional accents that differ much from the standard northern pronunciation and because his accent sounds funny to most people.

You mean David, Hoff, right? Apparently he finally got around to changing his name.

As a purist in regard to a lot of things, I can understand this absolutely valid sentiment. I also tend to watch almost everything with the original audio.
However, I also believe that translation (or localization) is an inherently positive thing and an art form in and of itself. It would be a horribly limiting thing if every book in the world were to be prevented from receiving a translation into another language. After all, this is also, from a certain point of view, a destruction of the original work of art, since all of the actual author's prose is essentially discarded and some elements won't work at all in another language. This is where the artistry of a good translator comes in. Someone who is able to make up that deficit and preserve the original's intent and effect, even if changes are necessary to make it fit.

Look at it like this: When watching a movie in a language that you do not speak, even with subtitles, a lot of the nuances and subtleties of any given performance or dialogue will be lost, anyway. This is especially true for comedies.
Like the book translator, a talented team of voice actors in combination with a quality script can be capable of transferring these things.

Well , i would enter for Quake 2 but i'm not for Germany so i'm not participating .

+1 for this giveaway .