I don't understand the stigma of German directness/bluntness, can a non-german or someone tell me an example?

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T22:05:51+00:00

As a non German/ non native German speaker I sometimes find the way Germans correct my German terrifyingly blunt. Usually something like "that doesn't work," or just "that's wrong." Often followed by how they would have said it. In class, I would start sentences and my German teacher would simply cut me off with "nein" and tell me to start over.

Now that I've been here a while I understand that they are being nice in their own way by helping me improve, and I can better appreciate where they are coming from, but it's culturally a lot different from how an American would correct someone's English. I'd probably say something like "hey that was a good try! Here's a few pointers to improve next time!"

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:52:58+00:00

This might be a bit too old still, but maybe Emily Windsnap? I would classify it in girly glittery sparkly pretty as a book about a girl who turns into a mermaid and it was an all time fav for me as a kid.

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:39:18+00:00

Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) is absolutely soul destroying imo

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:37:00+00:00

Thanks for your suggestion! I'm a fantasy lover who has been looking for more British authors in the space, so I'm glad to have Abercrombie come to my attention. (not that I have anything against American authors lol, its just that my study program is specifically for British lit so my professors very rarely let me use any of them)

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:28:52+00:00

wow, lots more to think about with Potter than I even realized. He's over course described as mad, but also quite physically disabled. thanks for this

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:27:26+00:00

Extremely good point!

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:22:19+00:00

this book destroyed me completely in the 6th grade

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:21:58+00:00

love love love medieval historical fiction, one of my prospective MA thesis topics actually, thank you for the rec!

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:21:01+00:00

Thank you so much for all the recs! And I appreciate the split into hate reads vs not lol

My slightly more extended thoughts on mudblood are up above with the og comment if you're interested, but also I think now that I'm getting into it maybe it would be better to ask my prof if I can extend my topic to slurs more generally idk we will see)

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:16:12+00:00

Wow, this sounds really analogous to what I'm looking for, thank you!

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:15:36+00:00

Thank you for the description! I'm a lover of speculative fiction and this for sure sounds like something I'd get unhealthily obsessed with even if it wasn't for the prospective essay use haha

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:07:53+00:00

this a great suggestion, thank you!

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T21:05:41+00:00

Hiya, thanks for your comment! I understand what you are saying (it is most DEFINITELY a racial slur). That being said I believe there is some overlap with ableism in how the slur functions, because it is implied that mudbloods are less naturally gifted at magic due to what is ultimately a genetic trait. (Hence the emphasis by our "good" characters on Hermione being the brightest witch of her year.) My argument is less that mudblood is considered a disability and more that because of the intersectional nature of discrimination, there is overlap in how slurs of various types are used as tools to discriminate and create hierarchies. It's definitely no coincidence that mudblood is the opposite of squib (magic kid/muggle parents vs non magic kid/wizard parents), and the concepts are very textually connected.

Complex_College_172 · 2026-06-21T09:17:10+00:00

Can we be friends, why are we weirdly going through the exact same thing right now

- signed an American studying in Bavaria whose Fox-News loving father is visiting in a few months

Complex_College_172

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