This is a tough one...the German government has now recruited celebrities for an ad campaign to push learning of the German language or German "tongue" (as a followup to the German President's announcement that multiculturalism has been a total failure in that country)...any kind of nationalistic push in is often dangerous, particularly given the historical context of Germany...does wrapping the message in a bit of humor with celebrities make any difference? And what other kinds of attitudes and actions are being cultivated in Germany along with this nationalistic push by the president? What's it like today to be non-white and/or not of white German descent in that country?
Any comments?
This is a very debatable campaign and having lived in Germany and studied German for some time, I feel I understand both sides of the issue. It is very difficult for non-Germans, especially non-white non-Germans to integrate in German society, but knowing the language could help so much! A campaign to learn the German language isn’t going to hurt anyone. Germans aren’t telling people to stop speaking their native language; they are encouraging people to know more languages. If anything this campaign is probably intended as a “welcome sign” not a Nazi swastika. It is too easy to point fingers and think those “nationalistic Nazi’s are back at it again.” Encouraging residents of Germany to learn German, if done well, could be wonderful for the country.
ReplyDeleteGerman is not a language that many people around the world speak. With the increased use of English in the media on the internet, the German language is changing rapidly and some say it will soon become extinct. If any other language is headed for its deathbed, people try to rescue it. The German language and structure plays an important part in the roots German culture, in sharing that with others, Germans are sharing their culture. When people are sharing their languages and cultures, there is oftentimes more understanding and more opportunities for intercultural exchange. Also, German is a complex language and learning it could be very difficult without formal classes.
Something you often hear about in Germany are the non-German women living there, mostly Turkish women, who never leave their homes. Without asking one of these women why they don’t leave their homes, many reasons for the behavior can be assumed. Maybe the women are afraid to go out, maybe they are not allowed or maybe they don’t speak German and they are afraid they won’t understand. Only they will know. It is unlikely that they stay in their homes everyday because they hate sunlight and fresh air. Perhaps a campaign to learn German will help those women to feel confident leaving their home and attending a German class. Those women could have a voice and be a part of the country. If this campaign can help anyone to feel more comfortable living in Germany, then it is a very good campaign.
I believe this campaign goes much further than just welcoming non-Germans to the German language. To me, "integration" is more than just speaking German, or English, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt seems there is an entire industry out there that believes wrapping a message in a bit of humor with celebrities makes a difference. I do not feel it makes a difference to me, but then again there are numerous studies which evidence the power of subliminal messaging – so maybe I am equally prey. I would be surprised if that kind of marketing did not work given it is used so often. I am often offended by this type of coercion because, to me, it implies I could not be appealed to or reasoned with rationally and intellectually. This is, to me, is a great example of social marketing – used all too often to persuade young people into buying goods – but not necessarily into “integrating” into a society; therefore I will be interested to see if this soft power works.
This integration push seems to cultivate (or at least encourage) attitudes of conformity, homogenization and cultural abandonment.
To be a non-native German in Germany today apparently means to be an outsider, non-conformist and most generally – NOT German, not welcome, not home.
I see this campaign as relatively harmless in the scheme of things. Not to imply that I don't think that it is meaningful, potentially effective etc., but it certainly doesn't have the same jarring negative impact as the earlier presidential comment about the failure of multiculturalism. In the light of that kind of attitude, this campaign seems like an invitation to make integration in Germany work, in place of a death sentence for multiculturalism. It certainly seems like a better solution to the issues of immigrant populations than the French efforts to deport the Roma people. I understand the point that Brooke makes, and see support for such an argument in the fact that "Mrs Merkel warned of penalties for newcomers to Germany who refused to attend integration classes." Such threats turn a positive message inviting increased participation in German culture and society into a rather sinister imperative. Perhaps instead than imposing strict integration laws, the German government should promote the idea of learning one anothers languages, not just of outsiders learning German. I think an effective way to deal with such diversity would be to engender mutual understanding and cultural knowledge, rather than a one way flow.
ReplyDeleteThis article made me curious about how the Turkish/German people living in Germany feel about recent debates. I found this article and they do express concern for the current immigration and “integration” arguments. At the end of the article, it says:
ReplyDeleteWir appellieren an Politik und Medien, für die gemeinsame Zukunft ihrer Verantwortung bewusst zu werden, das Zusammenleben und Zusammenwirken zu fördern und eiligst einen Neuanfang in diesem Sinne zu wagen.
Or
We appeal to politicians and the media, to be aware of their
responsibility for the common future (shared and united with Germans), to promote the coexistence and interaction, and to venture hastily into a new beginning in this direction. (my translating skills are weak)
Which is followed by 772 signatures.
http://www.tgd.de/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1118
Well I disagree with the idea that there is not a lot of internal politics behind these adds making it seriously harmful advertising. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, learning German in and of itself is not bad. However, having visited Germany and having one my closest friends be an Arab German (i.e. a Woman of Color), the racism underlying the problem is what frightens me. Germans in their discourse on race are far behind where I would like them to be. Generally they follow the White/German/Holocaust Guilt trend without it motivating any real change. It parallel's political correctness here, stifling ever really taking us a step further. No one really speaks what they are thinking or feeling, and things never change because we don't think it's appropriate to speak. We have to be 'politically correct.'
I don't blame Germans for desiring to embrace their language. I have similar desires for Arabic. However, I do fear the underlying alienation Germans of Color will automatically read when they see a blatant patriotic stance. It parallel's the bumper stickers in the streets of Colorado that read, "If you can't read this you don't belong in the country." ---See the website below.
So the question is, is this really a campaign that truly simply wants to fight to preserve a language? Or is there a local German political discourse going on that is much deeper and more detrimental then the obvious message presented?
Let's assume for a second that there is a lot of politics behind the ads. Let's also assume for a second that the successful advertising is powerful. Now, if for a millisecond we attempted to put ourselves in the shoes of those disadvantaged within the German community, I think we can appreciate how scary a bumper sticker like that is, or an add on TV that's marketed well to the general public is. Rallying the general public to aid in alienation in a seductive way. It sounds familiar actually, but I'll let everyone else figure out where the similarities lie.
It’s not hard to believe the German language is threatened. It is hard to understand that Turkish is the linguistic threat to German (Turks are the biggest minority in Germany today). I imagine the linguistic threat is English. However, I'm not German or a German Turk to really know either way. This is simply speculation.
http://www.cafepress.com/+anti-immigration+bumper-stickers?cmp=knc--g--us--pol--bsm--search-b--anti+immigration_bumper+stickers&pid=3607873&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=Politics+BSM+-+US&utm_content=search-b&utm_term=anti+immigration-bumper+stickers&gclid=CO7ej7iFi6UCFQUmbAodbnEMPw
I'd invite anyone and everyone to browse through the stickers. They are delicious!