I’ve noticed that many Germans here, when speaking English, use the phrase “of course” much more frequently than do English speakers in the U.S. They use it instead of “yeah” or “yes” or “that’s true.” For example:
Me: “Oh, so you’re a teacher! That’s cool. Do you enjoy it?”
New friend: “Of course. I like it most of the time, although I want to do something different next year.”
Or:
Me: “I have noticed that hardly anyone here wears a bike helmet.”
German: “Of course. It is not required by law and people are not in the habit.”
To us native speakers, “of course” connotes that the first speaker should have known the answer, for it was obvious – that the question itself was perhaps a bit dumb. I doubt Germans say this with obnoxious intent, but the Germans do have a reputation for using especially strong language, and this may be an example of it. Indeed, perhaps the reason for their frequent use of “of course” in English is the very common use in German of the word natürlich, which translates literally to “naturally.” The word seems to pop up in nearly every casual German conversation. From what I can tell, natürlich can, but need not, have the same “that’s a dumb question” connotation as “of course.”
I am actually reading an interesting book on the cultural differences between Germans and Americans, in which the author explains that Germans’ directness in speaking is, in fact, a show of respect on their part, in that it reflects their society’s appreciation of clarity and rational discourse, and connotes they take you seriously as a conversational partner.
26 June 2008 at 4:02 pm
Hey Geoff – Just stumbled across your site… Interesting. I do have a couple German/Austrian acquaintances I worked with for a while. Good to hear an explanation of the “of course” thing. I remember that the person’s English was good enough that that rubbed me the wrong way because I assumed they understood how they were using it. Hope you’re enjoying Germany!