Why Germans Look So Sauer
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Umlaut explains why Germans look so sauer
By Auslan Cramb, Scotland Correspondent
GERMANS are regarded as grumpy and humourless because their language includes sounds that make them frown when speaking, it was suggested yesterday.
Prof David Myers, a psychologist, said that the "harsh" language caused Germans to exercise facial muscles involved in frowning and looking sad, as frequently demonstrated by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. For example, umlauts on vowels such as "u" caused the mouth to turn down. The English sounds of "e" and "ah", on the other hand, created happy faces.
Prof Myers, speaking at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, said: "Behaviour and facial expressions have a great effect on the emotions. Research has shown that the facial expression of a person can affect how funny they find cartoons. Even when speaking, movements of the muscles in the face can change a person's mood.
"Saying 'e' and 'ah' activates the smiling muscles in the face and puts people in a better mood than saying the German 'u', which activates muscles associated with negative emotions." Besides giving the Germans a reputation for sourness, this could also "explain why they found it difficult to agree with other members of the European Union.
Prof Myers, from Hope College, Michigan, has just finished a sabbatical at St Andrews University on positive psychology, during which he used electrodes to manipulate facial muscles. He found that people who frowned had a lowered sense of humour.
Dr Robin Lickley, from the linguistics department at Edinburgh University, said: "The stretching of the lips and the cheeks when forming the English 'e' happens in smiling. With 'ah', there is a laughing expression.
The German consulate in Edinburgh refused to comment. The subject was "too scientific", it said.
telegraph.co.uk |
