German Students in Malta

        Out of the Mouth of German Babes

This little incident did not happen in class—thank G-d. 

But in my classes, I do tell students that one of the worst things you can call someone to his/her face is “stupid.”  This is sometimes news to German students, as the word stupid doesn’t seem to hold as much negative meaning in their language.

So, the other day I was visiting a Maltese friend in her shop.  She hosts students in her home, and two of her German student residents walked in to say hi to her.  They were young—about 14 years old—two girls.  They had very little English vocabulary, but I was still able to speak with them.

I started joking, asking them if my friend was a good or bad host.  They caught on, and one of them said, “No, she’s so stupid.”

My friend and I both involuntarily bristled at the word. I then went on to explain to the girls to not use the word stupid in English—and why.

They took it in stride. Then one girl asked me, very innocently, “Is it okay to call her a f_____ing asshole?”

I almost fell on mine, laughing.  As I said, I’m asked a lot of strange things in class. I’m glad this wasn’t one of them.

 

Comments

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

I dont know, Sean. I wouldnt go around saying it!---Ilene2009/10/7 typepad typepad@sixapart.com
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Comment:

[Sean]

Hm. I guess "f***ing asshole" doesn't have a negative connotation in German. Good to know!

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Mary, you always say the smartest things. I'm not kidding. I like hearing
your little anecdotes and philosophies on life here, there and everywhere.
BTW, I did something so dumb today in class that I can't even describe what
I was trying to do--but everyone laughed. But I deserved it---Ilene

On Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 4:50 AM, wrote:

[Mary Bartolotta]

The f------hole made me laugh, although I don't know why. I never heard the f word until my sophomore year of college. Yes, I guess I lived a sheltered life in my Irish-Catholic home. Not good to call anyone stupid, idiot, or a moron, but lately it seems ok to say, Don't be --- one of those. However, it's never acceptable to tell another person that they are a few cookies short of the pound or the dimmest bulb in the chandelier although all of the above terms are used all the time when describing acquaintances, colleagues, etc. Good luck to you with all the crazy American idioms. Half the time the people in the USA really don't know the meaning of some of them because each region seems to have its own pet group. Be well.

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Hi Sebastian, Thanks for your question. In English-speaking cultures, the
word "stupid" is just extremely offensive if said directly to one's face. It
seems that implying that one lacks intelligence is just as bad as calling
someone "ugly." The same hold true for "idiot," of course. But idiot is
not used as commonly as "stupid," I don't think. It's one thing to tell
someone (especially a child) that that "what you *did *was stupid," as
opposed to calling the person him/herself "stupid."

On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 6:11 PM, wrote:

[sebastian]

would it be ok to tell outside of the classes why stupid is bad? also i'm curious about the "house md" favourite word: idiot.