Where do cultural myths come from? This simple question is one that has plagued academics over the years as try to understand how we think about nations.
While the English may be known for politeness and the French for being elegant and debonair, the German language is often the lens through which outsiders see Germany and Austria.
Whether aggressive and ugly like the country's fascist past, or stiff and humourless like recent political leaders, there's no end of myths about German speakers and their language.
Though there may be a kernel of truth in some of these, most are simply unhelpful stereotypes that stand in the way of learning German.
Here are five you're bound to hear that are better put out of mind.
1. German is impossible to learn
If you've recently embarked on your German-learning journey, this one you're bound to encounter a lot. Often, it will be sadly acknowledged by fellow learners who gave up a long time ago, or expressed by Germans themselves in some form of solidarity.
Some of this can be traced back to the American author Mark Twain, who spent a great deal of time in Germany and wrote humorously about the trials and tribulations of learning the language.
"My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years," Twain wrote in his famous essay, 'The Awful German Language'.
"It seems manifest, then, that the latter tongue ought to be trimmed down and repaired. If it is to remain as it is, it ought to be gently and reverently set aside among the dead languages, for only the dead have time to learn it."
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Though Twain was being tongue-in-cheek, his assessment of German seems to have had a lasting impact on its international reputation. But while Deutsch certainly isn't the easiest language to learn (we're looking at you, dative case), it's really far from impossible.
So, if you're ever feeling discouraged and are thinking of giving up, we recommend getting acquainted with Hungarian. Compared to German's modest four cases, Hungarian has 18 - and that's before you even get started on the spelling and pronunciation.
2. German makes you sound aggressive
The supposedly angry sound of German has been the butt of many jokes over the years, most of which involve comparing words in Latinate tongues like French and Spanish with words in German - just like in the video below.
Normally, the speakers "demonstrating" the sound of German do their best impression of Adolf Hitler, spitting the words out and half-coughing them in the back of the throat.
Unsurprisingly, this sounds just a little bit aggressive, giving non-German speakers the impression that German really is an angry and unpleasant language.
It's difficult say where this particular myth came from, but it may have come as a culmination of unflattering representations of Germans following the Second World War. The famous scene of Hitler ranting and raving in Downfall, which has since become an internet meme, is one representation of the ferocious German that seems to have taken hold.
The thing is, no language is purely one thing or the other, and hearing Germans speak to their children or tell you about their recent birthday escapades will give you another perspective entirely.
As you continue learning German, you'll also encounter adorable words like Kuddelmuddel (mess), Schneeengel (snow angel) and Schnabeltier (platypus), which perfectly highlight German's sweet, funny and childish side.
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3. Learning German isn't necessary
This defensive stance is often taken by people who feel intimidated about the prospect of learning German - or simply don't want to. In this way, the myth is closely related to the first one we mentioned: that German is an impossible language.
When justifying their choice not to learn German, people might say that everyone in Germany speaks English anyway - which simply isn't true.
Though young people in cities have grown up with American influencers and sitcoms, it's far less common for older people, as well as those in the eastern German states or more rural areas, to have a perfect grasp of English.
Even if you do find yourself speaking English in day-to-day life, learning German is a great way to integrate, better understand the culture, make more friends and generally feel more at home in countries like Austria and Germany.
You may also be surprised to learn that around 95 million people around the world speak German as a first language - including many communities in Brazil, Argentina and the United States - so it could even come in useful on the other side of the world from Europe.
READ ALSO: Six ways to fall in love with learning German again
4. German is an ugly language
Much like the claim that German is an angry and bitter language, the "German is ugly" thing has a lot to do with how Germany and Austria have been perceived in recent history.
In the post-war period, international audiences have been bombarded with presentations of brutish and harsh Germans speaking in a barbaric tongue, miles away from the softly-spoken French or heroic Americans.
In previous centuries, however, German was known first and foremost as a melodic language that was used in great operas by composers like Wagner and Mozart. In the 19th century, the country was also branded "the land of poets and thinkers", awash with literary greats from Johannes Wolfgang Goethe to Rainer Maria Rilker.
"The sensible Germans love to think and write poetry," literary historian Wolfgang Menzel famously claimed in 1828. "And they always have time to write."
READ ALSO: 10 German books you have to read before you die
Even today, German-language literature still has incredible lyricism and depth, and the adaptability of the language lends itself perfectly to poetry. So if you're ever tempted to think of German as an ugly language, dipping into some of this beautiful literature will help rid you of your preconceptions.
5. You can't be funny in German
The perception of Germany as a humourless nation has a very long history, with Mark Twain famously claiming that "a German joke is no laughing matter".
But you only have to delve a little bit into the world of German comedy to know that isn't the case.
Whether it's political satire like the Heute Show or the classic sketches of Loriot, there's plenty of hilarious Germans out there that expose this claim for the myth it is.
In fact, British comedian Eddie Izzard enjoys the German language so much that he's performed shows in the language for more than a decade - even heading on a world tour of his German show Wunderbar back in 2019.
As Izzard himself said in an interview with The Local at the time: "Germans have as good of a sense of humour as anyone. There’s a German comedian Henning Wehn in the UK, and the German people are paying money to have him make them laugh in English. It just shows all this garbage about Germans having no sense of humour is just rubbish."
We couldn't agree more.
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