They can’t help it. It’s in their vowels.
According to work done by numerous researchers it has been shown that saying certain vowels can increase your facial temperature and worsen your mood. The happiest vowel is [i] as in “cheese!” and the unhappiest vowel is [ɯ], the close back unrounded vowel favored by Germans.
If you feel embarrassed to sit at your desk saying “Hee Haw” all day you can consider this more discreet alternative: hold a pencil between your teeth like this:
When I was a kid our family religiously watched Hee Haw. Little did I know at the time that I was practicing vowels that would set me up for a life of happiness. Recently, when I was in Nampula one of the Mozambican staff described me as “that white guy that laughs all the time.” Now that’s something that makes me smile.
Even better than carrying a pencil in your teeth is carrying a pencil in your teeth in an air conditioned room. The studies linked to above also mention the positive effects of cold temperatures for mood, productivity and creativity.
A final option is to listen to this:
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Source: freesound
If this post made you smile, leave a comment (or smiley) in the comments below.
So, Germans are so grumpy?
That prejudice will be the best joke to keep me laughing the next month
: )
Love that a/c. And blizzards.
Oh, get your facts straight! German doesn’t have any unrounded back vowels! I’m a German phonetician, I hate all those superficial smiles, and now I’m grumpy!
So what do you call that tongue-swallowing sound you guys make between consonants?
I’d call that ’schwa’ – or in IPA: [ǝ]
(and in careful speech, some even pronounce it [ɛ])
Hey, thanks for linking to my Oddly Enough blog. Please come back often.
Bests,
Bob Basler
Bob, you rock.
Oliver, I don’t think David knows the difference between Germans and Russians. It’s the Russians who have those unrounded back vowels. Do you know why Russians never smile when they have their photos taken? It’s because they say the Russian for “cheese”, which is something like [sɯr].
*lol*
Thanks, Peter! Made my day …
It’s sad to discover that a German phonetician knows so little about his own language.
Actually, I was probably thinking of [ʊ].
I never learned German since my Mommy wouldn’t let me use language like that.
[ʊ] as in [fʊt]? My foot!
How do you expect to get into heaven if you don’t know the language of Martin Luther?!?
[Now, *that* should start a debate ...]
It’s our other Oliver’s surname that none of us can pronounce.
Fair enough. Otoh, I have yet to meet an English MT speaker who correctly pronounces [ʃte:ɡ͡ŋ̩]