Yeah I’m aware that’s why I’m confused 😅 The German and English R sounds are different but L sounds virtually the same so idk if it has something to do with that.
Also fyi at least in Japan and Korea the stereotype is less about white ppls eyes and more about our long noses, pale skin and obesity. In other words they took a close look 😅
I’ve got no idea why German and English seem to have flipped the trope. I hope someone else can provide an answer here.
I knew about the whiteness, obesity (and body odour?) but the long noses is new to me. Kind of makes sense, there they are, sticking out of your face for everyone to see.
I think it’s 50-50, because the Chinese l sound is pronounced with the tongue in the position somewhere between the Latin r and l sounds. So it’s just as likely to be heard as a “wrong” L or a “wrong” R.
The fun part is that the tropes stick to our own way of pronouncing the letter (r becomes l or vice versa) instead of attempting to pronounce the Chinese sound correctly…
You also make the good point that tropes, stereotypes, generalisations etc often say more about the people who use them then the people they’re aimed at.
Fascinating. The trope in the English speaking world seems to be:
Dang, they got us
Yeah I’m aware that’s why I’m confused 😅 The German and English R sounds are different but L sounds virtually the same so idk if it has something to do with that.
Also fyi at least in Japan and Korea the stereotype is less about white ppls eyes and more about our long noses, pale skin and obesity. In other words they took a close look 😅
I’ve got no idea why German and English seem to have flipped the trope. I hope someone else can provide an answer here.
I knew about the whiteness, obesity (and body odour?) but the long noses is new to me. Kind of makes sense, there they are, sticking out of your face for everyone to see.
I think it’s 50-50, because the Chinese l sound is pronounced with the tongue in the position somewhere between the Latin r and l sounds. So it’s just as likely to be heard as a “wrong” L or a “wrong” R.
The fun part is that the tropes stick to our own way of pronouncing the letter (r becomes l or vice versa) instead of attempting to pronounce the Chinese sound correctly…
Interesting. I’m happy with that.
You also make the good point that tropes, stereotypes, generalisations etc often say more about the people who use them then the people they’re aimed at.
Unfortunately, I have a very bad connotation to people calling out noses. But, I also had Jewish friends as a kid, so…
Funnily enough I wondered about the whole “Jews have big noses” thing myself whilst reading and replying.
https://youtu.be/jNiKU4-ybBc