Cussing on German television

[thisboywonders]

Recently, I've been watching a German TV series (Türkisch für Anfänger) on youtube. It's the first German-language original series that I've ever seen and I had some questions about a certain cuss word that is used.

Comments

[kegel84]

I know the show and I'd say it was considered to be part of youth slang. I think you understand the connotations correctly. I don't think it was a problem, or that it was considered scandalous or something (my parents actually watched that show, too, and enjoyed it.)

I don't think cuss words are generally as much of an issue on German TV as on American TV. The only problematic one that comes to my mind is that you should be very careful who you call a nazi (even though I think they had that one of the kids on the shows say to the other girl, too).

[lied_ohne_worte]

Yep, "Nazi" would be a problem, but probably more in non-fictional programs. If, say, one participant of a political talkshow would call another one, that would cause a scandal.

Generally, the only really difficult things are perhaps statements made in non-fictional contexts that would be a problem in "real life", too, because they constitute insults or are really very unpopular. Anything to do with stating approval of the Nazis or trying to excuse/trvialise their crimes will not go over well. A quite well-known TV moderator, who is of the opinion that women should start focusing on motherhood again (well, all except her, naturally, as she has to promote her message *gag*) managed to get herself fired by stating admiration for the Nazis' family politics. I don't actually think she is a Nazi, but what she said was so fundamentally stupid and uninformed (the Nazis glorified motherhood because they wanted more soldiers and more mothers of soldiers, not because they cared about women and families) that I'm glad she can't spout her

[thisboywonders]

You're right, in the first few episodes, the Turkish girl calls the lead protagonist a Nazi 2 or 3 times.

[di_glossia]

Yep, ficken is a slang term for "to fuck, screw, bang, bugger, etc.". I believe the the current popularity has to do with the influx of English in German, but I could be wrong. Ficken has been part of German since Middle High German.

You can say, "Wollen Sie mich ficken?" (Do you want to sleep with me?) Verfickt- is an adjective that means fucking (verficktes Auto). In den Arsch ficken means exactly what it sounds like.

However, fick dich ins Knie! does not mean to fuck yourself in the knee. Ficken has an older meaning of "to hit", as in ein Kind ficken, "to hit a child".

[rheasilvia]

"Wollen Sie mich ficken?" is grammatically correct, but I find the combination of the polite pronoun and the vulgar term chosen for "having sex with" very unlikely to occur in the wild. ;-)

It's also not a very "sexy" terminology; in fact, without context I'd assume the speaker was thinking someone was aggressively asking if the addressee was trying to put one over on them, rather than asking whether they wanted to have sex with them. But maybe that's just me?

[di_glossia]

Oh, it's very brash, there's no doubt there. It's from a video called Wollen Sie mich ficken? Jetzt gleich on YouTube. A girl gets on a train and asks an elderly man, "Wollen Sie mich ficken?" It has about the same feeling as "Do you wanna fuck me?"

I personally prefer bumsen.

[rheasilvia]

LOL! Ah, I see. :-)

For me it has a stronger impact than "do you want to fuck me" - both because of the bizarre combination with the polite pronoun and because of the usage of the verb itself. For some reason, "fuck" in the sexual sense in English sounds less vulgar to me than "ficken" in the sexual sense. But that really might just be me.

[rheasilvia]

I love that show. :-)

And as previous commentators have said, yes, those words mean what you think they do, and no, it's not a big issue for Germans. I don't think there are any prohibited words as such on German TV, although programs will of course try to stick to language appropriate to the subject and target demographic.

In the case in question, the kids involved would definitely use such language in real life, so they do it on TV, too.

[thisboywonders]

I love it too, haha.

I can't stop watching. Plus, it's great practice for my German.

Can you recommend any other German TV shows (that are readily available on youtube or another website)?

[lied_ohne_worte]

What rheasilvia said. You do occasionally hear words that are "bleeped out" on TV, but I suppose that is mostly dependent on when a particular program is shown during the day. There is no list that I'm aware of of things that may never be said, as I think it is in the US. I must say that I find extensive bleeping somewhat silly anyway, particularly when it is clear that anyone knows what is being said anyway. And children are seldom as innocent concerning swear words as adults would like them to be.

Hi, native speaker here ^^

[aim_of_destiny]

Yes, it's "to fuck" and derivatives; no, German TV does not have a problem with it. :)

In general, you'll find a lot more nudity, sex and swearing and typically less unwarned-for violence in Geman TV than in the U.S. equivalent. There's free-to-watch softcore porn (or "porn", as the case may be) on Eurosport, among others.

The really violent flicks (like, say, uncut "Kill Bill") can only be aired after 10 pm and always come with a warning. "Die nachfolgende Sendung ist nicht für Zuschauer unter 16/18 Jahren geeignet."
...or something to that effect.