# If Hitler's Speeches Were in British English, What Would They Sound Like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335 "2014-12-28T03:52:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/21 "2014-12-29T05:02:59Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > Hitler didn’t speak a word of English. I’d be highly surprised if he didn’t have a working knowledge of English considering he spent nearly six months in England before The Great War. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/22 "2014-12-29T05:04:29Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > Munich and Bavaria, from what I understand, from a German perspective was partly rural, slightly rustic, and always felt itself distinctive from the rest of Germany. I’ve heard Hitler’s south German accent as being akin to being Yorkshire in England. His English Accent was Liverpudlian given he spent nearly six months there before the Great War. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/23 "2014-12-29T07:42:38Z")
[This rather good article debunking the story about the Liverpool visit](http://www.roydenhistory.co.uk/mrlhp/local/hitlerinliverpool/hitlerinliverpool.htm) has a particularly telling quote from a 2003 radio interview with Sir Ian Kershaw on the subject. > [@](#): > > There is actually an eye witness to Adolf Hitler’s presence in the men’s home in Vienna in February 1913 at a time when he is supposed to be in Liverpool. Beyond that, the records kept by the men’s home were very careful records and they recorded when people were residents and when they left. Adolf Hitler did actually leave the men’s home just for a few days and they recorded his departure and his return in May 1913, when he left to go to Munich. They again registered his departure. Since the records are so carefully kept, they would unquestionably have recorded a departure of his in 1912 had he been going to Liverpool. In any case, even if you want to believe Bridget Hitler, she claimed that, ‘During his Liverpool stay Adolf hadn’t even picked up enough English to ask directions to the station.’ ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/24 "2014-12-29T11:08:30Z")
To get back to the OP’s initial question, let me give you a brief account of what Hitler’s speeches sound like to a native speaker of German. His pronunciation is quite peculiar (to such an extent that he is very easy to parody and instantly recognisable as the parodied speaker even today); he speaks in a very harsh way, stressing many syllables more strongly than people would normally do, and voicing many consonants in a very emphatic way. I understand that this is what German in general sounds like to a non-native speaker, but he certainly did it more than others. The whole thing gives his speeches a very hard feel to them, but it’s not necessarily monotonous; he did vary the way he spoke throughout his speeches, e.g. to underline certain points. A lot of eyewitnesses who both knew him personally and heard many of his speeches pointed out that he was both charismatic and a rhetorically good speaker. I guess he maintained his pronunciation as a kind of trademark, since he was known to study speeches in great detail before he delivered them. I don’t know of an eyewitness account of what he sounded like in personal conversation, however. As to his accent: He was indeed born in Austria (in Braunau, right across the border to Germany) and lived in Austria until he was 24. I wouldn’t call his accent distinctly Austrian, but it is possible to pick up if you listen for a while that he must come from Southern Germany or Austria (Bavarian and Austrian dialects form a continuum and cannot easily be distinguished from each other unless you’re really into linguistics). This is, in my view, more owing to the way he voiced vowels; his particularly harsh way of pronouncing consonants is neither typically Austrian nor typically Bavarian. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/25 "2014-12-29T12:23:26Z")
Soz Kamariki, no such thing as British English. Around the rest of the globe - y’know, the 6.9 billion who aren’t American, its known as the Queens English or the Mother Tongue. Or simply the English language. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/26 "2014-12-29T12:55:10Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > I don’t know of an eyewitness account of what he sounded like in personal conversation, however. There is a conversation from 1942 between Hitler and Finnish President Mannerheim that was recorded in secret by a Finnish technician: > [@Schnitte](#): > > As to his accent: He was indeed born in Austria (in Braunau, right across the border to Germany) and lived in Austria until he was 24. I wouldn’t call his accent distinctly Austrian, but it is possible to pick up if you listen for a while that he must come from Southern Germany or Austria (Bavarian and Austrian dialects form a continuum and cannot easily be distinguished from each other unless you’re really into linguistics). This is, in my view, more owing to the way he voiced vowels; his particularly harsh way of pronouncing consonants is neither typically Austrian nor typically Bavarian. This is an accurate description. You can tell that Hitler is originally from Austria, but his accent is barely noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/27 "2014-12-29T15:44:49Z")
> [@APB](#): > > In any case, even if you want to believe Bridget Hitler, she claimed that, ‘During his Liverpool stay Adolf hadn’t even picked up enough English to ask directions to the station.’ Everyone know how to ask that - "Please fondle my buttocks."As to Herr Schicklegruber’s speechifying, the German equivalent of the fire-and-brimstone black preacher is how I always thought about it. My German is nothing like it used to be, but my grandmother who spoke German as a child and young woman told me once that he came across to her as harsh and repetitive, but could be mesmerizing if you got into the rhythm. She was never a Nazi, but living in the US meant she only heard him in the newsreels. (Plus her family hated Hitler for his [behavior towards the churches in Germany](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_Adolf_Hitler).) He was easy to parody, but he had overwhelming success, in large part for his oratory as well as his skill in staging spectacles. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/28 "2014-12-29T16:18:45Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > Soz Kamariki, no such thing as British English. Around the rest of the globe - y’know, the 6.9 billion who aren’t American, its known as the Queens English or the Mother Tongue. Or simply the English language. You’d best alert the good folks at Cambridge University Press as they seem to be making right fools of themselves with their [“British English Dictionary and Thesaurus”](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/) website. (To be fair they had probably fallen under the influence of that covert American linguist [David Crystal](http://www.davidcrystal.community.librios.com/?fileid=-4073).) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/29 "2014-12-29T16:35:31Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > There is a conversation from 1942 between Hitler and Finnish President Mannerheim that was recorded in secret by a Finnish technician: That’s an interesting record, thanks for the link. He sounds more Austrian in this conversation than in the public speeches that I’ve heard so far. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/30 "2014-12-29T16:50:31Z")
How would Hitler sound in English? Probably fairly persuasive - at least, to the extent that his (batshit insane) positions permitted. Hitler took political rhetoric very, very seriously - by all accounts, he agonized over his speeches, and he paid attention to what worked and what didn’t. If he were an American politician, he’d probably make a point of sounding much like any other populist American politician, and just polishing that rhetorical method as well as he could. Likewise if he were practicing politics in other bits of the Anglosphere. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/31 "2014-12-29T22:17:19Z")
My maternal grandmother (who was fairly fluent in German and English) always likened JFKs style of address as being a lot like Hitlers. And listening to some of his speeches as an adult, I think I may agree with her. Not intent - just style and patterning. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/32 "2014-12-30T02:30:13Z")
There was a similar thread on this a few years ago. In it I quoted Albert Speer in 1971 remembering seeing Hitler in 1930. Speer didn’t think highly of Hitler going in but left very impressed, more by the mood Hitler created. > **[German Dopers: Do You Find Hitler's Speeched "Mesmerizing" or "Charismatic"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=645516)** > > Granted, we are nearly 70 years removed from the Nazi era-but I ask because I have seen many old newsreel films of Hitler’s speeches. He clearly was a powerful speaker, but he was not physically impressive. Foreign reporters of the period (like... ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/33 "2014-12-30T08:58:25Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > I don’t know of an eyewitness account of what he sounded like in personal conversation, however. It seems to me that a recording of him talking with a foreign dignitary (recorded secretly by said dignitary, Mannerheim comes to my mind but I’m not sure at all) has surfaced. ETA : yes, he was [talking with Mannerheim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_and_Mannerheim_recording) ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/34 "2014-12-30T09:08:08Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > As 1940s movies have taught me, the Nazis did speak English, and they did so with pronounced British accents. Just like the Russian commander on the “Red October”. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/35 "2014-12-30T10:58:35Z")
I am not a fluent German speaker, certainly not with any consistent accent besides American, but I was always struck by his long rolled/trilled “r.” I’ve never heard that from any German. Is that a special hook of his oratory only, like some [Black gospel preaching on a roll](http://youtu.be/3sJLKW1G0t0) has the shwa at the end of rhythmic sentences? Is it used similarly, as a rhetorical aid in hyper moments, which is why I’ve never heard it? ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/36 "2014-12-30T11:23:26Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > You’d best alert the good folks at Cambridge University Press as they seem to be making right fools of themselves with their [“British English Dictionary and Thesaurus”](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/) website. (To be fair they had probably fallen under the influence of that covert American linguist [David Crystal](http://www.davidcrystal.community.librios.com/?fileid=-4073).) Well I’ll be damned. Cambridge. A “British English” Dictionary. The world is surely going to hell in a handbasket. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/37 "2014-12-30T11:42:29Z")
Hitler: A Study in Persuasion Ph.D dissertation, complete on-line, Fred Lutz Casmir tl;dr ETA: direct linky no seem to worky. Link from Google to that title (one of many on H rhetoric) does work for .pdf ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/38 "2014-12-30T13:25:19Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > Soz Kamariki, no such thing as British English. Around the rest of the globe - y’know, the 6.9 billion who aren’t American, its known as the Queens English or the Mother Tongue. Or simply the English language. > [@Ken001](#): > > Well I’ll be damned. Cambridge. A “British English” Dictionary. > > The world is surely going to hell in a handbasket. 😃 Sorry to burst your bubble, but for the other 6.9 billion it is NOT know us “The Queen’s English”. That name is mostly given by Brits or, just to make a point, other English speakers. The concept of British English is well established, in the same way as every other language that is spoken in many countries. In Spanish, for instase, we have a clear difference between Castillian Spanish (general Spanish spoken in Spain) and American Spanish. And in the American continent we have other country varieties. There are 943 000 000 million hits for “British English” in quotations. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/39 "2014-12-30T15:14:58Z")
Hardly anyone in Britain uses the phrase “Queen’s English” unless they’re trying to make some ironic point. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/40 "2014-12-30T18:42:34Z")
I talked to someone once who had a short conversation with Hitler. Sadly that guy is dead now; but he never mentioned the accent, just that Hitler was very charming and polite. (His story of capturing an entire American air crew with a shovel was interesting too…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335.md?page=3)