# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**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, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/41 "2014-12-30T18:52:52Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > 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…) My great Aunt talked to him often; as a kid in Munich she lived in the same building as a buddy of his he used to visit; and later as waitress in Die Vier Jahrzeiten, where he often held court before he was Fuhrer. Too bad I never asked her about that. She was quite amused by the twist of fate, especially considering they killed everyone else in her family. I miss her. ---
**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, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/42 "2014-12-30T18:57:47Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > 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… And what a dancer he was! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/43 "2014-12-30T19:42:47Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > As 1940s movies have taught me, the Nazis did speak English, and they did so with pronounced British accents. So did ancient Romans and ancient Jews, when in fact their accents would have been much closer to The Situation and Gilbert Gottfried, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/44 "2014-12-30T19:47:29Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > Hardly anyone in Britain uses the phrase “Queen’s English” unless they’re trying to make some ironic point. And we all know she’s German, anyway 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kamakiri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f04885/32.png) [@Kamakiri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamakiri)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/45 "2014-12-30T22:46:40Z")
Thanks, all, for your generous and insightful input! I was aware of his British connections and was just really curious as to how he sounded to native speakers; one of you posted a link to a YouTube file. I think I had listened to it by Googling “Hitler speaking normally” (you won’t believe how few entries there were!) but listening to it gave me a very, very creepy feeling. I speak three languages, among them Japanese – I speak it well enough to tell you whether someone comes from Tokyo or Osaka, and French well enough to tell you whether someone comes from Brussels or Paris – but my German is decidedly below high-school level. But upon listening to that tape of “Hitler speaking normally,” I could swear someone had somehow slowed the tape down, but _only when Hitler was speaking._ I know that’s an odd thing to say, but one can hear some weird resonance in his voice – certainly way too low for someone of his stature (wasn’t he, like, 5-foot 7?) that either is something he is deliberately putting on (for who? his generals?) or just is his natural speaking voice. And even hearing it in German . . . it’s just. Plain. Creepy. I can see what people meant (that dog, Goebbels, for example) when they talked about his “oratorical genius.” If you’ve ever heard a speech by Stalin, for example, you’ll quickly realise why he didn’t exactly tour the country making speeches – he sounds whiny and nasal. Bill Clinton – same. Similarly, all the top Japanese people during the war kept THEIR oratory to a minimum. When I listen to the Emperor’s surrender speech, I hear this scraping, almost sheeplike mumble that fits his image perfectly. I think the addition of Hitler’s eyes greatly contributed to his overall impression – when you watch Bruno Ganz in Downfall do Hitler, he does very well, but his eyes lack that basilisk, demonic laser-stare that Hitler’s had that, well, almost could mesmerize you right then and there without a single word. But it’s also a . . . what. Lack of warmth? Flatness? Almost-robotic inhumanity in even Hitler’s “normal” voice that seems to be the key to his power. Presumably that and his chameleon-like adaptability – we all remember that final scene where he pinches that little Hitler-jugend kid’s cheeks and pats him indulgently on the head in the Bunker garden . . . he was all things to all people, a mesomorph of almost uncanny ability. I wish I could go back in time and smash the teacher in the face who denied him entry to the art school he so desperately wanted to get into – except he couldn’t draw people. If Hitler had been granted entry to art school . . . well, that’s for another post. Thanks, guys, every single one of you! ---
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/46 "2015-01-01T15:19:31Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 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? The alveolar trill used to be the standard pronunciation of [R] in Austria and Bavaria at the time. Younger generations have shifted towards an uvular trill, most probably due to the influence of northern German media. The alveolar trill can still be heard in rural areas, but has virtually died out in urban areas. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/47 "2015-01-01T15:46:30Z")
Wasn’t Hitlers oratory style quite dated? It seems like a throwback to the mid to early 1800’s. The forceful gesticulating, spitting and frenzy. Thats quite different from the speeches of his contemporaries like Churchill and Roosevelt. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/48 "2015-01-02T16:06:59Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > And what a dancer he was! Actually, the guy was one of a group of students who had gotten rush seats at the opera, into one of the empty VIP boxes. Then Adolph and entourage showed up at the last minute and bumped them out of their seats; on the way in Hitler stopped and apologized for booting them out, chatted for a little while with them… > [@Kamakiri](#): > > Thanks, all, for your generous and insightful input!.. > > If you’ve ever heard a speech by Stalin, for example, you’ll quickly realise why he didn’t exactly tour the country making speeches – he sounds whiny and nasal. Bill Clinton – same. > > Similarly, all the top Japanese people during the war kept THEIR oratory to a minimum. When I listen to the Emperor’s surrender speech, I hear this scraping, almost sheeplike mumble that fits his image perfectly. > > … I remember Clinton mentioning in his autobiography, almost as a throwaway line, that sometimes before he went off as a Rhodes Scholar he would fill in when the governor couldn’t make it for campaign events. If true, this guy was seriously no dummy and an able political performer very early in life. Also, unlike Hitler or Mussolini, The Japanese hierarchy and Stalin too did not need to stump the country making speeches to the population before or during their reign. Radio was also relatively new to some of the Japanese population, and apparently the surrender declaration was the first time the general population had heard the emperor speak. From some comment I heard about Hitler’s oratory style - someone mentioned he was also a perfect fit as a radio orator - his style worked well on radio, but much as politics changed when television came along, there’s a different style when the visual part is included. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/49 "2015-01-02T16:13:49Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Aside: Mosley was the inspiration for P.G. Wodehouse’s amateur dictator, [Roderick Spode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYWRu8uT8z8). The actor John Turner looks to have modelled his performance on Mosley’s speeches. “Turnips! As far as the eye can see - turnips!” ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/50 "2015-01-03T05:28:51Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > And what a dancer he was! That’s nothing; have you ever seen him paint? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/51 "2015-01-04T15:38:21Z")
It’s not a “screamer,” but there is an old film clip of Hitler making a drawn out _joke_ in a speech that’s a [drawn out list of countries.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjD9v9H2UrU) A number of the names are actually close-ish to the English versions (if vit an accent), so it’s a bit easier for what he’s saying to “click,” if that makes any sense. For actors _playing_ Hitler, in English, Noah Taylor and Anthony Hopkins seemed to capture a similar tone and intensity when they got to do a speech/rant, with Hopkins even getting a bit of the “growl.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/52 "2015-01-06T21:41:37Z")
Bruno Ganz, who’s Swiss, is quite good as Hitler in _Downfall_. To my un-Germanic ear he sounds a lot like the original (even with all of the YouTube parodies since). > [@Flywheel](#): > > “My dog’s got no nose…” “How does he smell?” ---
**Author:** ![kurtisokc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kurtisokc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurtisokc)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335/53 "2015-01-06T23:48:14Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Just like the Russian commander on the “Red October”. Sorry for the nit-pick, but the Soviet commander of the Red October was actually Lithuanian. Apparently Lithuanians and Scots share the same accent. (At least in the “Red October” Universe.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hitlers-speeches-were-in-british-english-what-would-they-sound-like/708335.md?page=2)