How did she know he was English?
This is probably a really stupid question, but how did she know he was English? Was it because he has an English accent whilst speaking German, or something else? :S
shareIt's not stupid at all!
I'm pretty sure it's because he spoke with an English accent while speaking German :)
Ah, thank you!
I kinda thought that was it, but then why didn't the little kid he spoke to in the hospital (about the circus and juggling) sort of go "Aha! You're English!" or something along those lines...and if his mother was German, surely that means he learnt German from her, so would speak it with the accent she did? :S
Or am I just overcomplicating it?
Very often (although not always) a person who learns a second language from a relative/parent will have a wealth of vocabulary at their fingertips but will retain the accent/nuances etc of their own mother tongue. This was the case in the film. I used to mark French oral tapes of Canadians -their vocabulary was way above average but they spoke with what I call the American/Canadian twang.We were advised not to penalise them for this, since their communication level was so good.
shareI think the little kid didn't notice because he was so upset, he lost his brother and he was about to shoot himself, if I remember rightly.
shareMichael Fassbenders father is also German (Michaels mother is Irish) and he speaks german with a very specific accent. The secons you here him, you know he's not German.
share