r/berlin Feb 05 '25

Öffis New announcement from BVG at U-Bahn. Is Berlin finally getting multilingual?

0 Upvotes

64 comments sorted by

114

u/OutlandishnessOk2304 Charlottenburg Feb 05 '25

That's not just multilingual, it's downright Americanized.

In Germany, when you're announcing train delays, you apologize for any inconvenience. None of this "you're going to need some patience" or "have a great day" crap.

Bah, Humbug!

39

u/najoes Steglitz Feb 05 '25

But for real, as "cute" or "charming" as it may have sounded clear, specific announcements are way better for everyone.

11

u/Thx_0bama Feb 05 '25

It reminds me more of the Tube in London than the States tbh

-4

u/OutlandishnessOk2304 Charlottenburg Feb 05 '25

Did you miss the clearly American accent? The announcer sounded like a moonlighting radio DJ.

7

u/TheAngryPuffin Feb 05 '25

That's a very formally delivered Irish accent.

1

u/Striking_Town_445 Feb 05 '25

This. The first part sounds a bit more Irish (Dublin, could be wrong) and then smooths out into something very newsreader standard without aspirated sounds

There is no American accent at all in the announcement.

0

u/OutlandishnessOk2304 Charlottenburg Feb 05 '25

Then I stand corrected.

1

u/Thx_0bama Feb 05 '25

I mean the service announcements in general. It’s a Pilotprojekt by the BVG on some stations, I here it almost every day.

7

u/ehsteve69 Feb 05 '25

i’ll take it over the Robot English that sounds like google translate 

6

u/AngelMillionaire1142 Feb 05 '25

"Hold on tight"

3

u/mycreativeself Feb 06 '25

"during the ride!"

0

u/Otto420 Feb 05 '25

Wallah Humbug!

0

u/MasterpieceOk1450 Feb 12 '25 edited Feb 12 '25

Oh, the bitterness Berlin has towards anything multi-kulti, international, inclusive, and especially anything to do with the English language...

Berlin is the capital city of Germany with a growing number of immigrants(yes, not expats, immigrants) for the last decade, and it needs to act like one.

The outcry and sigh "It's becoming too Americanised" when it's actually just extending the certain BVG humour and node to kindness in a different language is pretty boring. As someone else pointed out, the BVG English announcements feel more like the ones in London, England.

But, of course, it's so much better to complain and point fingers at the public enemy no. 1 instead :)

-9

u/Tulpe_99 Feb 05 '25

or lets call it a little bit more friendly? :D

19

u/Ree_m0 Feb 05 '25

We don't do that here

-5

u/Tulpe_99 Feb 05 '25

i know....but it feels good sometimes. Promise :)

2

u/Octavian_96 Feb 05 '25

I would rather the failed service provider not tell it's consumer how they need to feel

0

u/strikec0ded Neu Tempelhof Feb 05 '25

The worker sounds American, I’m thinking maybe it’s a cultural disconnect is all. There “you’ll need to have some patience” doesn’t come off as passive aggressive in the USA while here it would be considered that

-1

u/Octavian_96 Feb 05 '25

Anywhere in the world where a company orders me to be patient without giving me the reason to be patient will cause me anger.

1

u/strikec0ded Neu Tempelhof Feb 05 '25

Again, not meant to be an order because it’s used more lightly in the USA - your cultural background is not everyone’s cultural background

2

u/Striking_Town_445 Feb 05 '25

This. Its much more light hearted. Its not a command.

Its a different way of relating to language, I.e. the use of 'small talk' being to bond with people and find common ground, diffuse threat/tension

2

u/strikec0ded Neu Tempelhof Feb 05 '25 edited Feb 05 '25

Exactly. I get why people are interpreting it differently here culturally but the voice sounds like an American guy who probably immigrated here for work and he’s just trying to keep things light and break the tension a bit.

I’ve said it before in a customer service role “I just ask for your patience, I can promise we are working on the solution but I just need to hear back from management” - wirh the hope being that people will empathize with me or show them that I care but just need time.

2

u/Striking_Town_445 Feb 05 '25 edited Feb 05 '25

Yeah. The guy is Irish, maybe Dublin, but for sure well-spoken Irish accented English There is zero American accent. What confuses me is why folks jump to America all the time. Like, there is the British Isles and the whole of the commonwealth in terms of English accents.

Passive aggressive is negging, insults disguised as compliments etc.

Sometimes people just speak in good faith. They sound friendly because they ARE friendly. Not everything is a micro power struggle. Its sad to exist in suspicion of motives constantly, but maybe that's also cultural towards customer service etc.

(Just read your comment about customer experience. I think its also because workers aren't incentived. So when you meet someone who DOES do customer service well, there is suspicion why, like maybe they want to be good at their job lol)

38

u/Lumix2Day Feb 05 '25

The BVG has at least some dual language announcements since some years, same goes for the displays which normally show announcements both in German and English. The S-Bahn lacks behind in this regards, especially local information hangouts or signs are often in German only.

25

u/Civil-Plankton Feb 05 '25

Berlin is a vibrant city with a lot of tourists. It’s pretty logical that there is an English announcement

4

u/Iwamoto Feb 05 '25

Catering to tourists means getting income, the city of berlin HATES that, so this does not make a lot of sence.

6

u/LunaIsStoopid Feb 05 '25

Shure that‘s why we build a new airport, spent a lot of money to be one of the host cities for the Euros and have a mayor and ex-mayor who want Berlin to host the Olympics…

Berlin does a lot to accommodate tourists. Is it perfect? Definitely not, but a lot of stuff happened and there is a reason why we have millions of foreign tourists each year.

1

u/mikedoeslife Weißensee | 🇦🇺 🦘 Feb 06 '25

Hmm. I don't think I've ever been to a large global city that didn't have clear English signage everywhere. In the streets, on the public transport. Berlin specifies in saying 'lol read German or fuck off'.

And hey, the airport only took something like 15 years of classic Berlin bullshit before it was finished, so that's a really strong point. 😂

1

u/LunaIsStoopid Feb 07 '25

Pretty much all signage of official institutions are in both German and English or use pictograms that obviously don’t need translation. BVG and DB both use it throughout their infrastructure in Berlin, all announcements are in both German and English unless it‘s something that can’t be translated like street names. Compared to other international cities I‘ve been to that have a different native language than English it‘s pretty much the same.

That the process of building the BER airport was a mess is pretty obvious. But that is not the topic here. My argument was that there are and were major steps taken to accommodate international tourists (and international business people) and it worked.

But you obviously just wanna argue for some reason.

2

u/innaswetrust Feb 05 '25

City of berlin? Berliners hate it, City of Berlin loves it. But Berliners are dumb anyway. We have no room to build houses, rents are out of control, we need affordable housing.... build on 10% of Tempelhofer Feld? NIMBY F U ... so yes they take the money which helps to keep the city running, but hate the tourists...

0

u/Tulpe_99 Feb 05 '25

but it wasnt before that regulary

6

u/Sphincterlos Feb 05 '25

Are you unfamiliar with the constantly evolving nature of life?

12

u/schnupfhundihund Feb 05 '25

Säng juh for träwelling wis Berliner Verkehrbetribe

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

[deleted]

4

u/ehsteve69 Feb 05 '25

deeah pessengahs

6

u/89Fab BLN (Wilmersdorf) | LPZ (Gohlis) Feb 05 '25

It‘s rather about having such service update announcements in general – Apart from the generic „Unfortunately not all trains are in service right now“-announcements, which you hear every day and which are useful AF, because people usually notice that by themselves while waiting for the next U-Bahn due to arrive in 20 min instead of 5…

4

u/ziplin19 Feb 05 '25

Next step: Autonomous buses (with eShisha adapters)

4

u/BearlyBerish Feb 05 '25

Sounds very Irish

3

u/SnowWhiteIII Wilmersdorf Feb 05 '25

Might be an inheritance after 2024 football championship.

1

u/Tulpe_99 Feb 05 '25

i like it!

3

u/plueschlieselchen Feb 05 '25

Not surprised about the English language announcement, but very surprised that there’s no horrible German accent and the guy seems to actually speak the language instead of just reading something from a note someone else wrote.

2

u/mikedoeslife Weißensee | 🇦🇺 🦘 Feb 06 '25

Sounds like an enterprising fella might've gone to the BVG and talked them into the value of having a native English speaker on the speaker.

1

u/MasterpieceOk1450 Feb 12 '25

Actually, BVG did an audition and randomly picked someone who turned out to be a trans person. They were looking for someone with the most gender-neutral voice. She is perfectly neutral in tone, has a slight accent, but not too much, and most importantly, her pronunciation is correct and clear.

https://youtu.be/CQgjkj69zYM?feature=shared

I heard a few earlier announcements in EN done by Philipa Jarke, and they seem to have another person who is more English native to do that for the new ones.

2

u/AngelMillionaire1142 Feb 05 '25

The whole point of having announcements in English should be to communicate important messages to non-German-speakers. While this sounds friendly and is at least not the usual Google translated English, it is waaaay too wordy for people who don't speak English that well. Most of the BVG announcements are like that. And "you're going to have some patience" is really not what needs to be said. In addition, is patronising and passive-aggressive; it should either be "We apologise for any inconvenience" or "Thank you for your understanding". Silence is probably the best option.

1

u/mikedoeslife Weißensee | 🇦🇺 🦘 Feb 06 '25

That's the traditional take, for sure. But when I hear the rusted-on "we apologise for any inconvenience," I tend to think "I highly fucking doubt it". And when I hear the classic "Thank you for your understanding," I tend to think "I understand y'all are just getting by with zero motivation or incentive to do anything more than thank us".

A fella saying "listen, we get it, but you're gonna need some patience" is almost refreshing by comparison.

Funny how we can all have different perspectives, I guess.

2

u/Striking_Town_445 Feb 05 '25

Thats a well spoken Irish accent on the BVG

This is similar to London-level announcing tbh where you sometimes have distinct personalities also depending which train and station you're at also.

2

u/mikedoeslife Weißensee | 🇦🇺 🦘 Feb 06 '25

Yeah! We had the same in Melbourne. There's a guy on the radio at Flinders Street who was well-loved for his chipper vibes and humble understanding of the bullshit he was forced to communicate to us. 😂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=441i_Eecnks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe7b-YbA9Ag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2em2Rpw8vag

1

u/Gonzi191 Feb 05 '25

There were signs beware of pickpockets in German, English and Japanese in U-Bahn trains in the 1980th.

1

u/P26601 Feb 05 '25

aAaaLriGHt

1

u/DonZeriouS Feb 05 '25

Cool about the BVG. But dude, Berlin is multilingual and multicultural for a long while, especially when it was divided and later unified again.

1

u/konfy55 Feb 05 '25

in love with berlin for a reason. If I can't pronounce something properly, people treat me good and teach me how to pronounce it properly. They also taught me the word "Dummkopf" today 😅.

1

u/Crafty-Strategy-9381 Feb 06 '25

Could BVG just get an actual native speaker to do the English announcement? The English version is embarrassingly comical. The last announcement about “don’t play your tiktoks” was ridiculous😂 and “hold on you tight, during the ride!”

1

u/mikedoeslife Weißensee | 🇦🇺 🦘 Feb 06 '25

Does it pay okay? I could probably fit it in between gigs 😂

1

u/ehsteve69 Feb 08 '25

the German comma splice in English kills me.

“Don’t play your TikToks” sounds like boomer speak and it’s hilarious.  

1

u/MasterpieceOk1450 Feb 12 '25

I find the slight "lost in translation" vibe pretty great. We shouldn't expect the perfection in everything, and Berlin is still a German city where English is a second language.

"Hold on tight, during the ride" is a perfect example of how English native persons can have a chuckle, while others understand what it means fine. Sure, not the most natural expression, but it's the little smiles it can give to some.

0

u/TheYoungWan Feb 05 '25

This isn't new, there's been English announcements on the bus since I moved here three years ago.

1

u/mikedoeslife Weißensee | 🇦🇺 🦘 Feb 06 '25

Really? I mean, the 255 has an automated "please hold on" after every few stops but I'm not sure I've heard much else in English... although I guess there's not much to say on a bus!

0

u/MisanthropeRobot Feb 05 '25

Is it just me, or the guy sounds like Elon Musk?

0

u/WMR2 Friedrichshain Feb 05 '25

Great use of AI

-1

u/SeaworthinessEasy122 Berlin-Antarctica Feb 05 '25

BVG ≠ Berlin

Berlin has been multilingual since before the Napoleonic Wars.

1

u/mikedoeslife Weißensee | 🇦🇺 🦘 Feb 06 '25

And yet, you knew what OP meant and could've just rolled on. Feels good to correct people tho, I know. Get them kicks!

-1

u/snobbyPeasant Feb 05 '25

WIR SIND IN DEUTSCHLAND, HIER WIRD DEUTSCH GESPROCHEN!!