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Cultural References and Linguistic Stereotypes in Tripadvisor Reviews about Germany

Références culturelles et stéréotypes linguistiques dans les avis Tripadvisor sur l’Allemagne
Tilman Schröder

Résumés

Cette contribution analyse les aspects de la culture allemande mentionnés par les touristes américains et britanniques dans leurs avis Tripadvisor sur le château de Neuschwanstein, l’une des attractions touristiques les plus populaires d’Allemagne. Les résultats montrent que les commentaires en ligne incluent des stéréotypes nationaux ainsi que des observations non stéréotypées sur l’Allemagne. La description des stéréotypes nationaux trouvés dans les textes s’inscrit dans le cadre théorique des recherches portant sur les stéréotypes linguistiques. L’analyse considère également l’utilisation de mots d’emprunt allemands, ainsi que les références à d’autres touristes et les comparaisons avec les cultures d’origine des auteurs des commentaires. L’article se termine par un bilan et une discussion avant de proposer des conclusions et des suggestions pour de futures recherches.

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1. Introduction

1Before departing on a trip, tourists tend to have preconceived notions about the destination they are about to visit. Such preconceived ideas and beliefs about destinations have been described under the term “destination image”. Destination images can be shaped by previous visits, word-of-mouth, marketing collateral, or news coverage (Tasci & Gartner, 2007: 413–15). Additionally, travel guides can contribute to the formation of destination images among travelers (Bender, Gidlow & Fisher, 2012: 338). Destination images can also influence the “tourist gaze”, i.e., the way tourists perceive and interpret a destination during an actual visit (Urry, 2002: 1).

2While some aspects of a destination image and the tourist gaze can be factual and accurate, other components may be overly generalized or stereotypical. Stereotypes are, in a very broad sense, simplified mental representations of a more complex reality (Lippmann, 1922: 3). In the context of tourism and tourist destinations, the stereotypical notions people have about a country and its citizens can play an important role, since such stereotypes tend to impact destination images (Tasci, Gartner & Cavusgil, 2007: 1538). While positive stereotypes can contribute to forming a positive destination image and thus encourage potential tourists to visit a country, negative stereotypes can have an adverse effect on visitors’ intentions (Bender, Gidlow & Fisher, 2012: 345).

3The destination images held by international visitors about Germany and its residents are likely to include stereotypical beliefs, such as a high level of efficiency, but also a lack of approachability and humor (Violet, 2016: 256). During a visit to Germany, however, such stereotypes may be modified, dissolved, or reinforced, depending on visitors’ actual experiences. When trying to identify which preconceived stereotypes tourists have about Germany, several research methods are possible. On the one hand, national stereotypes can be uncovered by inviting travelers to share their Germany-related notions and experiences in personal interviews. On the other hand, national stereotypes can become apparent by studying online reviews that visitors to Germany compose about their experiences as tourists in the country.

4The present contribution analyzes to what extent international visitors mention aspects of German culture in their travel reviews, and which stereotypical beliefs and general observations about Germany become visible in these texts. Moreover, the paper describes the formal and linguistic features tourists use to share their experiences with Germany and German culture. The tourism industry is an important sector of Germany’s economy. In 2019, the year preceding the COVID‑19 pandemic, the tourism sector accounted for 4% of Germany’s gross domestic product (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2021a). In this year, Germany had 35.2 million international visitors (UNWTO, 2022). The Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom were Germany’s source markets with the highest number of visitors (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2021b).

5The data is based on a sample of 1,017 travel reviews composed by U.S.-American and British tourists about their visit to Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. According to the German National Tourist Board (2023), Neuschwanstein Castle is Germany’s fourth most popular tourist attraction, with 1.4 million visitors in 2019 (Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung, 2020). The paper begins by explaining the theoretical background and reviewing research literature about stereotypes and images, national stereotypes in the context of tourism, stereotypes and images of Germany, and the linguistic analysis of stereotypes. Next, the paper describes the data and the methodology before presenting the specific findings regarding stereotypical notions in travelers’ reviews about Germany. The analysis also addresses recurring non-stereotypical comments tourists make about German culture, as well as the linguistic form of the reviews. Following the analysis, the paper summarizes and discusses the main findings, before drawing conclusions and proposing avenues for future research.

2. Theoretical background and literature review

2.1. Stereotypes and images

6Despite a large body of research on stereotypes, with the majority of contributions coming from the fields of sociology and social psychology, there is still no commonly accepted definition of the term “stereotype” (Pümpel-Mader, 2010: 12). Nonetheless, there appears to be consensus that the fundamental base for stereotypical thinking is the human tendency to differentiate between groups (Hamilton & Trolier, 1986: 134). Approaches towards a definition of stereotypes tend to converge on the following: stereotypes tend to be understood as beliefs about the characteristics and behaviors that are ascribed to members of a certain social group (Demleitner, 2010: 7; Pümpel-Mader, 2010: 12). These beliefs tend to be simplified and overly general, yet very stable, often judgmental (Pümpel-Mader, 2010: 10) or irrational (Demleitner, 2010: 8), and potentially implicit and unconscious (Deutschmann & Steinvall, 2020: 651). Stereotypes neither define nor classify social groups, but instead describe and evaluate their members’ presumed characteristics (Pümpel-Mader, 2010: 14).

7Stereotypes can have positive social functions as they facilitate orientation in complex social environments (Beukeboom & Burgers, 2019: 3). They help reduce cognitive dissonance, enhance social identity, and promote ingroup cohesion (Demleitner, 2010: 8). At the same time, stereotypical beliefs can act as a communicative barrier that impedes individual development and knowledge expansion (Quasthoff, 1973: 192). Moreover, stereotypical notions can lead to biased judgments about members of other social groups (Deutschmann & Steinvall, 2020: 651) which may entail discrimination and social conflict (Beukeboom & Burgers, 2019: 3).

8Stereotypes are closely related, but not identical to images. According to Hofmann (2016: 82–3), the main difference between a stereotype and an image lies with the targeted entity. While stereotypes typically refer to characteristics of social groups, images tend to refer to qualities of larger bodies such as nations, organizations, or, in the present context, tourist destinations. Images can also be simplified and general; however, they tend to be more positive than stereotypes. Moreover, countries, organizations, and tourist destinations can actively contribute to shaping their images and construct diverse and changing images over time (ibid.). Specifically, Violet (2016: 45) argues that countries can actively manage their images through public diplomacy and nation branding efforts. Stereotypes, in contrast, are difficult to influence and seem resistant to change (Hofmann, 2016: 83).

9Some stereotypes are only held by individuals, while other stereotypes are part of a society’s shared cultural knowledge and tend to be acquired through socialization and intracultural discourse (Pümpel-Mader, 2010: 35). Culture is understood here as a set of values, practices, and behaviors that is established within a society and acts as a framework for orientation for members of that society (Schroll-Machl, 2011: 26). For practical purposes, this paper is based on the notion of national cultures. It acknowledges, however, that national affiliation is by far not the only factor that guides people’s behavior, and that culture is a dynamic construct.

10Stereotypes can be classified based on the relationship between those who hold the stereotype and those who are targeted by the stereotype. Hetero stereotypes refer to stereotypical beliefs that members of one group hold over another group, while auto stereotypes reflect a social group’s self-image, i.e., a group’s beliefs about typical attributes of its own members. Meta stereotypes, in contrast, reflect the assumptions a social group has regarding the notions that members of other groups may have about them (Hofmann & Hallsteinsdóttir, 2016: 326). The present contribution focuses on hetero stereotypes about Germans that self-identified British and U.S.-American tourists voice in their travel reviews about Neuschwanstein Castle.

2.2. National stereotypes, destination images and tourism

11National stereotypes are simplified beliefs about the presumed typical behaviors and attributes of another country’s citizens. National stereotypes can be based on inferences people draw from the individual behavior of another country’s citizens, or from historical and socioeconomic conditions (Terracciano et al., 2005: 96). Existing national stereotypes can be transmitted and reinforced by media, education, history, and popular culture, and thus become part of the shared knowledge among citizens of other countries. Similar to other stereotypical beliefs, national stereotypes can be positive, negative, or neutral. Moreover, national stereotypes are not necessarily congruent across countries, i.e., each country can have their own national hetero stereotypes about another country (Bender, Gidlow & Fisher, 2012: 337).

12Several tourism researchers have addressed the connection between national stereotypes, tourism marketing, and destination images, i.e., the notions people have about certain tourist destinations. On the one hand, it was found that destination images are closely linked to, and influenced by, national stereotypes (Chen, Lin & Petrick, 2012: 63–4; Hofmann, 2016: 81). On the other hand, tourism marketing also contributes to the stereotypical perception of a destination, since marketers aim to create memorable destination images by selectively linking a destination to a specific emotional cue, which inevitably involves generalization and simplification (Hofmann, 2016: 81).

13In a study about Turkey’s image as a tourist destination, Tasci, Gartner and Cavusgil (2007) found that stereotypical perceptions of Turkey and its citizens have a negative effect on the country’s destination image, while Chung and Chen (2019) document that national stereotypes can vary across generations. Hofmann (2016) shows how national stereotypes are used in tourism marketing addressed to German travelers, whereas Redekker (2019) analyzes how national stereotypes have influenced the nation branding process of Luxemburg. Bender, Gidlow and Fisher (2012) analyze national stereotypes about Switzerland in international travel guides and conclude that these travel guides play an important role in the formation and maintenance of national stereotypes. This is because travel guides tend to present complex information about other countries and their citizens in a very condensed and easy-to-digest way, with the objective of maximizing comprehensibility for the reader (ibid.: 334).

2.3. National stereotypes and images of German

14Several studies have uncovered which national stereotypes and perceptions non-Germans tend to have about people living in Germany. Bolten (2006) asked international students to spontaneously name three things they associated with Germany. The feedback across respondents was relatively similar, irrespective of their country of origin. The most frequently mentioned associations with Germany were “beer”, “Hitler”, “cars”, and “soccer”; however, participants also mentioned behavioral attributes such as “punctual” or “precise” (ibid.: 5). In a more recent study, Violet (2016) surveyed Chinese, Polish, and Turkish respondents regarding their images of Germany and found that participants had diverse, yet rather refined notions about the country. In positive terms, Germany was described as a society of work and prosperity with a focus on structure and efficiency. Negative associations with Germany included World War II, but also the notions that Germans were neither overly emotional nor approachable (ibid.: 256). A comprehensive overview of research on national stereotypes about Germany can be found in Ossenberg (2019: 79–80).

15For the present paper, national stereotypes and images of Germany held by inbound tourists from the United States and the United Kingdom are particularly relevant. One of the few formal studies about how U.S.-Americans see Germany was conducted by Stapf, Stroebe and Jonas in 1986. In a survey among university students across the United States, participants reported to see Germany as an industrialized and modern country, with a highly developed culture and extensive social services (ibid.: 145). Additionally, Germans were described as intelligent, hard-working, efficient, and family-oriented (ibid.: 146). Demleitner (2010: 43–53) reviews relevant literature on British perceptions of Germany and concludes that these are generally congruent with other common stereotypes about Germans (see above).

16As regards the origin of national stereotypes, Demleitner (2010: 54) demonstrates the important role of mass media in the formation and dissemination of stereotypical notions. Her work stresses that negative hetero stereotypes about people from other countries are frequently used to enhance and strengthen national identities (ibid.).

2.4. Linguistic analysis of stereotypes

17When trying to unmask the stereotypical beliefs held by individuals about other social groups, the analysis of language provides a unique insight, since stereotypes are expressed, maintained, and shared through language and communication (Beukeboom & Burgers, 2019: 3–5). Linguistic analysis may also help to reveal unconscious and implicit stereotypes (ibid.: 6). Additionally, speakers are more likely to share information that is consistent with their existing stereotypes, as opposed to information that does not match their existing stereotypes (ibid.: 19). The extent and conditions under which speakers use stereotypical language is, however, influenced by the communicative context, e.g., if a recipient is present, and if the sender and recipient belong to the same social group (ibid.: 7). Regarding Tripadvisor reviews, these considerations imply little stereotypical language use, given that the communication on the platform is mostly monological since no direct responses from other users besides the service provider are possible. Additionally, the intended recipients of Tripadvisor reviews are the service provider and potential travelers which may both belong to a different social group than the review author.

18The first major linguistic analysis of stereotypes was conducted by Quasthoff (1973) who introduced four basic forms of linguistic stereotypes, all of which can be described as the combination of an argument with a predicate, e.g., “Germans are hard-working” (ibid.: 239–58). Pümpel-Mader (2010) builds on Quasthoff’s (1973) work and defines linguistic stereotypes as basic discursive structures. These are established and reinforced through continuous discursive repetition and can be voiced in implicit or explicit ways (Pümpel-Mader, 2010: 4). A linguistic stereotype usually references a social group which is afforded with certain attributes (ibid.: 12–13). In formal terms, this can be, for example, a noun phrase with an attributive adjective (“German efficiency”), or a noun phrase with a copula and a predicative adjective (“Germans are efficient”). The relationship between the social group and its attributes can be modified on four different levels, i.e., by providing an evaluation (“good German efficiency”), information about the frequency or quantity (“all Germans are efficient”), as well as habituality (“Germans are always efficient”), and validity (“German efficiency, as expected”) (ibid.: 15). Based on these theoretical considerations, Pümpel-Mader (2010: 69–73) proposes a typology of 49 linguistic stereotypes, which will be used to categorize the stereotypes found in the Tripadvisor reviews of the present study.

19As regards the specific language used to express stereotypical information, Beukeboom and Burgers (2019: 13) argue that labeling social groups with nouns (“the Germans are”) has a stronger stereotypical effect than using adjectives (“German people are”). Moreover, generic references (“(the) Germans are”) have a much stronger effect than references with a limiting modifier, e.g., “these Germans are” or “older Germans are” (ibid.: 14).

20The works of Quasthoff (1973) and Pümpel-Mader (2010) have inspired linguistic analyses of stereotypes across a variety of different contexts (cf. the contributions in Hallsteinsdóttir, Geyer, Gorbahn & Kilian, 2016; Janich, 2019). While the linguistic study of gender stereotypes (e.g., Deutschmann & Steinvall, 2020; Kotek, Dockum, Babinski & Geissler, 2021) has received particular attention in recent years, national stereotypes have also been analyzed from a linguistic perspective. Demleitner (2010) examines national stereotypes about Germany and the United Kingdom in press articles from both countries, whereas Hofmann and Hallsteinsdóttir (2016) analyze national stereotypes in a German-Danish context. Lupprich (2017) addresses linguistic stereotypes about Germans and Argentinians in news articles and private blogs, whereas Snefjella, Schmidtke and Kuperman (2018) focus on linguistic stereotypes about U.S.-Americans and Canadians on Twitter.

21To this date, only a few papers have been published at the intersection of linguistics, national stereotypes, and tourism. Among these are Hofmann’s (2016) linguistic analysis of stereotypes in German tourism marketing and Lombardi’s (2019) work on linguistic stereotypes in Italian tourism advertising. There is thus considerable need for more research in this interdisciplinary field of interest. The present paper contributes to closing this research gap by analyzing both the nature and the linguistic form of national stereotypes in a tourism-specific context.

2.5. Travel reviews on Tripadvisor

22In the tourism sector, numerous online booking portals offer customers the option to leave written comments about hospitality businesses, transportation providers, destinations, monuments, or other places of interest. With nearly 150 million monthly visitors, Tripadvisor is the second most visited travel portal, after market leader Booking.com with 511 million monthly visitors (SimilarWeb, 2022). Travelers compose online reviews during or after a trip to share their experience online, to relive positive moments from the trip, to voice complaints, to seek revenge for negative incidents with a service provider, or to help other users (Yoo & Gretzel, 2008: 291). Research shows, however, that only one third of travelers tend to publish online comments about their trip (Hernández-Méndez, Muñoz-Leiva & Sánchez-Fernández, 2015: 1015). At the same time, such comments were found to significantly influence the travel decisions of 51% of prospective tourists (ibid.). Future travelers consider online reviews to be electronic word of mouth and thus perceive them to be more objective and more trustworthy than marketing messages from service providers and destinations (Sparks & Bradley, 2017: 720). Moreover, online reviews have numerous potential readers since they can be accessed by anyone from anywhere around the globe at no cost. As such, the content of online reviews plays a crucial role in shaping destination images and influencing travel decisions (Ghazali & Cai, 2013: 84).

3. National stereotypes in Tripadvisor reviews

3.1. Sample and methodology

23The analysis presented in this paper is based on a sample of 1,017 Tripadvisor reviews about Neuschwanstein Castle in the German state of Bavaria. Of these reviews, 515 were published by authors who listed the United States as country of residence on their Tripadvisor profiles. The remaining 502 reviews were composed by Tripadvisor members who, on their profiles, reported to reside in the United Kingdom. However, it must be noted that the national and cultural identity of the users cannot be ascertained. All reviews were originally written in English language and published on Tripadvisor between 2014 and 2019. The reviews were manually evaluated and searched for references to Germany, German culture, and culture in general. The option of automatically searching the reviews for strings such as German*, cultur*, typical, etc., was discarded, since this method would not have uncovered implicit stereotypes. The analysis has a qualitative and exploratory character and does not intend to provide representative results.

24The U.S.-American sample included 48 reviews with comments about Germany, German culture, or culture in general. Within these 48 reviews, 23 stereotypical references were found. The British sample included 66 reviews with Germany or culture-related comments. Within these reviews, 15 stereotypical references could be identified (see Table 1).

Table 1. – Sample and findings.

 

Sample size
 

Reviews with
cultural references

Stereotypical
references

U.S.-American sample

515 (100%)

48 (9.3%)

23 (4.5%)

British sample

502 (100%)

66 (13.1%)

15 (3.0%)

Total

1017 (100%)

114 (11.2%)

38 (3.7%)

25The following sections will describe which stereotypes about Germans were identified in the reviews (3.2), and how the stereotypes were voiced from a linguistics perspective (3.3). Moreover, the analysis addresses observations the review authors share about Germany and German culture without expressing stereotypical notions about German people. Further items to be addressed are the use of German loan words in the reviews (3.4), complaints about fellow travelers (3.5), and comparisons with the review authors’ own country and culture (3.6). Differences that become apparent between the U.S.-American and the British reviews will be highlighted throughout the study. All examples will be quoted without modifications of grammar, spelling, and typography.

3.2. National stereotypes and observations

26The U.S.-American and British reviews were searched for language conveying implicit or explicit stereotypes. The findings were subsequently aggregated and as a result, a total of nine different stereotypes about Germans could be identified (see Table 2). The notion that Germans are efficient and punctual was by far the most frequently mentioned stereotype, whereas the other stereotypes were only mentioned by very few travelers. Most stereotypes are clearly positive, e.g., a), c), d), g), and i), while some are clearly negative, e.g., b), f) and h). The stereotype e) is neither clearly positive nor negative.

27It is interesting that only the U.S.-American reviews mentioned a presumed German sensitivity about history and bad customer service in Germany. In contrast, the idea of Germans being strict was only found in the British reviews. In view of the limited number of cases, however, these differences may be coincidental.

Table 2. – Stereotypes about Germans.

 

Stereotype

U.S. sample

U.K. sample

a)

Germans are animal-friendly

1

b)

Germans are backwards

1

1

c)

Germans are efficient and punctual

10

8

d)

Germans are hospitable

1

e)

Germans are sensitive about their history

3

f)

Germans are strict

1

2

g)

Germans do not commit crimes

1

h)

Germans provide bad customer service

2

i)

Germans speak good English

1

28In addition to voicing stereotypes about Germans, the U.S.-American and British review authors also mentioned stereotypes about fellow travelers; however, these observations only targeted visitors from Asian countries and tended to have a disparaging or even racist character (see Table 3).

Table 3. – Stereotypes about Asians.

 

Stereotype

U.S. sample

U.K. sample

k)

Asians are rude

3

1

l)

Asians use selfie-sticks

1

m)

Asians jump the line

1

29Besides making stereotypical comments about Germans and Asians, tourists from the United States and the United Kingdom also discussed non-stereotypical aspects of German culture. These included local standards for driving and for using toilet facilities in Germany, presumably because these standards were perceived to be sufficiently different from their home cultures to be worth a mention. Moreover, some tourists made remarks about typical German food, clothing, and landscape (see Table 4).

Table 4. – Non-stereotypical observations about Germany.

 

Category

U.S. sample

U.K. sample

n)

Driving standards in Germany

2

7

o)

Using toilets in Germany

6

6

p)

German food, clothing, and landscape

8

14

30As can be seen, British tourists were more likely to point out German driving standards which tended to be regarded as unsafe. The fact that using public toilets in Germany costs money was mentioned by several British and U.S.-American travelers who considered this aspect to be negative. Comments about features of material culture in Germany and typical German landscapes tended to be positive and were found across both samples.

3.3. Linguistic analysis of national stereotypes

31In addition to analyzing the nature of the national stereotypes identified in the sample, an analysis of the stereotypes’ linguistic form was conducted, with the objective of uncovering the specific mechanisms the review authors used to express their stereotypical beliefs about Germany on Tripadvisor. Since stereotypes are predominantly expressed through language (Beukeboom & Burgers, 2019: 3), this was considered an essential element of the analysis. The linguistic analysis of the national stereotypes follows Pümpel-Mader’s (2010: 69–73) typology of 49 linguistic stereotypes. Of these, five were identified in the present study.

32First, two stereotypes in the U.S.-American sample were composed of an attributive adjective + a noun phrase indicating social group membership, and thus equivalent to Pümpel-Mader’s type 18 (examples 1, 2).

  • 1 In all examples, the identified linguistic stereotypes have been underlined by the author of this p (...)

(1)
U.S. sample, stereotype k): Be prepared for lots of walking uphill and being pushed and cut off by
pesky visitors from the far east!1

(2)
U.S. sample, stereotype k): Very
rude Asian tourists that would get in the way of our time to take photos.

33Another set of linguistic stereotypes found in the reviews consisted of an attributive adjective indicating social group membership + a noun phrase, which corresponds to Pümpel-Mader’s type 26 (examples 3, 4). Across both samples, this type was exclusively used for expressing the stereotype c), referring to German efficiency and punctuality. In the British sample, this type was the most frequently found pattern for all stereotypes.

(3)
U.K. sample, stereotype c): The visits are all managed by computer with
German efficiency and you have to wait your turn at the gate house terrace.

(4)
U.S. sample, stereotype c): With
German precision, the tour groups are ushered into the castle exactly on time so make sure you are in the waiting area in the castle courtyard when your tour number is called.

34Several other stereotypes in the sample had the form of a noun phrase + a conjugated form of the copula “to be” + a predicative adjective, thus matching Pümpel-Mader’s type 37 (examples 5, 6). Surprisingly, this type was only visible in the U.S.-American reviews.

(5)
U.S. sample, stereotype a): We took a carriage ride up to the Neuschwanstein castle. My husband felt sorry for the horses who looked tired and frothing at the mouth. He swore he’d never take another carriage again, though
the Germans are very animal-friendly.

(6)
U.S. sample, stereotype e): I will say
Bavarians are very sensitive about Ludwig II’s portrayal as “mad” and don’t appreciate disparaging remarks about his person […].

35The next type that could be identified in the material was a combination of a noun phrase + a conjugated form of “to appear”, “to seem”, “to be known for”, etc., + a predicate (examples 7, 8). This type was only found twice, and it corresponds to Pümpel-Mader’s category 43.

(7)
U.S. sample, stereotype c): I know
the Germans are known for their efficiency, but signage was unclear around the whole area, and there were no employees anywhere to ask for directions.

(8)
U.K. sample, stereotype i): […] even if you don’t speak a word (like us) — and anyway,
the Germans all seem to speak perfect English!

36Another form that appeared in several cases across both samples matched Pümpel-Mader’s type 45 and consisted of a noun phrase + a verbal “to do” predicate (example 9).

(9)
U.S. sample, stereotype h): I find that
German servers rarely return to the table to see if “all is going well”.

37Some travelers used a slightly different variant of type 45 which included a noun phrase + a verbal “to do” predicate in a relative clause (examples 10, 11). This variant was found once in the U.S.-American and twice in the British sample.

(10)
U.K. sample, stereotype k): But it was overwhelmed by tourists, especially
the Chinese, who ignore everyone and everything apart from their camera phones.

(11)
U.K. sample, stereotype b): Someone moaned about not excepting credit cards, in fact they do however if your not familiar with
Germany, they are a country which predominantly deal in cash unlike the rest of the world where credit cards are the norm.

38Finally, some stereotypical statements were formulated as catchphrases or idioms and thus did not fit into any of Pümpel-Mader’s categories, e.g., This is Germany after all!, No exceptions — rules are rules in Germany!!, or Arrive on time, the German thing to do. Another five stereotypical references having other linguistic forms could not be categorized either. Table 5 provides an overview of the different forms of linguistic stereotypes found in the samples.

Table 5. – Forms of linguistic stereotypes.

Type
 

Description
 

U.S.
sample

U.K.
sample

18

Attribute adjective + noun phrase (social group)

2

26

Attribute adjective (social group) + noun phrase

5

6

37

Noun phrase + “to be” + predicative adjective

6

43

Noun phrase + “to seem” + predicate

1

1

45

Noun phrase + verbal “to do” predicate

6

3

--

Catchphrase or idiom

2

1

--

Other form

1

4

39Following Beukeboom and Burgers (2019: 13), noun phrases (types 37, 43, 45) express stronger stereotypical beliefs than adjectives (types 18, 26). Despite the overall low presence of stereotypical language, it is interesting to note that, in the U.S. sample, the noun phrases slightly outweigh the adjectives, whereas no clear tendency becomes visible in the British sample.

40As regards the relationship between the stereotype’s target group and the ascribed attributes, all four types of modifiers suggested by Pümpel-Mader (2010: 15) could be identified. The Tripadvisor authors expanded their stereotypical statements by adding an evaluation of the ascribed qualities, or by discussing which subset of the targeted social group (Germans or Asians) shared the ascribed quality. Moreover, the authors included information about how common the ascribed quality was perceived to be, as well as information designed to render the stereotypical statement valid.

41First, review authors across both samples used modifiers to evaluate certain attributes, both in negative (examples 1, 2) and in positive (example 12) ways.

(12)
U.K. sample, stereotype c): There was
superb German efficiency throughout and as long as you get there in time some superb views whilst you wait to go in.

42Second, quantity was also indicated when expressing stereotypical notions. In several cases, travelers used generic references, suggesting that the ascribed attributes applied to all members of the targeted social group (examples 7, 8). A limited number of authors restricted the scope of their statements, e.g., by referring to German servers (example 9) or Asian tourists (example 13). However, generic references outnumbered the references with a limited scope across both samples. This is an interesting finding, given that generic references have a stronger stereotypical effect than references that include a limiting modifier (Beukeboom & Burgers, 2019: 14).

(13)
U.S. sample, stereotype k): Many
Asian tourists which would be fine but they were very pushy and often rude.

43Other travelers modified their stereotypical statements by indicating habituality (example 14); however, the sample also included modifiers that suggested validity of the stereotypical content (examples 15, 16).

(14)
U.K. sample, stereotype c): I have to say that it does operate with
typical German efficiency from start to finish.

(15)
U.K. sample, stereotype c): It all worked flawlessly
as you tend to expect in Germany!

(16)
U.S. sample, stereotype c): When we visited the weather forecast stated: intermittent light rain showers starting at 16:00, and surely enough it did happen;
what else is to expect this is Germany where everything is on time.

44Most stereotypes that could be identified in the reviews were phrased explicitly, as can be seen from almost all examples cited so far. However, in a few cases stereotypical notions were conveyed implicitly (examples 17, 18).

(17)
U.S. sample, stereotype e): If you want to see your castle guide squirm — ask him if King Ludwig was really mad as they say or simple just gay. (They are only allowed to say what is on their govt approved script!)

(18)
U.S. sample, stereotype m): Yet all day long new tour buses with Asians who had guides buy out all the castle tours came. Some so old I doubt they could make the walk, but still they have your ticket so you cannot get in.

45In example 17, the stereotypical concept e) that Germans are sensitive about their history can be inferred from the fictitious anecdote about tour guides not feeling comfortable with certain questions, and from the review author’s claim that the tour guides are subject to censorship. Likewise, the stereotype that Asian tourists bypass regular lines at Neuschwanstein (example 18) can be inferred from the review author’s claim that these tourists had guides buy out all the castle tours and still they have your ticket so you cannot get in, which accuses the tourists and their guides of collusion. This negativity is reinforced by disparaging remarks about the quantity and the age of some Asian travelers.

46When expressing stereotypes about Germans and Asians, review authors used diverse lexical items to refer to the targeted social groups. References to Germans included neutral terms such as Germans and Bavarians or a combination of in Germany and the pronoun they. For stereotypical references to Asian tourists, reviewers used the neutral term Asians, but also forms such as visitors from the Far East, people from the Far East, the Chinese, people from China, and Japanese tourists.

47Finally, the majority of reviewers presented information that was labeled as consistent with pre-existing stereotypes. A few exceptions became visible with regard to the stereotype c) “Germans are efficient and punctual”; specifically, when review authors perceived the organizational arrangements at Neuschwanstein castle to be disorganized so that the actual experience did not match the stereotypical expectation of German efficiency (example 7).

3.4. German loanwords

48While analyzing the online reviews for national stereotypes and their linguistic form, it became apparent that many review authors used German loanwords when discussing their trips to Germany. As Dann (1996: 183–5) explains, the use of loan words is common in writing about travel experiences. The use of loan words is also described in Demleitner’s (2010) analysis of German and British stereotypes. Loan words can, on the one hand, add local color to a travel review. On the other hand, authors can use loan words for self-enhancement by documenting their foreign language skills. While this aspect is not directly connected to linguistic stereotypes, the findings related to loan words in the U.S. and British samples were considered sufficiently meaningful to be included in the present paper.

49In the U.S.-American sample, review authors mentioned German terms such as autobahn, apfelstrudel, and bratwurst. British review authors used autobahn, bierhaus, bratwurst, and gluwein. Some users additionally provided an English translation for German loan words, presumably with the intention of showcasing proficiency in the German language (examples 19, 20).

(19)
U.S. sample: […] although i am not a
Schloss (castle) expert, this landmark has to be a top 5 in Europe.

(20)
U.K. sample: […] we were stopping at
Hotel Garni Schlossblick (German for castle view and you couldn’t argue with that).

50One U.S.-American and one British tourist used the German word verboten (“prohibited”) when discussing travel experiences that were related to stereotype f) “Germans are strict” (examples 21, 22). Verboten is listed as a German loanword in both the Merriam Webster and the Oxford English dictionaries, where it is labeled as “humorous” and “used to describe things that are forbidden according to a law or a highly regarded authority” (Merriam Webster Dictionary, 2022). It is therefore not unsurprising that review authors in the sample would use this loanword to illustrate their impressions of German strictness.

(21)
U.S. sample, stereotype f): […] you can’t photograph it as pictures inside are 
verboten—we saw a man get kicked out by a security guard for violating this rule.

(22)
U.K. sample, stereotype f): My husband was asked to leave for taking a photo through a window at the view. His own fault, you’re told not to take photos, he wasn’t thinking and took a photo of the view (not even of the inside of one of the rooms) and a big burly security guard swiftly came over, informed him it was
verboten and escorted him (I went too!) through a hidden exit door.

51A striking finding was that numerous users across the entire sample that was searched for references to German culture (i.e., all 1,017 reviews) misspelled the German names of the sights they had visited. When spelling the names of Neuschwanstein Castle and the neighboring monument, Hohenschwangau Castle, mistakes became predominantly visible in the U.S.-American sample. British reviewers seemed to have slightly fewer problems when spelling the German names. The following lists include the spelling variants found in the reviews.

Neuschwanstein: Neuschawnstein, Neuschawnstien, Neuschwansteinstraße, Neuschwanstien, Neuschwantein, Neuschwantstein, Neuschwastein, Neushwanstein, Neuswanstein, Noeschwanstein, Nueschwanstein.

Hohenschwangau: Hoehnschwagau, Hoenschwangau, Hohanshwangau, Hohennschwangau, Hohenschwagau, Hohenschwanangau, Hohenschwangu, Hohenschwangua, Hohenschwaungau, Hohenshwangau, Hohenshwanstein, Hohenswangau, Hohenswanghau, Hohnsschwangau, Hohoenschwangau, Honenschwangau.

52Another interesting phenomenon could be observed regarding the review authors’ references to Marienbrücke, a popular panoramic viewpoint located in the vicinity of Neuschwanstein Castle:

Marienbrücke: Maiden Bridge, Maria’s Bridge, Marian bridge, Marianbruck, Marianne bridge, Marie Bridge, Marie’s bridge, Marien Bridge, Marien Brücke, Marien Bruke, Marien-brucke, Marien’s Bridge, Marien (St Mary’s) bridge, Marienbruck, Marienbrucke, Marienbrucker, Marienbruecke, Marienbruke, Marienbruker, Mariensbruke, Mariensbruke, Marinbrucke, Marnenbrücke, Mary’s Bridge, Mt Mary’s Bridge, Queen Mary bridge, St Mary’s Bridge.

As can be seen, some authors misspelled this name while others provided full, partial, or inaccurate translations to English.

3.5. Complaints about fellow travelers

53Besides making stereotypical remarks about Germans or Asians, review authors also commented on the presence of fellow travelers. These comments tended to be negative and were phrased as complaints; however, without providing any information on the nationality of the criticized fellow tourists. Such complaints were found in 17 British, but only in three U.S.-American reviews. Review authors mostly criticized the perceived high number (example 23) and the behavior (examples 24, 25) of other travelers.

(23)
U.K. sample: In terms of the outside, the scenery was stunning BUT
spoilt by the 6,000 other people also there visiting.

(24)
U.K. sample: The ticket area is extremely busy with tourists and
with conflicting views by different tourists from all over the world, as to how to politely queue up (or line up) for tickets. It gets a little frustrating and there’s a lot of pushing and shoving.

(25)
U.S. sample: be prepared for
other visitors cutting in line and pushing themselves onto the bus!

54Only one British review author made a positive comment about fellow visitors (example 26).

(26)
U.K. sample: The grounds and bridges are breathtaking and
we enjoyed the jumble of nationalities.

3.6. Comparisons with home countries and cultures

55When describing their visit to Neuschwanstein Castle, two U.S.-American tourists and nine British travelers provided comparisons with similar attractions or experiences in their own countries. Of the British reviews that included comparisons, the majority tended to convey dissatisfaction with the visit to Neuschwanstein and mentioned more pleasant visits to similar British monuments (examples 27, 28). Another British review author underlined the high prices at Neuschwanstein by comparing them to prices in the country’s capital (example 29).

(27)
U.K. sample: […] the tour was over and done with in approx 20 mins and it’s about a 10th of the size of many other castles,
esp many in the UK.

(28)
U.K. sample:
Edinburgh castle is far better.

(29)
U.K. sample: Food and drink is
London prices.

56The U.S.-American traveler in example 30 also provides a comparison with their own country; however, this author considered visiting Neuschwanstein to be more positive than sights in the United States. This is unsurprising since hardly any comparable landmarks exist in the United States.

(30)
U.S. sample:
As an American, there is simply nothing on this side of the Atlantic as the scenery around the castle compounded with the history and architecture.

57Only a few reviewers specifically mentioned in what way their own cultural habits were different from what they encountered in Germany. The British traveler in example 31 points out differences in lining up at bus stops, whereas the American tourist in example 32 mentions their culture-specific expectations as regards the free use of toilet facilities.

(31)
U.K. sample: […] maybe
it’s an English thing but they do not know how to queue properly […]

(32)
U.S. sample: The only reason I give it a 4 out of 5 is due to the pay toilets (
okay, I’m probably just being a prissy American…)

58It is interesting to note that these review authors either use hedges to tone down their statement (maybe… but) or actively admit their own ethnocentrism (I’m probably just being a prissy American). With their statements, both authors disclose which auto stereotypes they have about their own cultures: in example 31, the underlying auto stereotype is “British people are respectful when forming lines” whereas in example 32, the auto stereotype can be paraphrased as “Americans are easily offended”.

4. Summary and discussion

59The analysis presented in this contribution has shown that, overall, U.S.-American and British Tripadvisor reviews on Neuschwanstein Castle included relatively few stereotypical comments about Germans. Following Beukeboom and Burgers (2019: 7), this could be a result of the monological communicative context of online reviews where no direct recipient is present. Additionally, many review authors may not have assumed that potential readers of their reviews shared the same social group, which would also explain fewer stereotypical language (ibid.). In contrast, some Tripadvisor users from the sample who use stereotypical language specifically addressed fellow readers in their reviews (examples 1, 4, 17, 25), which may suggest a presumed shared social background.

60Of the stereotypes that became apparent in the sample, the positive notion of German efficiency and punctuality was mentioned most frequently (18 out of 28 stereotypical references). This finding is congruent with previous research on national stereotypes about Germany, where strong organizational skills, efficiency, and punctuality were described as typical German qualities. Since this stereotype was found in both British and U.S.-American reviews, it can be assumed that it is part of the shared cultural knowledge in both countries. Some U.S.-American and British review authors also made disparaging remarks about fellow Asian visitors to Neuschwanstein. This mirrors the results of a large-scale study about racism in Tripadvisor reviews conducted by S. Li, G. Li, Law and Paradies (2020). The authors found that racist comments about Asians are not uncommon in online travel reviews, and that the majority of racist reviews stem from users in Europe and the United States (ibid., 15).

61The specific stereotypes identified in this research are likely a result of the context in which the Tripadvisor reviews have been composed. Neuschwanstein Castle is one of Germany’s most visited monuments and a major point of interest for international tourists. Moreover, since workforce in tourism tends to be international, it can be assumed that not all staff members and tour guides who work at Neuschwanstein Castle are German. Tourists are thus likely to encounter a very international mix of both staff and tourists when visiting Neuschwanstein, with limited opportunities for interacting with Germans. This might explain why the common stereotype of Germans being unapproachable or gruff was not dominant in the sample of this study. Conversely, the frequent mentions of German efficiency and punctuality are likely connected to the rigid ticketing and tour scheduling process on site.

62Aside from stereotypical notions about Germans, the reviews analyzed in this study frequently mentioned typical aspects of Germany’s landscape and material culture. Both U.S.-American and British travelers stated their dissatisfaction with the requirement to pay for using toilet facilities in Germany, and several British tourists criticized the driving style they observed in Germany. However, in view of the low presence of stereotypes in the materials, these findings cannot be considered representative.

63In formal terms, the U.S.-American review authors used slightly more noun phrases than adjectives for expressing stereotypical notions, whereas no clear tendency became visible for the British Tripadvisor users. Combinations of the national adjective “German” and the nouns “efficiency” and “precision” were particularly frequent. In contrast, some stereotypes were expressed as idioms or catchphrases. Both samples exhibited diverse linguistic modifiers. References to people from Germany were frequently phrased as generic and thus revealed strong stereotypical beliefs with a high level of generalization (Beukeboom & Burgers, 2019: 13). Moreover, the majority of stereotypical statements were phrased explicitly and appeared to be consistent with the reviewers’ pre-existing stereotypes about Germans, which also mirrors the findings of Beukeboom and Burgers (2019: 19).

64The reviews also included several German loan words, predominantly from the field of gastronomy. This reflects the discussion on loan words in tourism discourse by Dann (1996: 183), who notes that such words are particularly common in texts about gastronomy. Several anglophone tourists seemed to have problems with the correct spelling of German names. Compared to Europeans, U.S.-Americans complete fewer foreign language classes during secondary education (Sacco, 2014: 237), and British people have been described as having a “long-standing reputation of being ‘bad at languages’” (Lanvers, 2017: 517). This might, to some degree, explain the difficulties review authors from both countries seemed to have with correctly spelling “Neuschwanstein”, “Hohenschwangau”, and “Marienbrücke”.

65Finally, some travelers made negative comments about the number and the behavior of fellow travelers, and a few review authors compared their experience at Neuschwanstein with similar sights or cultural habits in their home country.

5. Conclusions and implications for future research

66This paper has shown that some international travelers hold stereotypical beliefs which they explicitly voice in their online reviews, albeit to a relatively low degree. While most of the stereotypes identified in this research were positive, some were also clearly negative. Travel reviews with stereotypical ideas can potentially reach millions of other users. Moreover, Tripadvisor’s machine translation feature eliminates language barriers and can thus expand the number of potential readers beyond the boundaries of linguistic communities. Moreover, online reviews are seen as particularly trustworthy. They can thus play a significant role in creating, circulating, and reinforcing both positive and negative stereotypes.

67As Bolten (2019: 2930) points out, businesses continue to use national stereotypes in their marketing campaigns, and thus promote ideas that are incongruent with the reality of complex societal diversity and multiple individual identities. National stereotypes used in marketing communications may influence destination images and spill over into online travel reviews. Going forward, destination marketers and national branding experts should undertake further efforts to present positive, but also diverse images of their countries to international audiences. Such efforts, however, conflict with the marketing goal of reducing complexity and generating unique selling propositions. In view of saturated markets and increasing competition between tourism destinations, a reduction of stereotypical marketing messages seems unlikely.

68Future research in this field should analyze online reviews for touristic attractions other than Neuschwanstein Castle, to determine if similar national stereotypes for Germany become apparent. Should negative stereotypes be circulating about Germany, these might harm the country’s position as a tourism destination. National tourist organizations, tourist attractions, and tourism service providers should therefore closely monitor online reviews and, if necessary, address negative stereotypes in their communications. The topic of racism in online reviews which has only been touched briefly in this contribution is another important avenue to explore. Finally, more research should be conducted on national stereotypes for countries other than Germany, to further the understanding of the role of stereotypes in destination images.

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Notes

1 In all examples, the identified linguistic stereotypes have been underlined by the author of this paper.

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Référence électronique

Tilman Schröder, « Cultural References and Linguistic Stereotypes in Tripadvisor Reviews about Germany »ILCEA [En ligne], 51 | 2023, mis en ligne le 12 juin 2023, consulté le 26 septembre 2023. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ilcea/17595 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/ilcea.17595

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Tilman Schröder

Hochschule München

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