Inscrutable and proud

June 19, 2014

Brian Bloch’s excellent piece on impenetrable academic German (“Tapeworm got your tongue?”, News, 12 June) reminded me of a comment I heard many years ago about the German professoriate: “Sie schämen sich, wenn sie verstanden werden.” (They are ashamed when they are understood.)

Pól Ó Dochartaigh
National University of Ireland, Galway

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