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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| ruskivyetr Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5482 days ago 769 posts - 962 votes  Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish, Russian, Polish, Modern Hebrew | Message 1 of 17 07 July 2012 at 8:50am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Hi all ^_^.
First off, I'd like to explain that I'm taking a gap year between high school and college, and I have 5 countries I must choose. Austria is a high choice, mainly because it is the only German speaking country that accepts post graduates (which I will be), but also because the thought of Austria is just so appealing: A small, often overlooked German speaking country that has so much to offer. Many think of Switzerland and Germany when thinking of German, but I like to include the whole Deutscher Sprachraum, and Austria just seems so...DIFFERENT for some reason. My question pertains to the typical vernacular spoken by the common Austrian. I understand that dialect is very prominent in this part of the Deutscher Sprachraum, although I have always assumed that these dialects were, like in Germany, mostly spoken by either older people or in rural areas, NOT like in Switzerland. For anyone who has been to Austria, is it very common for people to speak in Standard German? I have an Austrian friend, and we speak in Standard German to each other, however she claims that she understands dialect. Is the dialect situation in Austria like that of Northern Germany, or like that of Bavaria and Switzerland? Would poor old me, who can't understand a lick of Bavarian or Schweizerdeutsch go absolutely crazy? Also, sorry if any of my assumptions are incorrect, my assumptions are based on what I've heard from people I'd like to say I trust, although you know what they say about assuming... Edit: When I say I must choose five countries, I mean that there's a possibility that I would be assigned ONE of those countries. Edited by ruskivyetr on 07 July 2012 at 8:52am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Kyle Corrie Senior Member United States Joined 4830 days ago 175 posts - 464 votes | Message 2 of 17 07 July 2012 at 9:27am | IP Logged | ||||||||
For some more tidbits of information you can search for the entire thread entitled 'Arnold Schwarzenegger German'. Edited by Kyle Corrie on 07 July 2012 at 9:31am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| michi Nonaglot Newbie Austria Joined 5302 days ago 33 posts - 57 votes Speaks: Dutch*, German, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Portuguese Studies: Turkish, Arabic (Written), Serbo-Croatian, Indonesian, Japanese | Message 3 of 17 07 July 2012 at 4:22pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I think I can tell you something about this. I am a Dutchman, but I have been living in Vienna since more than twenty years. When I came to Austria for the first time I didn't have much problems communicating and understanding the Austrians. German was an obligatory subject in my highschool and I was quite good in it. Of course I had learned the German from Germany, and sometimes the Austrian vocabulary was different. "Erdäpfel" instead of "Kartoffeln" for potatoes. But I can't say this was a big problem.
With regard to the question if people speak a dialect in Austria it depends very much where you go. On the countryside people might really speak a dialect, but this is not the case in Vienna or other larger cities like Innsbruck, Graz or Salzburg or tourist resorts where people are used to speak to tourists from Germany. Moreover there is quite a bit of a generation gap. Older people in Vienna sound much more Viennese than the younger generation whose speech is very much influenced by the modern mass media. Most of the Austrians that I know never switch from dialect to standard language but always speak the same. Sometimes it is said that the "best German" is spoken in Hannover but I certainly don't agree with that. I prefer the Southern variation of Standard German as it is used in Austria and Germany to the Northern variation that often sounds a bit course. Sometimes the German spoken by the actors at the Burgtheater in Vienna has been considerd the best German. And even if people really speak a dialect the Austrian dialects are historically closer to East Middle German - the basis of Standard German - than the Swiss or Swabian dialects or Plattdeutsch from Northern Germany and therefor easier to understand. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Sprachgenie Decaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5710 days ago 128 posts - 165 votes Speaks: German*, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Faroese, Icelandic, Flemish, Persian, Swiss-German Studies: English, Belarusian | Message 4 of 17 07 July 2012 at 5:30pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I feel qualified to give a response here because I am German and have lived in Austria. You must differentiate between the Austrian dialects and the Austrian accent. You will not have any chance at understanding a real dialect, but an Austrian speaking standard German will also cause problems for you. The accent is very strong and it will seem very mumbled to you. This is the case even in large cities among educated people.
The good thing however is that Austrians tend to speak English quite well (better than Germans in my opinion) and like to switch to English right away if they notice you are American or English. So on the positive side, you will probably be able to get by fine in Austria without speaking any German at all. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5454 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 5 of 17 07 July 2012 at 6:19pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Although many Austrians (and Germans) speak English well, there are also many that do not. Edited by tractor on 07 July 2012 at 6:52pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Sprachgenie Decaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5710 days ago 128 posts - 165 votes Speaks: German*, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Faroese, Icelandic, Flemish, Persian, Swiss-German Studies: English, Belarusian | Message 6 of 17 07 July 2012 at 8:27pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I can't say that I agree with that statement. In any event, the people at the university where the poster will be studying will all speak good English. And when they speak German to each other, they will definitely have a strong Austrian accent. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5454 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 7 of 17 07 July 2012 at 8:56pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
My statement is based on my personal experience talking to shop assistants, taxi drivers and waiters. On the other hand, my impression is also that people with a university education generally speak very good English. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| ruskivyetr Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5482 days ago 769 posts - 962 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish, Russian, Polish, Modern Hebrew | Message 8 of 17 07 July 2012 at 9:32pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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The problem is, I don't really have the option to communicate in English, unless I speak English 24/7 to
everyone I meet. One can tell I'm foreign from the way I speak German, however there is no indication of any American or British accent. I would also be attending school, and it'd be nice to be able to make friends that I could understand in a language other than English. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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