The German Language 225THE GERMAN LANGUAGE CAN BE MIND-BOGGLING. German, surprisingly
enough, is a relative of English. In fact, German, English
and Dutch are known as West German languages. High
German, which is used today, comes from a Saxon dialect.
Other German speakers often regard the version spoken in
Austria as singsongy. Once you have taken a few German
lessons and your ear has become used to the language, things
get easier.
Within Austria itself, there are regional differences. For
example, the German spoken in Vorarlberg is much closer
to the German they speak in neighbouring Switzerland than
in other parts of Austria. Accordingly, the Tyrolian dialect
is distinct and can be quite difficult to understand. Don’t
worry about learning all these dialects, however, because all
Austrians will communicate with you in High German.
For those living in the capital,
if you think, ‘Fine, I’ll be living in
Vienna, the cosmopolitan capital
city of Austria where they only
speak the formal German (Hoch
Deutsch)’, then you’d better
think again. Vienna probably
has more dialects within its
districts than any other Austrian
city, as it has always been home
to a variety of ethnic groups,
Susan remembers staying on
a farm in Upper Austria near
Schärding and being very proud
of the fact that she could hold
a conversation with the owner.
Thinking that the local dialect
was not all that complicated,
she was crestfallen when the
woman took a phone call and
began speaking in a dialect that
was utterly unintelligible. At that
point, she decided just to focus
on High German.