German language in Germany and Austria.

--   Fri May 29, 2009 4:18 pm GMT
<<In France, Germany and Spain the standard pronunciation is encouraged, ...>>

Are you really sure?
Guest   Fri May 29, 2009 4:21 pm GMT
In Spain at least it's not true. Many politicians and journalists in Spain speak with thick Andalussian accent to the point of resulting comical sometimes. Standard pronunciation is not encouraged as it is in France.
accent français   Fri May 29, 2009 4:52 pm GMT
Standard pronunciation is not encouraged in France too. Many french in the south speak with "l'accent marseillais", in the North it's the "chti accent", there are too alsacian accent, l'accent breton, l'accent champenois etc...and of course the famous parisian accent. Not everyone in France speak like parisian, thanks God!!!
x   Fri May 29, 2009 7:36 pm GMT
Standard pronunciation is also not encouraged in Germany, too. There's a federal country which claims that they can everything exept speaking Hochdeutsch.
{Oklahoma}   Sat May 30, 2009 2:59 pm GMT
There's a federal country which claims that they can everything exept speaking Hochdeutsch.
/

Bavaria?
x   Sat May 30, 2009 3:18 pm GMT
Baden-Würtemberg
--   Sat May 30, 2009 3:22 pm GMT
Kaeops,

How comes it that you think that in France, Germany and Spain the standard pronunciation is encouraged?

(There once was a thread here in Antimoon with a similar claim.)
x   Sat May 30, 2009 3:24 pm GMT
Ah, excuse me, it's Baden-Württemberg!
minn   Sat May 30, 2009 6:48 pm GMT
Sorry, what exactly do they speak in that region?
Sandro   Sat May 30, 2009 9:14 pm GMT
Do I need to learn Austrian german if I go to Austria, or the german I'm learning in school is enought ?
Commonaswhole   Sat May 30, 2009 10:55 pm GMT
You'll learn to understand them by the context if you know Standard German IMO. The more you speak to them the better. Just inform yourself about some vocabulary differences and you'll be fine fine fine.
German native speakers tend to be very easy-going when it comes to communicating. They're no Parisian French.
Sandro   Sat May 30, 2009 11:02 pm GMT
"They're no Parisian French" ???

What do you mean ?
Commonaswhole   Sat May 30, 2009 11:08 pm GMT
If you speak broken French in Paris, you'll get a big *sigh* as a reaction. People in the capital of France expect everyone to perfectly speak the language of Molière. It's great incendiary to put more effort in learning the language though.

Germans and Austrians on the other hand, are already satisfied when you are able to make yourself clear. Of course they tend to trust people more when they can express themselves in German in a natural way.

I guess you're fine of you just learn Standard German. Expect people to speak to you in dialect though. Try to decipher them. It often works for me.
gollum   Sat May 30, 2009 11:39 pm GMT
Not only in Baden-Wuerttemberg but also in Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz and Hessen, a lot of people do have problems speaking Standard German. Even some of their politicians use the regional dialect.

I agree that Germans don't care "how" a non-native speaks their language. They'll just be happy you use it in the first place, even if it's broken. In that case they're patient with you and sort of glad to help you out.
Kendra   Sun May 31, 2009 6:09 am GMT
but at least on MTV Germany youngsters (VJ's) use Hochdeutch,
on British MTV most VJ's have heavy Cockney-like accents (ollroyte mite), they sound very low class, and not posh at all. I know MTV is no BBC World, but it should be with a touch of class, it's no agriculture channel to hear low class accents...