{"id":13086,"date":"2021-06-23T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T09:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13086"},"modified":"2021-06-22T09:22:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T09:22:00","slug":"how-different-is-austrian-german-to-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/how-different-is-austrian-german-to-german\/","title":{"rendered":"How Different Is Austrian German To German?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When thinking about which other countries speak German, perhaps the most obvious one that springs to mind is \u00d6sterreich \u2013 Austria, Germany\u2019s neighbour, where German is also the national language. But a question learners often have is, how different is Austrian German to German? And will I be able to use my German language skills if I visit Austria?<\/strong><\/em> In this post I will give you some information on the differences and similarities between the German used in Germany, and that used in Austria. Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n

\"austrian

Austria. Photo by Dimitry Anikin<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Official language<\/h2>\n

The official language of Germany is Standarddeutsch<\/strong> (Standard German), also called Hochdeutsch<\/strong> (High German). The official language of Austria is \u00d6sterreichisches Standarddeutsch<\/strong> (Standard Austrian German), also called \u00d6sterreichisches Hochdeutsch<\/strong> (Austrian High German). This should tell you that, while there are some differences between the two languages, they are, at their core, the same. A promising start!<\/p>\n

Dialect<\/h2>\n

It is important to differentiate between the official<\/em> languages of Germany & Austria (Hochdeutsch \/ \u00d6sterreichisches Hochdeutsch) – which are written and spoken in formal settings such as schools and the media – from the dialect spoken in southern Germany and Austria. Dialect and culture-wise, Austria has greater similarities to southern (Bavarian) Germany than any other German region. Both Bavaria and Austria speak an Austro-Bavarian (Bairisch<\/em>) dialect, which is distinctly different from Hochdeutsch. In some rural regions of Austria, this dialect is so prominent that Hochdeutsch is referred to as Schriftdeutsch<\/strong> (\u2018written German\u2019), as the only time it is used is in writing! However, even if they normally speak in dialect, most Austrians will use \u00d6sterreichisches Hochdeutsch when speaking to tourists, for example.<\/p>\n

\"austrian

Aprikose\/Marille. Photo by Anthony Legrand<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Word differences<\/h2>\n

Like British and American English, there are some word differences between German and Austrian German. Here are a few examples of food names that are different (one to look out for in restaurants!):<\/p>\n

German: die Kartoffel
\nAustrian: der Erdapfel<\/strong>
\nEnglish: Potato<\/p>\n

German: die Tomate
\nAustrian: der Paradeiser<\/strong>
\nEnglish: Tomato<\/p>\n

German: die Schlagsahne
\nAustrian: das Schlagobers<\/strong>
\nEnglish: Whipped cream<\/p>\n

German: die Aprikose
\nAustrian: die Marille<\/strong>
\nEnglish: Apricot<\/p>\n

There are also other word differences, such as:<\/p>\n

In Germany, the word die Gasse<\/strong> refers to a little alleyway<\/strong> or side street<\/strong>. In Austria, the word die Gasse<\/em> can refer to any<\/em> kind of street.<\/p>\n

In Germany, the word for January is Januar<\/strong>. In Austria, they call it J\u00e4nner<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Diminutives & omitted letters<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019d like to read up on diminutives, click here.<\/a> The diminutive endings in German are -lein<\/em> (eg. das H\u00e4uslein \u2013 little house) and -chen<\/em> (das Br\u00f6tchen \u2013 little bread roll). In Austrian German, however, the endings are -erl <\/strong>or -l<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Gasse \u2013 Gassl<\/strong> (street)
\nM\u00e4dchen \u2013 M\u00e4dl\/Madl<\/strong> (girl)
\nBlume \u2013 Blumerl<\/strong> (flower)<\/p>\n

Note: This is how they are pronounced, but you may see them written down like this in non-formal settings, too.<\/p>\n

Another feature of Austrian German is leaving letters out of words. Again, this will be apparent in speech, but you may see words written this way, too. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

Ich bin \u2013 I bin<\/strong> (I am)
\nEs ist \u2013 Es is<\/strong> (it is)
\nGesicht \u2013 Gsicht<\/strong> or G\u2019sicht (face)
\nKerze \u2013 Kerzn<\/strong> or Kerz\u2019n (candle\/candles \u2013 this word can refer to one, or more candles)<\/p>\n

\"austrian

Blume \/ Blumerl. Photo by Guillaume de Germain<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Catholic influence<\/h2>\n

Catholicism is the most prominent religion in Austria, and as such there are sprinklings of religion in its everyday phrases. The most notable is that, instead of Guten Tag<\/strong> (hello\/good day) you are likely to hear the phrase Gr\u00fc\u00df Gott<\/strong> (\u2018greetings to God\u2019) as a greeting. This is also the case in southern Germany. It’s not taught in German lessons because it’s regional, rather than Hochdeutsch, but it is a common greeting in Austria and southern Germany.<\/p>\n

To sum up:<\/h2>\n

Though there are some differences in vocabulary, you can definitely use your German language skills in \u00d6sterreich<\/strong>! You may hear and read dialect in places, too, but the vast majority of natives will speak and understand Hochdeutsch. I\u2019d say the main thing is to become familiar with the differences in food names, for when you go out to eat, as there are several foods in Austria that have different names to those in Germany.<\/p>\n

Let me know if you have ever visited Austria, and how you found the language over there! Did you have any trouble communicating with your German, or was it easy? I\u2019d love to know!<\/p>\n

Bis bald (see you soon)
\nConstanze<\/p>\n

\"austrian

Austria. Photo by Dimitry Anikin<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"austrian

When thinking about which other countries speak German, perhaps the most obvious one that springs to mind is \u00d6sterreich \u2013 Austria, Germany\u2019s neighbour, where German is also the national language. But a question learners often have is, how different is Austrian German to German? And will I be able to use my German language skills…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":13093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8,547385],"tags":[916,522213,58,95131,376023,376027],"class_list":["post-13086","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","category-travel-geography","tag-austria","tag-austrian-german","tag-dialect","tag-german-language","tag-language","tag-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13086"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13110,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13086\/revisions\/13110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}