Learn about varieties of German language
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Michael: Where is German spoken? |
| Anja: And how many varieties of German are there? |
| Michael: At GermanPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Let's imagine the following situation. Hanna Hanselmann is meeting her fellow student Emma Eder for the first time. On hearing her speak German, she asks, |
| "Where did you learn German?" |
| Hanna Hanselmann: Wo hast du Deutsch gelernt? |
| Hanna Hanselmann: Wo hast du Deutsch gelernt? |
| Emma Eder: In Österreich. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Hanna Hanselmann: Wo hast du Deutsch gelernt? |
| Michael: "Where did you learn German?" |
| Emma Eder: In Österreich. |
| Michael: "In Austria." |
| Michael: German, or |
| Anja: Deutsch |
| Michael: is used not only in Germany, but also as an official or co-official language in Austria, |
| Anja: Österreich |
| Michael: Belgium, |
| Anja: Belgien |
| Michael: Switzerland, |
| Anja: Schweiz |
| Michael: Luxembourg |
| Anja: Luxemburg |
| Michael: and Liechtenstein. |
| Anja: Liechtenstein. |
| Michael: German has the most native speakers in the European Union, |
| Anja: Die Europäische Union, |
| Michael: and is also the third most common language in the EU, after English and French. In addition, German is also a recognized minority language in 13 countries: Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. |
| Michael: As you can see, German is spoken in many locations across the world. As a result, German has many varieties and dialects, but only three of them are acknowledged as Standard German, or |
| Anja: Hochdeutsch |
| Michael: The three forms of Standard German are as follows: German Standard German, |
| Anja: Bundesdeutsches Hochdeutsch |
| Michael: Austrian Standard German, |
| Anja: Österreichisches Hochdeutsch |
| Michael: and Swiss Standard German. |
| Anja: Schweizer Hochdeutsch |
| Michael: If you want to know more about the differences between them, please keep an eye on our future podcasts - we will be talking about the different varieties of German very soon! |
| Michael: Let's practice the opening dialogue. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the German speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Hanna Hanselmann asked, |
| "Where did you learn German?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: Wo hast du Deutsch gelernt? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Anja: Wo hast du Deutsch gelernt? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: Wo hast du Deutsch gelernt? |
| Michael: And how did EMMA EDER say, |
| "In Austria"? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: In Österreich. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Anja: In Österreich. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: In Österreich. |
| Michael: Now, one last bit of trivia. Did you know that German is the second most spoken language in North Dakota? In fact, the US has a considerable amount of German speakers, due to mass immigration which started as early as the 1680s, and continued through the 1700s and into the early 20th century. |
| Michael: Now you know what places to visit to practice your German. Do you want to know more? Be sure to download the lesson notes for this lesson at GermanPod101.com — and move onto the next lesson! |
Comments
Hide