Visiting Wien

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Gregor
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Visiting Wien

Postby Gregor » 2015-12-10, 9:25

Guten Tag!

I'm going to visit Wien at the end of December for couple of weeks!
Unfortunately, I don't speak German at all. Is it possible to learn some phrases in German in such a short term to keep minimal politeness? Can someone teach me some phrases for example which are particulary usefull in Wien/Austria? Is there any speciality in Austrian German and how can I impress locals with it? Are there any features in Austrian pronounciation? I'd be glad to have any infomation 'cause I so much like how this language sounds and will be happy to learn at least some phrases.

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linguoboy
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Re: Visiting Wien

Postby linguoboy » 2015-12-10, 15:44

Gregor wrote:I'm going to visit Wien at the end of December for couple of weeks!
Unfortunately, I don't speak German at all. Is it possible to learn some phrases in German in such a short term to keep minimal politeness? Can someone teach me some phrases for example which are particulary usefull in Wien/Austria? Is there any speciality in Austrian German and how can I impress locals with it? Are there any features in Austrian pronounciation? I'd be glad to have any infomation 'cause I so much like how this language sounds and will be happy to learn at least some phrases.

My ex loved to quote some old guidebook for English people visiting Austria which instructed them to thank people by saying, "Donkey fieldmice!" This is a surprisingly close approximation of the Viennese dialect pronunciation of "Danke vielmals!" ("Many thanks!"). Sadly, it's quite out of fashion nowadays; I only heard it once during our visit, from a rather elderly lady.

This site is a total hoot: http://www.karanitsch.net/w6/vfa.htm. (Note that the pronunciation they give for Danke schön is "donkey-shay".)
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

Gregor
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Re: Visiting Wien

Postby Gregor » 2015-12-11, 8:21

linguoboy wrote: My ex loved to quote some old guidebook for English people visiting Austria which instructed them to thank people by saying, "Donkey fieldmice!" This is a surprisingly close approximation of the Viennese dialect pronunciation of "Danke vielmals!" ("Many thanks!"). Sadly, it's quite out of fashion nowadays; I only heard it once during our visit, from a rather elderly lady.

This site is a total hoot: http://www.karanitsch.net/w6/vfa.htm. (Note that the pronunciation they give for Danke schön is "donkey-shay".)


Thanks for the link - it looks like exactly what I need - I'll try to learn as much as possible.
What about the form "Vielen Dank" I learned from my colleage who spent his childhood in Germany? I think it is allright, isn't it?
As for pronounciation - unfortunately most of the German dictionaries I found have no IPA transcription.
BTW, what about using English in Austria? While travelling I had contradictory examples e.g. in Netherlands where I had no communication problems speaking English everywhere and Italy where most of the people I spoke didn't understand me or replied in Italian.

squeezethezebra
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Re: Visiting Wien

Postby squeezethezebra » 2015-12-20, 21:35

Gregor wrote:
linguoboy wrote: My ex loved to quote some old guidebook for English people visiting Austria which instructed them to thank people by saying, "Donkey fieldmice!" This is a surprisingly close approximation of the Viennese dialect pronunciation of "Danke vielmals!" ("Many thanks!"). Sadly, it's quite out of fashion nowadays; I only heard it once during our visit, from a rather elderly lady.

This site is a total hoot: http://www.karanitsch.net/w6/vfa.htm. (Note that the pronunciation they give for Danke schön is "donkey-shay".)


Thanks for the link - it looks like exactly what I need - I'll try to learn as much as possible.
What about the form "Vielen Dank" I learned from my colleage who spent his childhood in Germany? I think it is allright, isn't it?
As for pronounciation - unfortunately most of the German dictionaries I found have no IPA transcription.
BTW, what about using English in Austria? While travelling I had contradictory examples e.g. in Netherlands where I had no communication problems speaking English everywhere and Italy where most of the people I spoke didn't understand me or replied in Italian.


Hi Gregor,

I'm an Australian living in Wien and I can tell you that most people here speak impeccable (yet heavily accented) English. You'll be fine.

Here are my desert island survival sentences for Wien.

Grüß Got (Grooss Got) - Greetings - Sort of translates to God's Greetings - very commonly used among the majority of shopkeepers and restaurant/cafe staff, if someone says it to you, say it back. I often use "Hallo" instead.
Danke (Dun-Keh) - Thank you - There is no real need to say anything more than that, but you could add Shön (Shern) if you really want to extend your gratitude.
Bitte (Bit-teh) - Please - Can also be used to mean something like "you're welcome" (e.g. They say "Danke.", you say "Bitte.")
Ich Möchte (Ich merch-teh) - NOTE: The pronunciation of CH in German is similar to the H in the name Hugh or the term Hue (in regard to colour) - I would like...
Wo ist... (Voh ist) - Where is..?

Just adding this as a bonus because you may get asked often in shops...

Sackerl (Szuck-erl) - A shopping bag - called a "Tute" in other German speaking countries.


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