At a news conference afterward, Obama said his debut on the international stage had convinced him that “political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate,” where he served before entering the White House.
“There’s a lot of — I don’t know what the term is in Austrian — wheeling and dealing, and people are pursuing their interests, and everybody has their own particular issues and their own particular politics,” he said in response to an Austrian reporter’s question.
The preening buffoon continues his march across Europe, impressing everyone he sees.
For those of you from Kentucky that don’t know (and for those of you from posh Hyde Park suburbs of Chicago that also obviously also don’t know), Austrians speak German.
Way to insult Kentucky! For those Hoosiers who have clearly never traveled before, the Austrians call their language “Österreichisches” (rough English translation for our language-challenged Hoosier friend: “Austrian”) and while being German, is considered to be quite different from German, with unique spelling and grammar.
You don’t have to be a German scholar, but being unable to use the google makes one look like a preening buffoon, doesn’t it?
I’m aware of the distinction; I don’t think it’s anywhere near operative in this case. The actual term is “Österreichisches Deutsch” or Austrian Standard German, which is what it is. It’s a variant of German, similar to how the English spoken in the United States is not the same as the English spoken in Britain, but is still English.
Folks in the United States don’t speak “American.” As much as it might be very different in spelling, grammar, and pronunciation from the King’s English (exceedingly different in certain parts of the United States), it’s still English.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_German
My mother is a native of Germany, she has traveled to nearby Austria. They speak German. It may be a slightly different dialect, but like the many dialects in German it is still German.
As a friend of mine who once lived in the Munich suburbs told me, Austrian is someone trying to speak German with a mouthful of bubble gum.
I’m a dutchmen living in Austria for 11 years now.
Austrian and German are quiet different and Austrian can be seen as a language (as WIKI states a variety of the German language). Do not tell an Autrian he speaks German, they call it Piefkes-Deutsch (piefke is a not so nice name for a German). So when Obama said he does not speak Austrian he was not telling something stupid (I’m certainly no fan of Obama).
BS. I am Austrian and we do not have “… unique spelling and grammar …” in the sense that we have our own formal(!) language. Something like a decade ago German spelling and grammar was reformed and the process was officially coordinated between Germany, Austria and Switzerland(!). This should give you an inclination how close we are, the differences are way fewer than between BE and AE. There’s nothing like e.g. harbourharbor spelling differences. Simple truth is: Obama knows squat about Austria. But then, who cares?
Fox News is making a big deal about this. I’m willing to bet 4 out of 5 Republicans (or Fox News hosts) could find Austria on the map. After all, aren’t they the ones who defended McCain repeated references to Czechoslovakia?
I checked two major Vienna newspapers and found that they and their readers did not lose any sleep over this so-called gaffe. A little bit of friendly ribbing was all they could muster.
Besides – the man was dead tired when he held that press conference. And I’m sure his new friend, the Gouvernator will enlighten him regarding the intricacies of the German language.
I love how liberals are more that willing to cut Obama slack for his gaffes. “Besides – the man was dead tired”. Whenever Bush did this, and it was often, he was skewered and NEVER cut any slack for being “tired”.
I’m Austrian and our official language is German, even though we speak dialects that vary from region to region. This is yet another proof that the King has no clothes. How long will it take people to admit that? Those who will do it sooner will look less as fools later, because that they will be looked at as such is a given. The parallels to Europe in the thirties and forties are striking. Luckily my family was on the side that opposed Hitler and Mussolini at that time. Maybe that’s why I could see right through this. As soon as Obama opened his mouth I knew that he was a fraud.
Wake up people!
My German-speaking husband, who voted for and contributed to Obama’s campaign, grudgingly agrees that there is no such thing as an Austrian language, in the same way that there is no language called “Canadian” or “American”. We all speak English.
I relished pointing this latest of Obama’s faux pas out to him. Obama, among his many other vanities, promotes himself as a wise Man of the World, when in fact he knows very little about foreign countries outside of Kenya and perhaps Indonesia (and only because he lived there). His castigating Americans for being unilingual rings hollow when he himself can’t speak any foreign language, or even phrases (ref. “Cinco de Cuatro”).
As an aside, he needs a coach to help root out those annoying “uh”s and pauses that pollute his unscripted, unteleprompted speech.
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