Comments on: Obama: Austrian Is a Language

By: Kat

Kat — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:43:23 +0000

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.

By: Hannah Gasser

Hannah Gasser — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:30:50 +0000

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!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:00:32 +0000

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”.

By: boulder thomas

boulder thomas — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:45:31 +0000

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.

By: Setay

Setay — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:43:55 +0000

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?

By: reinald

reinald — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:23:55 +0000

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?

By: cor

cor — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:32:18 +0000

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).

By: Michael Jezierski

Michael Jezierski — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:31:49 +0000

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.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:45:48 +0000

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.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:25:00 +0000

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

As German is a pluricentric language, Austrian German is another standard variety in addition to the German spoken in Germany. Much like the relationship between American and British English, Austrian German is simply another standard form of the German language. The “Österreichisches Wörterbuch” states specific grammar rules and is a dictionary using Austrian spelling. In addition to this standard variety, in everyday life, most Austrians speak one of a number of High German dialects.