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Thats interesting. I’ve heard the same about the UK. Here in Germany the regional accents go further into becoming whole dialects, people tend to keep them whil
by jamil7 6y ago
Thats interesting. I’ve heard the same about the UK. Here in Germany the regional accents go further into becoming whole dialects, people tend to keep them while learning a standard German in school. Strangely I’ve been told that in New Zealand the accents are getting stronger among young people. I dropped my Australian accent subconsciously when I moved to Europe years ago as it wasn’t practical and hard to be understood when speaking English with people, it appears sometimes after a few beers or when I’m with other Australians.
- Megranium 6y agoInteresting that you percieve it that way. Like, accents becoming dialects, not the other way round. I'd think "dialects" like lower german, Plattdeutsch, Bavarian etc. are older than current standard German, and what remains of them are the accents. That being said, especially in rural areas, the dialects are well kept. In fact, being from the western regions of Germany, I have a hard time understanding villagers from the Black Forest if they talk their native dialect. Still, in urban areas, the general trend is the same, no ? Dialects are spoken by less and less people (in fact I don't speak a single word of Plattdeutsch, even if I'm from an area where it was once common). What remains are temporary sociolects and accents. At least that's my perception of things.
- jamil7 6y agoYeah I agree with you, I'm not a native German speaker but I have a hard time with regional German dialects, especially in the South. You're correct though the trend is mostly the same it's very rare to hear the Berlin dialect but it does happen from time to time.