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Viennese has to be distinguished from the Austrian form of Standard German and other forms of Austrian German .


GRAMMAR AND PHONOLOGY

Grammar and Phonology of Viennese are mostly identical to other Austro-Bavarian dialects, but there are some differences, such as
  • avoidance of the Genitive case;

  • use of the preposition ''ohne'' (without) with the Dative case instead of the Accusative .

  • In those cases where other Austro-Bavarian dialects replace standard German ''ei'' with ''oa'', Viennese uses a long ''a''. (E.g. Standard German ''zwei'' (=two), general Austro-Bavarian ''zwoa'', Viennese ''zwa'').

  • In those cases where ''ei'' is not replaced by ''oa'' in Austro-Bavarian (e.g. ''drei'' (=three)), it is usually pronounced as a long open 'e' (similar to the pronunciation of ''ä'' in parts of Germany).

  • Hard consonants (particularly t and p) are pronounced as soft - the letter ''v'' is often pronounced like the softer ''w''.

  • In the Working Class dialect, the pronunciation of the letter "l" reflects the Czech pronunciation. This is known as ''Meidlinger L'', after the working-class district of Meidling .



VOCABULARY

The Viennese vocabulary displays particular characteristics. Viennese retains many Middle High German and sometimes even Old High German roots. Furthermore, it integrated many expressions from other languages, particularly from other parts of the former Habsburg Monarchy , as Vienna served as a Melting Pot for its constituent populations in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The transcription of Viennese has not been standardised. Thus, the rendering of pronunciation here is incomplete:

Examples:

  • from Old High German :

  • ---''Zähnd'' (Standard German ''Zähne'', English ''teeth'', from zand)

  • ---''Hemad'' (''Hemd'', = English ''shirt'', from ''hemidi'')

  • from Middle High German :

  • ---''Greißler'' (=''small grocer'', from ''griuzel'' - Diminutive of ''Gruz'' =''grain'')

  • ---''Baaz'' (=''slimy mass'', from ''batzen''=''being sticky'')

  • ---''si ohfrettn'' (=''to struggle'', from ''vretten'')

  • from Hebrew and Yiddish :

  • ---''Masl'' (=''luck'', from masol)

  • ---''Hawara'' (=''friend, companion'', from ''chavver'')

  • ---''Gannef'' (=''crook'', from ''ganab'')

  • ---''Beisl'' (=''bar, pub'', from ''bajser'')

  • from Czech :

  • ---''Motschga'' (=''unappetizing mush'', from ''mocka''=''residue in a pipe'' or ''macka''=''Sauce, Soup'')

  • ---''Pfrnak'' (=''(big) nose'')

  • from Hungarian :

  • ---''Maschekseitn'' (=''the other side'', from ''a másik'')

  • ---''Gattihosn'' (=''long underpants'', from ''gatya'' = ''trousers'')

  • from Italian :

  • ---''Gspusi'' (=''girlfriend'', from ''sposa'')

  • ---''Gstanzl'' (=''Stanza of a humorous song'', from stanza)

  • from French :

  • ---''Trottoa'' (=''sidewalk'', from ''trottoir'')

  • ---''Lawua'' (=''washbowl'', from ''lavoir'')

  • ---''Loschi'' (from ''logis'')



LITERATURE AND USAGE

The most well-known poets writing in Viennese are Wolfgang Teuschl , most known for his translation of the Gospel into Viennese (''Da Jesus und seine Hawara'', meaning ''Jesus and his Buddies''), and H.C. Artmann (''med ana schwoazzn dintn'', meaning ''In Black Ink''). H.C. Artmann and Günter Brödl (Author of '' Dr. Kurt Ostbahn '') also translated three volumes of the Asterix series into Viennese.

More recently, Viennese has been receding to some degree because of an increased influence of Standard German (partly due to the influence of TV ). From this, a variety of Standard German with a particular Viennese accent has developed, which usually is spoken by the younger, better educated people of Vienna.


SEE ALSO