The problems of Austrian German in Europe

Paul Jandl expresses his concern about the survival of Austrian German in Europe. "The world of Europe is multi-centred, but so is the German language. In it, Austrian High German, as well as Swiss High German, are not secondary phenomena. At least that's what philologists say. But try telling that to Europeans. Only slowly did Austria find its way back to its language after the Second World War." Jandl describes how Austrian German can sometimes cause problems in EU committees: "An Austrian official's announcement that illegal border crossers had been 'betreten' (kicked) caused a commotion at an EU plenary session. A tumultuous half hour ensued because there were fears that in Austria human rights were literally being trampled on. Eventually the misunderstanding was cleared up: in Austria if someone is 'betreten' it means he's caught in the act."

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