Media use shifts children towards standard German

Children and teenagers are increasingly speaking standard German rather than dialect, with digital media contributing to the change, ORF reported. But at a primary school in Rappottenstein in the Waldviertel, dialect remains an important part of everyday life.

At the school, pupils use standard German in class and often switch to dialect during breaks. Headteacher Cornelia Ledermüller said children tend to use dialect when sharing emotional experiences. Most pupils start first grade speaking dialect, she said, though she sees more children beginning to use standard German.

Speech therapist Edith Höllmüller-Bachner, who works with pupils at the school, said smartphones and tablets were a greater influence than television. She also warned that high media use can affect children’s language development. Dialect itself is not a problem, she said, adding that it has a complete grammar.

Linguist Manfred Glauninger of the Austrian Academy of Sciences described the shift as a typical part of language change. He said young people’s online activity and exposure to influencers from Germany or English-speaking countries can shape their language more than their immediate surroundings.

The social standing of dialect varies across Austria, Glauninger said. It is widely used in everyday life by people of all ages in the Waldviertel and Weinviertel, while dialect has a less positive image in Vienna and parts of Lower Austria influenced by the capital.

Glauninger said dialect would not disappear but would change. While smaller local dialects were once more common, dialects are becoming more widespread across larger areas, he said, and an everyday spoken form will continue to exist alongside standard German.