So, what have you been listening to lately?

[Dave W]

[uwe]

But they sing it in Oimerican!

A strange language for that particular song.

Cultural pronunciation divisions aside, a fine, spirited version.

[Dave W]

But they sing it in Oimerican!

A strange language for that particular song.

Cultural pronunciation divisions aside, a fine, spirited version.

They are natives of Austria.

Maybe you could speak to them in their native language and explain things to them. 

[ilan]

This. She's brilliant.

[westen44]

They are natives of Austria.

Maybe you could speak to them in their native language and explain things to them. 

[uwe]

They are natives of Austria.

Maybe you could speak to them in their native language and explain things to them. 

I don't speak Austrian (not really a language, but an aberration), and nothing good from there has ever reached our borders.

Or as Lisa Eckhart, an Austrian stand-up comedienne very popular in Germany and feared for her low pc tongue,



recently quipped:

We're on the brink of WW III, wouldn't you know it ... But it's a good thing, this time no one will be able to say how we Austrians are to blame!

[uwe]

This. She's brilliant.

Sounds like Kenny G on acid. 

[westen44]

I don't speak Austrian (not really a language, but an aberration), and nothing good from there has ever reached our borders.

Or as Lisa Eckhart, an Austrian stand-up comedienne very popular in Germany and feared for her low pc tongue,



recently quipped:

We're on the brink of WW III, wouldn't you know it ... But it's a good thing, this time no one will be able to say how we Austrians are to blame!

Nothing against the Austrians personally.  Really.  But I am genuinely puzzled  how they f***ed up the pronunciation of the German language so much.  Not being knowledgeable about the language, I really don't know what happened.  But it was definitely something major. 

[uwe]

There's a myriad different dialects of German - even Dutch is one, but don't let them hear that -, and accentless Hochdeutsch (High German) is only just another dialect spoken in the vicinity of Hannover, but somehow they sold it to us that their accent isn't really an accent and that we all have to emulate it! 

To my ears, Austrian isn't that bad (and it's certainly better to understand than a lot of others), but of course they are the butt of jokes. Lisa's "Austrian" is basically Hochdeutsch with a decadent Viennese inflection.

[ilan]

Sounds like Kenny G on acid. 

Oh my God, Uwe. That's like saying Deep Purple Mk II sound like Maroon 5 on acid. Kenny G is shopping mall elevator muzak. Schneider takes the big band format to new levels. Did you listen to the whole piece? Because you should.

[uwe]

Well, I was hoping to elicit some kind of reaction from you! Job done.

Kenny G ain't even elevator muzak, it's soft porn background! The kind of thing you heard to accompany the visual, uhum, act (in time with softly accentuated moaning) in one of those glamour-artsy, soft-focus & butt-pimple-free Andrew Blake flicks where people never really did much but get laid in vast white interior design mansions and the sun always shone. Just like real life, essentially.



No, Schneider is actually pleasantly feverish and intricate, I would wager to guess that Be Bop and Cool Jazz are not on her list of disliked genres. It's demanding music, but there is nothing wrong with that.

I have one or two Moron 5 (or whatever they're called) CDs. The music encapsulate vacuity perfectly - the absence of matter as we know it. You can't even dislike it - there's nothing there! 

[westen44]

There's a myriad different dialects of German - even Dutch is one, but don't let them hear that -, and accentless Hochdeutsch (High German) is only just another dialect spoken in the vicinity of Hannover, but somehow they sold it to us that their accent isn't really an accent and that we all have to emulate it! 

To my ears, Austrian isn't that bad (and it's certainly better to understand than a lot of others), but of course they are the butt of jokes. Lisa's "Austrian" is basically Hochdeutsch with a decadent Viennese inflection.

If someone doesn't speak the language, the reaction to it is just a general one based on impressions.  That would be my case with German.  But to my ears to sound of northern and central German sound very pleasing.  As good or better than anything I've ever heard.  I like central German better.  But northern German sounds good, too, although it's a little harsh.  But certain kinds of southern German are just a little too much for me.  Like I've already said, Austrian German sounds even more radical.  To illustrate my point, I ordered a German course from The Great Courses some time ago.  I was not happy when I discovered the professor was an American who had studied in Austria.  He definitely knew his stuff.  But that Austrian accent is just about too much for me.  Honestly, I'd just rather not hear it.  Maybe if it was a sexy Austrian woman, that would change my attitude.  But that's not what I got.  BTW, I wasn't aware at all that the Austrian accent is something people joke about.  My reaction to it is strictly personal and subjective. 

[uwe]

An Austrian accent wins over all existing languages.



And that Predator probably preferred Hochdeutsch. Or he wanted an accurate pronunciation of helicopter.

[westen44]

It might be easier to keep things simple and use Spanish.

[uwe]

Arnie is a cunning linguist, a master of many tongues.