In which regions of Germany do people speak High German and no dialects?

[Mash]

I want to learn German in Germany, and like most I want to learn standard High German. In which parts of Germany does everyone speak High German and no dialects? I think the dialects would just be an unneeded distraction.

[Monty]

I want to learn German in Germany, and like most I want to learn standard High German. In which parts of Germany does everyone speak High German and no dialects? I think the dialects would just be an unneeded distraction.

Pretty sure every region in Germany has its own dialect, but that shouldn't be a problem. People will always speak to you (a foreigner) in standard German or English, although they may use local terms for everyday objects every now or then.

The further south you go, the heavier the dialect. By the time you're in Switzerland, it's almost a different language. It's the same with Austria, but to a lesser extent. A German from anywhere but Bayern might struggle to understand Swiss German and some Austrian dialects.

You do need to get used to the local accent, but again, the accent gets thicker only towards the south.

Nobody "learns" German dialects. They pick them up (if they must) by living in the area where the dialect is spoken. Dialects have very little learning material, usually none.

[Mash]

The further south you go, the heavier the dialect. By the time you're in Switzerland, it's almost a different language. It's the same with Austria, but to a lesser extent. A German from anywhere but Bayern might struggle to understand Swiss German and some Austrian dialects.

You do need to get used to the local accent, but again, the accent gets thicker only towards the south.

I find it odd that the dialects get heavier and the accents get thicker as you go south. I'm not questioning that you're right. I'm sure you are. I just think it's unusual that in northern regions speech is closer to standard German, when originally, High German is from southern Germany. Do you have any ideas as to why it's like this?

[alaart]

The purest Standard-German to be spoken is considered to be the one spoken in Hannover.

I haven't been too much in the north, but in the Ruhr Area standard German (or something very close to it) is also the norm. I think the north is closer to standard German in general, but the closer you get to the coast the stronger dialects get again.

In general in medium-sized to bigger cities Standard-German will be the norm among the younger generations regardless where you are. Yes, southern dialects are strong, especially in the rural areas, but you will be fine in bigger cities.

I find it odd that the dialects get heavier and the accents get thicker as you go south. I'm not questioning that you're right. I'm sure you are. I just think it's unusual that in northern regions speech is closer to standard German, when originally, High German is from southern Germany. Do you have any ideas as to why it's like this?

An interesting question, I had a very brief research and read this article.

In summary / translated with my own words: Because north German dialects were too different from High German they adapted by speaking closer to the written form, whereas in the south people could tweak the written form with local pronunciation and be fine. In the north this would have been impossible because a lot of characters would have to change in every word, this then led to the phenomenon that Northerners speak the best High German.


I'm not an expert on any of this, just my experience of speaking with Germans from different areas - and I have lived in 4 regions with different dialects.

[PeterMollenburg]

I have no knowledge on this matter, but...

Generally speaking, large cities usually contain a higher number of people who speak the official variety of a language or the variety that is most commonly heard in national media or taught to foreigners (even if many can speak dialects/other languages too). People want to be understood so they use standard speech with people they don't know well, which is a common situation in large cities, right?

...so would Berlin make sense?

Someone else likely has something to add, that is whether my assumptions are correct.

[Saim]

In basically all of northern and central Germany you're unlikely to hear any form of traditional vernacular almost at all in any major cities. There is minor regional ("Regiolekt") and sociolectal (various forms of "Migrantendeutsch") variation, but that's not "real" dialect.

Low German varieties especially are severely endangered, which means that the traditional dialects of northern Germany are essentially on their deathbed. In the Low German areas of the northeastern Netherlands the language is more vital, but still endangered.

In southern Germany (and Austria), the traditional High German vernaculars (Alemannic/Swabian, Bavarian and High Franconian) are in a much earlier phase of endangerment. So those are the places where you're more likely to hear some form of dialect even among younger people in urban settings, although even there Standard High German is the dominant language.

The only places that the traditional vernacular forms of High German are not endangered are Switzerland and Luxembourg, and in the latter they have their own literary variant of the traditional vernacular (Luxembourgish) and French competes with Standard High German when it comes to usage in formal spheres.

The purest Standard-German to be spoken is considered to be the one spoken in Hannover.

As far as I understand, this myth came about due to the Low German influence on the pronunciation system of Standard High German.

[Doitsujin]

The purest Standard-German to be spoken is considered to be the one spoken in Hannover.

It's somewhat of an urban legend. Though the German spoken in Hanover is probably easier to understand than the German spoken say in Bavaria, Swabia and Saxony, it's not pure Standard German either, because many Hanoverians (and other speakers from Northern Germany) still pronounce "st" as /st/ instead of /ʃt/ and "sp" as /sp/ instead of /ʃp/. However, according to this German article, this has changed in recent years.

In general in medium-sized to bigger cities Standard-German will be the norm among the younger generations regardless where you are. Yes, southern dialects are strong, especially in the rural areas, but you will be fine in bigger cities.

Generally speaking, large cities usually contain a higher number of people who speak the official variety of a language or the variety that is most commonly heard in national media or taught to foreigners (even if many can speak dialects/other languages too). People want to be understood so they use standard speech with people they don't know well, which is a common situation in large cities, right?
...so would Berlin make sense?

Not really, unless you mostly talk to younger Berliners. Some native Berliners are still using a lot of Berlin dialect phrases, but most can easily code-switch to Standard German.

[Lawyer&Mom]

I never heard any dialect in Göttingen, a college town just outside of Hannover. Lovely place, but honestly I would pick where you want to live and not worry about dialect.

[tungemål]

I think it's odd to choose a town in Germany based on the dialect they speak. But as far as I understand Germans are used to speaking Standard German everywhere, also among themselves. It is not like Norway where we're not used to speaking standard language (but I normally do anyway to foreigners).

...
In summary / translated with my own words: Because north German dialects were too different from High German they adapted by speaking closer to the written form, whereas in the south people could tweak the written form with local pronunciation and be fine. In the north this would have been impossible because a lot of characters would have to change in every word, this then led to the phenomenon that Northerners speak the best High German.

That's interesting and sounds plausible. The Plattdeutsch dialects are so different that they are considered a different language. They might be closer to Dutch.

[MorkTheFiddle]

On a train from Munich to Lake Constance the conductor approached me and spoke to me in I'm guessing a Bavarian dialect (I had no idea what he said). I replied in standard German, and he said, "Good, you speak German," and continued in German without a hitch. So I doubt you'll ever have a problem. But like Lawyerandmom says, I recommend your going where you want to go, not according to which dialect you'll encounter.