19. The Major German Speaking Countries - Germany, Austria & Switzerland

19.  The Major German Speaking Countries - Germany, Austria & Switzerland

Having given you some insight into the sound system of German, we should now turn to the German speaking countries and try and give you an overview of the countries where the language is spoken. Indeed German is spoken in many little corners of the earth and in Greece, for example, I saw a number of signs in shopfront windows saying: Hier spricht man Deutsch (German is spoken here). Many Greek car mechanics had learnt their trade in Germany, especially in places like Wolfsburg, the home of VW and had returned to their homelands to start up a restaurant or souvenir business. Primarily, however, German is spoken in 3 major countries - Germany itself, Austria and Switzerland.

The German land mass is basically divided into 3 parts, the lowlands of the North (die Norddeutsche Tiefebene = the North German Plain), the more hilly central parts and in the south the alpine country where a great mountain range separates Germany from Austria. These mountains are known as die Alpen = the Alps. 

Germany joins onto Denmark, Holland and Poland in the north and the typically flat lands found here were carved out by the glaciers of the Ice Age. Bike riding is therefore a very common and popular means of transport, especially in the summer season but somewhat more dangerous in the winter snow and ice. The North Sea (die Nordsee) to the north-west and the Baltic Sea [die Ostsee] to the north east form the northern coastline for much of the country. The major cities of the north are Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Kiel and Hannover. These are all very beautiful cities with their own distinctive styles of architecture quite different from buildings in the south. Berlin is of course the capital, a title it reclaimed after East Germany and West Germany were reunited. It is the largest city by far and besides its political and historical background, is famous for its parks, lakes and shopping. Hamburg is the next biggest city and its harbour and twin lakes of the Alster, reminded me much of Sydney Australia. Hamburg was completely destroyed in WW2 and had a make-over once life resumed some normality. It too is a major metropolis and very beautiful. One interesting point about Hannover is that the 'purest' form of German is supposed to be spoken by its citizens here. I ran into a number of dialects around Germany, Austria and Switzerland and struggled with the German spoken there but must say it was a welcome relief to speak to the the Hannoveraner as their German seemed to match my visitor's status best.

Checkpoint Charlie Sign Berlin