Writing in dialect is spreading
Culture
Writing in dialect conquers the everyday life of the population. Written dialect communication is experiencing an upswing, especially in Austria and southern Germany. This is the result of a congress that recently took place at the Paris Lodron University in Salzburg.
The “social media” on the Internet and in mobile communications would make significant contributions to this change in written language. Many examples were given: “Where woast gestan?” “Go on, pock mas!” “You won’t taste that!”
More and more people are spending more and more time on the internet – including on their smartphones. Linguists say this would make many feel like they’re talking to each other and forget they’re actually writing. In addition, the written dialect conveys the familiarity of the spoken language, says the Swiss dialectologist Helen Christen.
Taboo in northern Germany
However, there are regional differences. In Austria and southern Germany, chatting in dialect is widespread, in northern Germany – for example in Essen – hardly anyone writes in the colloquial language, adds Christen. A survey has shown that six out of seven students in Salzburg also write in dialect, many in Bamberg, Bavaria.
Dialect also in the mail to bosses
A further detail: sending superiors in the professional world and messages in dialect is no longer unusual. Professional hierarchies would become flatter and flatter. According to the linguist, this probably makes dialect short messages to the boss plausible.