Taras
Do Austrians usually roll their "r" sound?
I've never been to Austria, but I've noticed something interesting while watching YouTube videos that from Austria. It seems to me as though some people from Austria roll the "r" sound when they speak, while others do not.

Here is an example of what I mean. In this first video from an Austrian news YouTube channel, the journalist sounds like she is rolling her "r's" when she speaks. This is how most Austrians sound to me.


However, in this other video, from the same news channel, the speaker appears to have a more traditional throaty pronunciation of the "r" sound. This second person sounds more like how I've heard people talk when I visited parts of Germany, such as Berlin.


Both of these videos are from a media company that appears to be based in Vienna, yet there are differences in how people within the same company talk. This makes me wonder what, if any, is the more common way of speaking in Austria. I already know that there are regional differences in accents and dialogues all throughout German speaking countries, but is there a "traditional" way of talking in Austria? And if I were to try to imitate an Austrian accent, which person's pronunciation is more common throughout the country? Should I roll my "r's" when I talk? Or should I stick to the more throaty "r" sound?

Jun 24, 2020 8:28 PM
Comments · 2
1
Yes, Austrians beautifully roll their R's often as part of their style of pronunciation. Much like Bavarian-Germans.

When I visited Germany, my friends couldn't understand a single thing an Austrian was saying, and it was actually me that had to do the translating! To me, German is German. But to those from Germany, I am guessing there are enough pronunciation changes that make it hard to follow an Austrian.

I like the Austrian accents, personally. I was (and still am) a big fan of Falco. So hearing him 'speak' through his songs sounded so romantic to me.
June 24, 2020
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July 21, 2020