Klapotetz
The Better German: Austrian German
After commenting on the unique and charming aspects of Filipino English in two blog posts, which were these ones:
… I would now like to comment on Austrian German – the German I grew up speaking, which I would call in a blatantly biased manner The Better German. In my not so humble opinion it’s more subtle and humor-laden than the German German, or let alone the Swiss German. I just spend 5 weeks in Austria, after an absence of 3 years due to the covid-inspired restrictions of international travel. A few words and phrases particularly caught my ear after the prolonged absence:
Klapotetz
This is a word I just learned last month, at age 49, from my mom. A klapotez is a scarecrow with a wind-powered ratchet which creates a nasty noise. A klapotez is originally a Slowenian word/invention, and its use in Austria shows how tightly connected the language and culture of Austria is with its Slavic neighbors. This is really what sets Austrian German apart. Klapotez is also nicely onomatopoetic, giving the listener a mental image of a klapp-klapping device.
My late grandma’s one neighbor put a klapotez in his garden, which annoyed the birds, as it should but also the other neighbors. Mild but chronic indignation between neighbors ensued (not greeting politely anymore), which is also very Austrian.
Oida
Oida is an interesting one. Originally it meant “old guy”, and was a way of addressing a good mate. It became a spoken type of exclamation mark in recent decades. “Heast Oida, schau”: look, mate … but “A Explosion! Oida”: an explosion. Wow!
Last year a man in Vienna was charged with calling a policeman Oida, but the case was later dropped. It was not deemed offensive enough.
Palmenhaus near the Vienna Zoo. Oida!
Es gehört
A phrase that’s heavily used in Austria is “Es gehört”.
It translates as „it must be done“ but with less of a Prussian command tone, and more of a tone of moral indignation. It’s also held in the passive voice. It needs to be done, but it’s not clear who needs to do the doing. But it’s wrong if it isn’t done.
“Es gehört verboten!” This must be forbidden! A classic.
Sekkieren
Sekkieren is the Austrian version of bullying, without the ensuing anxiety attacks and school shootings. I was reminded of sekkieren because a family friend lives in a town called Sekkieren! I don’t wanna know what they do there on Friday evenings.
Sekkieren might be tickling your brothers neck with a blade of grass, and then doing it again and again if he tells you not to. Proper physical violence is out of the bounds of sekkieren. I like sekkieren.
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