Their methodology isn't ideal. - Halleluja. Is it really that most Germans don't care for it one way or another or that they simply can't distinguish it from Swabian? - I think not establishing that flaws the whole report. For Bavarian, I'm pretty sure haters equal lovers, same goes for Berliner. Would be interesting to know if its the regional neighbours who have an opinion on the smaller dialects. And while Bavarians tend not to even try to speak Standard, Swebians and Saxonians couldn't hide the accent if they tried, which makes them quite a big distinguishable group, even after decades elsewhere. Ah, and while I'm painfully aware that Palatinate is really unpopular, in a similarly unscientific survey it was rated most unsexy of all (hell if I care... :-(, Helmut Kohl's accent was only part regional, (not being able to pronounce a voiced "s", for example) but for the most part it simply was a speech impediment. Pronouncing the "ch" in "ich" etc. as "sch" would have been dialectal, but not the other way round. His "sch"s came out as "ch" in most cases, but that was just a personal feature, maybe the result of over-correction at an earlier point. Where else would the rest of Germany hear a distinct Palatinate German accent, except from Boris Becker? Määnzer Fasnacht, which is so stuffy it makes you weep. Can't blame the world for not knowing how incredibly beautiful it is, really...
Regional dialects seem to be picking up after being maligned for way too long. I don't know anybody from North Germany who grew up an active dialect speaker (and I ask them), but there is a rise in TV programmes now with not just old folks but people like Ditsche or Ina Müller speaking local dialects where in the old days there used to be just Ohnesorg Theater.
a few unsorted thoughts.
Is it really that most Germans don't care for it one way or another or that they simply can't distinguish it from Swabian? - I think not establishing that flaws the whole report.
For Bavarian, I'm pretty sure haters equal lovers, same goes for Berliner. Would be interesting to know if its the regional neighbours who have an opinion on the smaller dialects.
And while Bavarians tend not to even try to speak Standard, Swebians and Saxonians couldn't hide the accent if they tried, which makes them quite a big distinguishable group, even after decades elsewhere.
Ah, and while I'm painfully aware that Palatinate is really unpopular, in a similarly unscientific survey it was rated most unsexy of all (hell if I care... :-(, Helmut Kohl's accent was only part regional, (not being able to pronounce a voiced "s", for example) but for the most part it simply was a speech impediment. Pronouncing the "ch" in "ich" etc. as "sch" would have been dialectal, but not the other way round. His "sch"s came out as "ch" in most cases, but that was just a personal feature, maybe the result of over-correction at an earlier point.
Where else would the rest of Germany hear a distinct Palatinate German accent, except from Boris Becker? Määnzer Fasnacht, which is so stuffy it makes you weep. Can't blame the world for not knowing how incredibly beautiful it is, really...
Regional dialects seem to be picking up after being maligned for way too long. I don't know anybody from North Germany who grew up an active dialect speaker (and I ask them), but there is a rise in TV programmes now with not just old folks but people like Ditsche or Ina Müller speaking local dialects where in the old days there used to be just Ohnesorg Theater.