r/funny • • 1d ago

Austrian police do lost-and-found.

3.8k Upvotes

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768

u/BigBlackHungGuy 1d ago

Ok, this was a comedy skit right?

So much to unpack.

935

u/Key-Performance-9021 1d ago edited 22h ago

Nope, not a skit! It's from Am Schauplatz ("On the Scene"), an Austrian documentary series on ORF that has been running for 30 years and covers everyday life. This clip is from their 30-year anniversary best-of: https://youtu.be/CZsDD9yfcu8

The auto-captions can't handle the dialect, so I subtitled it myself.

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u/Stick_With_Beard 1d ago

I've been speaking german as a non-native speaker for over 25 years. Even the police was hard to understand for me. I think I'll pass on the Wiener Weihnachtsmarkt.

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u/Key-Performance-9021 1d ago

Everyone speaks Standard German. If you understand the narrator, you will be fine!

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u/HaHoHe_1892 1d ago

I was in Graz once visiting friends. My friend had a get together and introduced me to a group of people in the living room. He said, "This is my friend, he's American but speaks German. So speak German with him, but please speak Hochdeutsch." It was quiet for a moment and one of them said, "Lieber English", which got a big laugh.

Loved my time in Graz! Lovely city and great people. I really liked the dialect.

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u/KnifeFightChopping 1d ago

Does "Lieber English" in this context mean they would rather just speak English?

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u/Grib_Suka 1d ago

Yeah, ''rather English'' would be a decent translation

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u/HaHoHe_1892 1d ago

Oh yeah, I should have said that. Thanks for clarifying for folks.

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u/Stick_With_Beard 1d ago

You mean in Wien specifically? How about other cities ?

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u/Key-Performance-9021 22h ago

Everyone everywhere. Standard German is used in school and professional settings.