{"id":4517,"date":"2018-05-03T16:33:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T14:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dresden-magazin.com\/?p=4517"},"modified":"2020-05-07T15:26:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T13:26:56","slug":"saxon-dialect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dresden-magazin.com\/en\/culture\/saxon-dialect\/","title":{"rendered":"Dresden dialect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A guest article by Peter Ufer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Dresden variety of the Saxon dialect sounds most refined. At least to the ear of a Dresdener. For visitors, however, the language spoken by the denizens of the Upper Elbe valley is often totally incomprehensible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You hear the little word \u2018nu\u2019 and wonder why the Saxons are so negative about everything \u2013 why are they always saying \u2018no\u2019? The Dresdener doesn\u2019t see a problem here, because he obviously means \u2018yes\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dresden Saxon \u2013 a world language<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s right \u2013 \u2018nu\u2019 signals agreement. This monosyllabic word has its origins in the Slavonic language which was commonly spoken in the region centuries ago. The evidence is there in the neighbouring Czech Republic, where the word for \u2018yes\u2019 is \u2018ano\u2019 ,which generally gets shortened to \u2018no\u2019, hence the Dresden variation, which is \u2018nu\u2019. \u2018Nu\u2019 is not only used to mean \u2018yes\u2019 but also \u2018now\u2019. \u2018Nu gugge ma da!\u2019 means \u2018Now lookee here!\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This word is a gift from Saxony that has been taken all over the world because the English say \u2018now\u2019 and the Swedes \u2013 just like the Saxons \u2013 say \u2018nu\u2019. So the Dresdeners, who are occasionally accused of being provincial, are in fact quite international.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dr
The author and journalist Peter Ufer has written several books about the language, mentality and other peculiarities of Saxony \u00a9 Amac Garbe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This famous \u2013 or possibly notorious \u2013 two-letter word is also an illustration of the finely graded scale of affirmation and negation that Dresdeners apply in their speech. It is one of several such Saxon expressions: a \u2018neee\u2019 is a full-blown \u2018no\u2019, \u2018nuni\u2019 means \u2018not now\u2019, \u2018nano\u2019 is \u2018that\u2019s right\u2019 and \u2018gorni\u2019 means \u2018not at all\u2019. The system suits the Dresdener, because he aims to be neither a yes-man nor a spoilsport. Sometimes, he finds it quite convenient not to be understood by others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High German? A corrupt form of Saxon!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018nu\u2019 form is unique to the Dresden variant of S\u00e4chsisch. The Dresdener stands out from the rest, and that\u2019s the way he likes it. Listeners prick up their ears as soon as he opens his mouth. The dialect is an expression of his homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luther translated the Bible into German as spoken at the court of Meissen, and from then on, all church-going Germans had to \u2018babble\u2019 like Saxons. If you study the history of the language, you will come to see that Saxon is not a corrupt form of High German but rather the reverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the days of Luther, Germany was still called \u2018Teutschland\u2019. And presumably, it would still be called that today, if the Dresdeners had not \u2018weech geklobbd\u2019 (softened) the initial \u2018T\u2019. It should further be noted that, although the Dresdener does not always say what he thinks, he always means what he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Peter Ufer<\/strong><\/a> was born in 1964 in Dresden. His publications include Deutschland, Deine Sachsen<\/em> (Germany, may I present your Saxons?), Dresden f\u00fcr Liebhaber<\/em> (Dresden for fans) and Der neue Gogelmosch \u2013 das exklusive W\u00f6rterbuch der Sachsen<\/em> (The new Gogelmosch \u2013 the exclusive dictionary of Saxony to change the world). He sits on the panel of judges who select the S\u00e4chsisches Wort des Jahres<\/strong> (Saxon Word of the Year) and organises the annual German Cartoon Prize<\/strong> in Dresden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A guest article by Peter Ufer The Dresden variety of the Saxon dialect sounds most refined. At least to the ear of a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":4481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDresden dialect - a guest article by Peter Ufer - Dresden Magazin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you have trouble understanding a real Dresdener? 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