Dialects of German
German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the world's major languages. It is the language with the most native speakers in the European Union. It is spoken primarily in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, the major part of Switzerland, Luxembourg, the South Tyrol (in German, S�dtirol) region of Italy, the East Cantons of Belgium, parts of Romania, Poland, Alsace (in German, Elsass) and parts of the Lorraine (in German, Lothringen) region of France.
German-learners who step off the plane in Austria, Germany, or Switzerland for the first time are in for a shock if they know nothing about German dialects. Although standard German (Hochdeutsch) is widespread and commonly used in typical business or tourist situations, there always comes a time when you suddenly can't understand a word, even if your German is pretty good. When that happens, it usually means you have encountered one of the many dialects of German.
In the German language only the traditional regional varieties are called dialects, not the different varieties of standard German.
Standard German has originated not as a traditional dialect of a specific region, but as a written language. However, there are places where the traditional regional dialects have been replaced by standard German (especially in the cities and in northern Germany). However, the use of Standard German itself also differs regionally, especially between German-speaking countries. E.g. the pronunciation and vocabulary at public occasions used in Austria is quite different from the one used in Germany, but also from any dialect. German is thus considered a pluricentric language.
In most regions, the speakers use a continuum of mixtures from more dialectical varieties to more standard varieties according to situation. In the German speaking parts of Switzerland, however, the speakers do not use mixtures of dialect and standard, and the use of standard German is restricted to very rare situations (e.g. speaking with people who do not understand the Swiss German dialects at all, or, theoretically, in school). Writings in dialect are rare, and even for writing short notes standard German is used.
One way to define dialects is to compare which words are used for the same thing. For example, the common word for "mosquito" in German may take any of the following forms in various German dialects/regions: Gelse, Moskito, Mugge, M�cke, Schnake, Staunze. Not only that, but the same word may take on a different meaning, depending on where you are. Eine (Stech-) M�cke in northern Germany is a mosquito. In parts of Austria the same word refers to a gnat or house fly, while Gelsen are mosquitoes. In fact, there is no one universal term for some German words.