On Friday, January 4, 2013 6:41:15 AM UTC, Erick T. Barkhuis wrote:
Tom P:





Is there a place or places in Germany where Hochdeutsch is the

local dialect?



Yes. Generally spoken in the area around and between Osnabrück and

Hannover.





Hochdeutsch technically refers to the distinction to Plattdeutsch

(Low German) and other dialects, but generally it is what Standard

German is called, and I think that is what Dan means. Standard German

is the natural language everywhere and nowhere - even in Lower

Saxony, there are local accents, and some people speak a variety of

Plattdeutsch, which nobody else understands.



Absolutely correct.

In my region, in the west of Lower Saxony, a dialect consisting of

Saxonian and Dutch phrases, spoken with a weird accent, is common.

Among each other, locals all usually speak this dialect, which is hard

for me to understand (although I'm practically fluent in German and

Dutch is my native tongue). When I'm joining a group of neighbours,

most of them politely switch to Hochdeutsch, so I can converse along

with them.





Some dialects are more or less mutually incomprehensible.



Correct.

In five weeks from now, the carnival speakers will demonstrate this on

TV again. Even relatively close neighbours (geographically spoken) from

Mainz and Cologne will have trouble to fully understand each others'

dialect.

This is all hardly surprising.
Even accents within the UK can cause problems, even with no dialect words.
I (from Surrey) once had to 'translate' my MD's Paisley (Scotland) accent in a Pennsylvania business meeting!