On 2013-01-03 16:50:17 -0600, Tom P said:
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.
http://nds.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattd%C3%BC%C3%BCtsch
More or less by definition, all educated Germans can speak Standard
German, but they may well speak with their regional accent, or they may
also switch to a local dialect when they want to. Some dialects are
more or less mutually incomprehensible. I live in the Rhineland, and
the local accent and dialect sound totally normal for me, for someone
from Bavaria or Stuttgart they might well sound very strange.
Conversely, I have severe problems understanding any one from Bavaria
or Stuttgart when he drops into his local dialect.

In this case, if my goal is immersion, the language aspect is less
important that what I am doing where I am located. I can just be a
Bavarian speaker, or whatever. I need to focus on what, and where.

What are the good engineering school in the German-speaking Alps?
Bavaria, Austria, South Tirol, Swizteraland -- all good. rsvp, please
post,

--
Dan Stephenson
http://stepheda.com
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)