I'm surprised I didn't see more native German speakers refute this.
First, German is not standardized, and the attempts to (re-)standardize it are, let's say, controversial.[0]
Even within Germany there are vast differences within the spoken language, mostly but not exclusively by region. The written language is more uniform but that's also a bit contested. I'm not a linguist but I'd guess the differences are at least as strong as in different parts of the UK.
For example in Berlin you would have the advantage that a native speaker of any form of German can pretty much understand the natives when they talk amongst themselves. You would not have that luxury in Swabia.
Second, the idea that this presumed standard crosses borders is... well sorry but it's absurd. Ask any Austrian or Swiss-German. Or even read their newspapers.
And finally, English is rapidly creeping into unofficial-but-official German. For example they routinely say "Vaccine" in the news instead of "Impfstoff" now. I could go on but I guess it's off topic.
German is a living language, and an international one, and as much as Duden might have been a guiding light to my generation it's not that for the kids at all.
First, German is not standardized, and the attempts to (re-)standardize it are, let's say, controversial.[0]
Even within Germany there are vast differences within the spoken language, mostly but not exclusively by region. The written language is more uniform but that's also a bit contested. I'm not a linguist but I'd guess the differences are at least as strong as in different parts of the UK.
For example in Berlin you would have the advantage that a native speaker of any form of German can pretty much understand the natives when they talk amongst themselves. You would not have that luxury in Swabia.
Second, the idea that this presumed standard crosses borders is... well sorry but it's absurd. Ask any Austrian or Swiss-German. Or even read their newspapers.
And finally, English is rapidly creeping into unofficial-but-official German. For example they routinely say "Vaccine" in the news instead of "Impfstoff" now. I could go on but I guess it's off topic.
German is a living language, and an international one, and as much as Duden might have been a guiding light to my generation it's not that for the kids at all.
[0]: (in German) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_der_deutschen_Rechtschr...