Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Photo: Eurovision Ireland

Grüsse aus Wien! Eurovision Ireland is already here on the ground in stunning Vienna, bringing you all the latest happenings from the rehearsals and backstage at the Wiener Stadthalle. Will you be joining us soon in the Austrian capital? Wondering where to start with it all? Welcome to our Vienna Survival Series – let us do the hard work so you can just turn up, relax and have a great time!

This time, we’re looking at language in Vienna. The language of Austria is German, which is also spoken in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. There are a range of dialects, but it’s estimated to be the first languages of between 95-100 million people in Europe – so it’s a very useful language to know!!

Being a huge urban centre, people from all over the world can be found living and working in Vienna. In less than 48 hours in the city, I heard (in no particular order): French, Turkish, Serbian, Slovene, Hungarian, Mandarin, Spanish and English – and that was without setting foot in the Eurovision press centre! That means if you can’t speak German, you will still easily find someone who understands you.

If you want to learn some basic German for your time in Vienna (or Wien, as they say here!), here are some basics to get you started:-

Hello = Hallo / Guten Tag
Goodbye = Auf Wiedersehen
Yes = Ja
No = Nein
Please = Bitte
Thank you = Danke
My name is… = Mein Name ist
Excuse me, where is the Wiener Stadthalle = Entschuldigung, wo ist die Wiener Stadthalle?
Where can I buy flags? = Wo kann ich Flaggen kaufen?
12 points to… = Zwölf Punkte für…

And because we like to spoil you here at Eurovision Ireland, here is James giving you a video German lesson so you can get the pronunciation too! Ist das nicht nett?!

Stay tuned for more Viennese delights as we explore Austria’s capital and show you the short cuts to making your Eurovision trip to Austria one to remember!