This blog post was published under the 2015 to 2024 Conservative government

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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Austria

21st February 2017 Vienna, Austria

Up and down the mountain: a guide to Tyrolean Dialect

My introductory video from last September noted the importance of visiting all parts of Austria; and of the dialects spoken in different regions.

You can watch me attempting to learn the wonderful and challenging Tyrolean dialect in the video above.  Clearly it’s easier in a snowstorm; up a mountain; in the cable-car going down; or, best, all three.

A good teacher helps, too.  Thanks!

Otherwise, like every language, it’s all about motivation and hard work.

I will keep trying.

See also my blog about my visit to Tyrol, together with another short video. Guaranteed dialect-free.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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austria Dialect langauges Tyrol

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