Bitte helf mir!

December 16, 2009 6:41 AM

I'm on my way to Austria for a few weeks. Looking for a handy German language app for my Blackberry Tour to help me as I struggle to remember the language. Is there one? While we're here, any other good world travel apps you recommend?

I'll be in Paris for two days, then Vienna and points beyond.

I'm new to this Blackberry thang really, so I'm not familiar with many of the apps yet... please hook me up, you young hipster people.

Thanks! :D

posted by miss lynnster to Technology (6 answers total)

Any chance you'll have online access? dict.leo.org has a PDA version of its site (http://pda.leo.org) if you need to look up a quick word or two.

Lonely Planet also has some mobile products: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mobile

I lived in Salzburg for a while and have been through Vienna plenty -- not sure a standard German app will help TOO much (Viennese German being, umm...shall we say, very much its own language), but maybe these will bridge the gap a little bit!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:38 AM on December 16, 2009

Honestly, everyone under 60 speaks English - accented, yes, but with better grammar than 80% of Americans. A friend of mine who wanted to practice his German when he went over there was utterly unable to, because everyone wanted to talk to him in English.
posted by notsnot at 8:11 AM on December 16, 2009

Also true, notsnot. But I stick by my "Viennese German is different" conclusion as a rule... dictionary's not going to to help when the signs say "Erdapfel" instead of "Kartoffel."

(Sorry, but 'tater' was the first word to come to mind as different in Austrian German. Ha!)
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:24 AM on December 16, 2009

Response by poster: Yep, I'll have online access.

I just need something for when I'm trying to say something and can't remember words. The Austrians might not say it that way, but they'll understand. Sometimes a little help is better than none! Decades ago I was semi-fluent in German so I just need to get the dust out of my brain when it comes to the language, and there's A LOT of dust! Also, I know Austrian's different, but it's my 4th time there so I've dealt with it before. Plus I'm staying with my oldest friend who's Austrian so I know she'll happily help if something really puzzles me. :)
posted by miss lynnster at 8:53 AM on December 16, 2009

Response by poster: And notsnot... I'll be spending Christmas on a dairy farm in Lower Austria. The english is minimal with a few members of my friend's family. I don't want to thumb through a dictionary in the living room like a fool... pushing a few buttons on a blackberry is way more subtle. :)
posted by miss lynnster at 8:55 AM on December 16, 2009

OH! so jealous! have fun -- I love the Austrian countryside!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 9:02 AM on December 16, 2009