Österreicher sind gar keine schlechten Englischsprecher. Aber die allerbesten sind sie eben auch nicht. Ungefähr das besagt zumindest ein Ranking, das Ende 2015 von einem großen Sprachreisen-Anbieter veröffentlicht wurde. Während wir mit unseren Englisch-Kenntnissen in den letzten Jahren noch auf Patz 6 beziehungsweise 7 in der Rangliste jener Länder lagen, in denen Englisch eine Fremdsprache ist, sind wir nun am 10. Platz und damit hinter Ländern wie Polen oder Slovenien angekommen. Immerhin liegen wir aber knapp vor unseren deutschen Nachbarn, was vielen Österreichern Genugtuung genug sein dürfte, um die eigenen Defizite zu verkraften.

Wahrscheinlich lässt der oft ziemlich unattraktive empfundene Akzent das Englisch der Österreicher schlechter wirken, als es tatsächlich ist. Ich habe diese Studie jedenfalls als Anlass genommen, durch die Wiener Innenstadt zu spazieren, endlich mal wieder so zu tun, als könnte ich kein Deutsch und Fußgänger auf Englisch um ein Interview zu bitten.

Lektion Nummer 1: Jene Österreicher, deren English-Skills eher im unteren Drittel liegen, geben dir ums Verrecken kein Interview auf Englisch—zumindest nicht auf freiwilliger Basis. Ich hätte vermutlich noch bessere Chancen gehabt, sie für ein ausführliches Gespräch über ihre liebsten unkonventionellen Sexualpraktiken auf Deutsch zu gewinnen, als für ein Gespräch über ihre Englisch-Fähigkeiten auf Englisch.

Vielen ist es eher unangenehm, dass ihr Englisch nicht gerade the Yellow from the Egg ist. Noch nie habe ich so viele Leute angesprochen, die leicht verschämt abgelehnt haben. Von „I have Mittogspause, sorry" bis „I have it eilig" von Leuten, die völlig beschäftigungslos im Park herumspazieren, hab ich im Laufe dieses Nachmittags so ziemlich jede Ausrede gehört.

Lektion Nummer 2: Ich bin sehr, sehr, sehr froh, dass ich als Mensch, der in diesem Land lebt, Deutsch spreche. Ich habe schon dutzende Male Passanten um Interviews gebeten, aber so erstaunlich unfreundliche Reaktionen wie diesmal habe ich noch nie bekommen. Es ist definitiv nicht hilfreich, wenn die Leute glauben, dass du Ausländer bist. Als der letzte Kerl, den ich um ein Interview fragen wollte, allen Ernstes zu mir meinte „ What do you want? I have no money", habe ich endgültig das Handtuch geschmissen. Zum Glück hatte ich zu dem Zeitpunkt aber doch schon einige sehr freundliche Leute gefunden, die mir auf englisch erklärt haben, wie gut Österreicher englisch sprechen.

VICE: Denise, how well do you speak English?
Denise: Yeah … I don't know. I can speak English with people, but I don't know if I understand every word an American would say. A new study finds that our English skills are pretty much OK, but not too well developed. What do you have to say about that?
I think it's OK but it could be better. Because of the bilding in school and something like that. Could be better. How often do you have to speak English in your everyday life?
Sometimes, not so often in Austria, but when I make a journey or on holiday or something else. Sometimes I watch films in English for example. What's your favorite English word?
Awesome! Do you say it a lot?
Yeah, with friends, for fun. Do you actually understand the lyrics of the songs you listen to?
Yes! What music do you listen to?
What is playing on the radio.

VICE: Paul, how well do you speak English?
Paul: There are some level, from A to C I would say … B. Not perfect, but yes, it's OK. What would you say, how well do Austrians speak English in general?
I think it's good—not that good like in England, because it's their mother language, but better than in France or Japan. I was there and this was terrible there. Do you enjoy speaking English? Do you like the language?
With foreigners sure, but not with Austrian. Because of the … … the accent?
Yeah! That's the problem in our language. Do you speak other foreign languages?
I'm half Japanese, half Austrian, so I speak a little Japanese. How important is English in your everyday life?
On a higher level, like in university, it's very important. I'm a student at FH Technikum („Ef Hey" ausgeprochen, Anm.). English is very necessary in electronics. But in everyday life you need some words—not the whole thing, but some words.

Moneyboy-Fans verwendenselbst wenn sie German talkenzu fast 50 % die englische Language:

VICE: How good is your English?
Martina: Not very good. It's just enough to travel around and get all the things I use, I can help anybody if he ask me: "Where is this, where is that?". But if I want to talk really, about serious things, I see there are not enough vocabularies. When it gets hard, i'm lacking of the words. A new study says that the English skills of Austrians are not bad, but they have been better in the past, compared to other countries. It's a little bit better than the English of Germans, though.
Really? Yes! What do you think, how well do Austrians speak English overall?
Not that well. I am always laughing when im out in other countries and I hear other people speak English. It's always the same, I can tell: From Austria or Germany. You hear it. It's the same like when you hear somebody from India, Indian English is quite different. How important is English in your everyday life?
It's very important and it's increasing. It's getting more important day by day. And I think it's very important to learn and to study it. Do you need it on your job?
Not really—I'm a teacher, but for little children, special kinds of children. And they don't really need English in their lives. But for all the other children, I think it would be better to get native speakers to our schools, so the children hear the right English. Our teachers are not that well and the children don't learn it right. And then they speak the same. What's your favorite English word?
Overwhelming.

How well do you speak English?
I think not perfectly. I am not very use to it. According to a new study, our English skills are now worse than those of people in Poland or Slovenia.
I cannot say if it's true what you say, but I would be a little bit surprised. Because in Austria there is English education in schools. English was taught to my generation and even the generation before in Austria. If you say the eastern countries are better in this language I am surprised, because I thought they were taught Russian and the languages from the eastern countries. Do you enjoy speaking English?
Not really, because I think English in general is a more poor language than the German language. You have very much more possibilities in the German language than in English, where nearly each word have a broad spectrum of meanings. Do you watch movies in English?
Seldom, but from time to time.

What's your favorite English word?
I never thought about it, but let's say … Queen.

Great! Can I take a picture of you?
No, sorry. Can I take a picture of your dog?
Yeah, and then you can write that you spoke to the dog!

VICE: Where are you guys from?
Christian: I'm from Vienna.
Joshua: And I'm from L.A. Christian, how well do you speak English?
Christian: I think my English is quite well. I don't know, I can't measure it myself. Joshua, what would you say, is his English good?
Joshua: It's perfect. How good are the English skills of the Austrian people in general?
Joshua: I'd say it's on par with Germans, but also as well as the English of people from nordic countries, or from Amsterdam. Are there a lot of countries where people speak English worse than here?
Joshua: Almost any other country. In France it's absolute rubbish. Spain—it could be a lot better there. Asia could improve a lot as well. And in the Middle East English is borderline useless. Christian, where did you learn to speak English that well?
Christian: Trough movies for example, I watched TV in English a lot. A also went to America and England a few times, for a couple of weeks. I did't learn that much in school.
Joshua: Austrians have a strange accent sometimes when they speak English. What's your favorite English word?
Christian: Fuck. Folgt Tori auf Twitter: @TorisNest