It is not true that "therefore they are losing their written skills in High German". The "therefore" is a non-sequitur. In fact, the young are writing more than ever before, and this increase in communication passes on to further skills, including social competences and communication verbally and in High German.

My observation is based on the actions of my son (21) and his crowd. He reads almost no books in German, just a few magazines, and in English reads perhaps one John Grisham a year, and that is about all. When he puts his mind to it, which is not so often, he can write a fair letter in English or High German that gets his meaning across.

And we are talking about the masses here, the 80% who do NOT go on to gymnasium or university, the average workers. Instead of sitting consuming TV like my generation, they are making dates and going out and meeting people. So much for the increased communication skills.

Graham

PS Thanks for the various messages. I have to write an article on learning German for expats - and the decision to learn dialect or High German (how, and when) is a complex issue.