Are You Dumber than an American?

[DFW]

260. "Sächsisch" just means "Saxon"

It's the dialect spoken in Saxony (Dresden, Leipzig). Many of the old East German political kommissars, including Walter Ulbricht, came from there, and the dialect is hated in many parts of the old East Germany, especially Berlin.

But Romania is a special case. Several centuries ago, a large number of people from Saxony were invited to move and settle in Siebenbürgen (Transylvania, if you wish--the Hungarian-speaking part of what is now Romania). The few remaining German-speakers left there are sort of a linguistic museum, as their Saxon dialect is the one spoken in the 18th century, much as the French spoken in the outlying areas of Québec is a linguistic museum of 18th century French. The Sächsisch spoken in Romania is not to be confused with the modern version spoken in 21st century Saxony, which is now mostly assimilated with modern high German, retaining little more than a distinctive accent.