|
Continental West Germanic
The Germanic languages include some 58 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects that originated in Europe; this language family is part of the Indo-European language family. Each subfamily in this list contains subgroups and individual languages. The standard division of Germanic is into three branches: * East Germanic languages * North Germanic languages * West Germanic languages They all descend from Proto-Germanic, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European. South Germanic languages, an attempt to classify some of the West Germanic languages into a separate group, is rejected by the overwhelming majority of scholars. †denotes extinct languages. West Germanic Continental West Germanic * High German languages ** Old High German†& Middle High German†*** Upper German **** High Franconian ***** East Franconian German ***** South Franconian German **** Alemannic German ***** Swabian German, including Stuttgart ***** Low Alemannic German, including the area of Lake Constance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germanic Languages
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, English, is also the world's most widely spoken language with an estimated 2 billion speakers. All Germanic languages are derived from Proto-Germanic, spoken in Iron Age Scandinavia. The West Germanic languages include the three most widely spoken Germanic languages: English with around 360–400 million native speakers; German language, German, with over 100 million native speakers; and Dutch language, Dutch, with 24 million native speakers. Other West Germanic languages include Afrikaans, an offshoot of Dutch, with over 7.1 million native speakers; Low German, considered a separate collection of Standard language, unstandardized dialects, with roughly 4.35–7.15 million native speakers and probably 6.7–10 million people who can understand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alemannic German
Alemannic, or rarely Alemannish (''Alemannisch'', ), is a group of High German dialects. The name derives from the ancient Germanic tribal confederation known as the Alamanni ("all men"). Distribution Alemannic dialects are spoken by approximately ten million people in several countries: * In Europe: ** Switzerland: all German-speaking parts of the country except Samnaun ** Germany: centre and south of Baden-Württemberg, Swabia, and certain districts of Bavaria ** Austria: Vorarlberg, Reutte District of Tyrol ** Liechtenstein ** France: Alsace region ( Alsatian dialect) and in some villages of the Phalsbourg county, in Lorraine ** Italy: Gressoney-La-Trinité, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Issime, Alagna Valsesia, Rimella and Formazza, in some other villages almost extinct *Outside Europe: ** United States: Allen and Adams County, Indiana, by the Amish there and also in their daughter settlements in Indiana and other U.S. states. ** Venezuela: Colonia Tovar (Colonia Tovar dialect) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernese German
Bernese German ( Standard German: ''Berndeutsch'', gsw, Bärndütsch) is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. A form of Bernese German is spoken by the Swiss Amish affiliation of the Old Order Amish in Adams County, Indiana, United States, as well as and other settlements in the US, primarily in Indiana. Varieties There is a lot of regional variation within Bernese German dialects. However, with the increasing importance of the big agglomeration of Bern, the variety of Bern is spreading out, levelling the old village dialects. Until the second half of the 20th century, there was a considerable range of sociolects in the city of Bern where four different groups could be distinguished: *The patrician Bernese German of the high society. It has neither l-vocalisation nor nd-velarisation, it does not employ the alveolar trill but the French uvular trill, and it has more French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zürich German
Zürich German (German: ''Zürichdeutsch'', natively ''Züritüütsch'' ) is the High Alemannic dialect spoken in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. Its area covers most of the canton, with the exception of the parts north of the Thur and the Rhine, which belong to the areal of the northeastern (Schaffhausen and Thurgau) Swiss dialects. Zürich German was traditionally divided into six sub-dialects, now increasingly homogenised owing to larger commuting distances: *The dialect of the town of Zürich (''Stadt-Mundart'') *The dialect spoken around Lake Zürich (''See-Mundart'') *The dialect of the Knonauer Amt west of the Albis (''Ämtler Mundart'') *The dialect of the area of Winterthur *The dialect of the Zürcher Oberland around Lake Pfäffikon and the upper Tösstal valley *The dialect of the Zürcher Unterland around Bülach and Dielsdorf Like all Swiss German dialects, it is essentially a spoken language, whereas the written language is standard German. Likewise, ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Alemannic German
High Alemannic is a dialect of Alemannic German spoken in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Language area The High Alemannic dialects are spoken in Liechtenstein and in most of German-speaking Switzerland (Swiss Plateau), except for the Highest Alemannic dialects in the Swiss Alps and for the Low Alemannic (Basel German) dialect in the North West. Therefore, High Alemannic must not be confused with the term "Swiss German", which refers to all Alemannic dialects of Switzerland as opposed to Swiss variant of Standard German, the literary language of diglossic German-speaking Switzerland. In Germany, High Alemannic dialects are spoken in Southern Baden-Württemberg, i.e. the Markgräflerland and in the adjacent area south of Freiburg im Breisgau up to the Black Forest ( Schönau). It is also spoken in the southern Sundgau region beyond the Upper Rhine, which is part of Alsace, France. In Vorarlberg in Western Austria, a form of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walser German
Walser German (german: Walserdeutsch) and Walliser German (, locally ) are a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in parts of Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Grisons), Italy (Piedmont, Aosta Valley), Liechtenstein (Triesenberg, Planken), and Austria (Vorarlberg). Usage of the terms Walser and Walliser has come to reflect a difference of geography, rather than language. The term ''Walser'' refers to those speakers whose ancestors migrated into other Alpine valleys in medieval times, whereas ''Walliser'' refers only to a speaker from Upper Valais – that is, the upper Rhone valley. In a series of migrations during the Late Middle Ages, people migrated out of the Upper Valais, across the higher valleys of the Alps. History The Alemannic immigration to the Rhone valley started in the 8th century. There were presumably two different immigration routes, from what is now the Bernese Oberland, that led to two main groups of Walliser dialects. In the 12th or 13th century, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argentinien-schwyzertütsch Dialect
Argentinien-schwizertütsch ( es, alemán suizo de Argentina) is a dialect of Swiss German. Argentinien-schwizertütsch is spoken by persons of Swiss origin. Most speakers live in Argentina, being the descendants of 19th-century immigrants from Switzerland. See also *Swiss Argentine Swiss Argentines are Argentine citizens of Swiss ancestry or people who emigrated from Switzerland and reside in Argentina. The Swiss Argentine community is the largest group of the Swiss diaspora in South America. Approximately 44,000 Swiss emig ... References External links PDF on varieties of German (''5=INDO-EUROPEAN phylosector''; 1999) Swiss German language German dialects Languages of Argentina German-Argentine culture Swiss-Argentine culture {{Argentina-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Alemannic Language
Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spellings can be found. and others) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy bordering Switzerland. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg, which are closely associated to Switzerland's. Linguistically, Alemannic is divided into Low, High and Highest Alemannic, varieties all of which are spoken both inside and outside Switzerland. The only exception within German-speaking Switzerland is the municipality of Samnaun, where a Bavarian dialect is spoken. The reason Swiss German dialects constitute a special group is their almo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonia Tovar Dialect
The Colonia Tovar dialect, or Alemán Coloniero, is a dialect that is spoken in Colonia Tovar, Venezuela, and belongs to the Low Alemannic branch of German. Characteristics The dialect, like other Alemannic dialects, is not mutually intelligible with Standard German. It is spoken by descendants of Germans from the Black Forest region of southern Baden, who emigrated to Venezuela in 1843. Most speakers also speak Spanish, and the dialect has both acquired Spanish loanwords and influenced Venezuelan Spanish Venezuelan Spanish ( or ) refers to the Spanish spoken in Venezuela. Spanish was introduced in Venezuela by colonists. Most of them were from Galicia, Basque Country, Andalusia, or the Canary Islands. The last has been the most fundamental .... History Until 1942, when Colonia Tovar was declared a municipality, most of its residents above the age of 15 were fluent in German, being unable to converse or understand Spanish, owing to the town's isolation. In World War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alsatian Language
Alsatian ( gsw-FR, Elsässisch, links=no or "Alsatian German"; Lorraine Franconian: ''Elsässerdeitsch''; french: Alsacien; german: Elsässisch or ) is the group of Alemannic German dialects spoken in most of Alsace, a formerly disputed region in eastern France that has passed between French and German control five times since 1681. Language family Alsatian is closely related to other nearby Alemannic dialects, such as Swiss German, Swabian, and Markgräflerisch as well as Kaiserstühlerisch. It is often confused with Lorraine Franconian, a more distantly related Franconian dialect spoken in the northwest corner of Alsace and in neighbouring Lorraine. Like other dialects and languages, Alsatian has also been influenced by outside sources. Words of Yiddish origin can be found in Alsatian, and modern conversational Alsatian includes adaptations of French words and English words, especially concerning new technologies. Many speakers of Alsatian could, if necessary, write ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basel German
Basel German or Baseldytsch (Standard German: ''Baseldeutsch'') is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. The dialect of Basel forms a Low Alemannic linguistic exclave in the High Alemannic region. Phonetics and phonology Consonants Aspirated plosives Basel German is characterised by aspirates which are absent or at least less common in other dialects. Compare Basel German ''Khind'' (usually spelled ''Kind''), pronounced more or less as Standard German ''Kind'', with ''Chind'' with initial , used in all other Swiss German dialects, with the exception of the dialect of Chur. Thus, Basel German did not complete the second Germanic sound shift (High German consonant shift). Nowadays, many speakers pronounce the (or ‡ to be more exact), however. There are nevertheless still words that are never pronounced with , for example ''kenne'' (Standard German kennen, to know) or ''Keenig''/''König'' (Standard German ''König''). Typically, words from Standard German or Latin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein, Lake Rhine (''Seerhein''). These waterbodies lie within the Lake Constance Basin () in the Alpine Foreland through which the Rhine flows. The lake is situated where Germany, Switzerland, and Austria meet. Its shorelines lie in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the Swiss cantons of Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Canton of Thurgau, Thurgau, and Canton of Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen, and the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The actual location of the border Lake_Constance#International_borders, is disputed. The Alpine Rhine forms in its original course the Austro-Swiss border and flows into the lake from the south. The High Rhine flows westbound out of the lake and forms (with the exception of the Canton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
