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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 ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and in some Alpine communities in
Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
bordering Switzerland. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...
and Austrian
Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
, which are closely associated to Switzerland's. Linguistically, Alemannic is divided into
Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...
,
High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
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 Samnaun ( rm, Samignun) is a high Alpine village and a valley at the eastern end of Switzerland and a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History The valley was first used as a seasonal ...
, where a
Bavarian dialect Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian. Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million pe ...
is spoken. The reason Swiss German dialects constitute a special group is their almost unrestricted use as a spoken language in practically all situations of daily life, whereas the use of the Alemannic dialects in other countries is restricted or even endangered. The dialects of Swiss German must not be confused with
Swiss Standard German Swiss Standard German (german: Schweizer Standarddeutsch), or Swiss High German (german: Schweizer Hochdeutsch or ''Schweizerhochdeutsch''), referred to by the Swiss as ''Schriftdeutsch'', or ''Hochdeutsch'', is the written form of one of four o ...
, the variety of Standard German used in Switzerland. Swiss Standard German is fully understandable to all Standard German speakers, while many people in Germany – especially in the north – do not understand Swiss Germans. An interview with a Swiss German speaker shown on German national television therefore requires subtitles, much as an interview in Scots would on US television. Although Swiss German is the native language in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, Swiss school students additionally learn Swiss Standard German at school from age six. They are thus capable of understanding, writing and speaking Standard German, with varying abilities mainly based on the level of education.


Use

Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the spoken everyday language for the majority of all social levels in industrial cities, as well as in the countryside. Using the dialect conveys neither social nor educational inferiority and is done with pride. In 2014, about 87% of the people living in the German-speaking portion of Switzerland were using a dialect in their everyday lives.


Variation and distribution

Swiss German is a regional or political
umbrella term In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other ...
, not a linguistic unity. For all Swiss-German dialects, there are idioms spoken outside Switzerland that are more closely related to them than to some other Swiss-German dialects. The main linguistic divisions within Swiss German are those of
Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...
,
High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
and Highest Alemannic, and mutual intelligibility across those groups is almost fully seamless, despite some differences in vocabulary. Low Alemannic is only spoken in the northernmost parts of Switzerland, in
Basel Basel ( , ), also known as Basle ( ),french: Bâle ; it, Basilea ; rm, label= Sutsilvan, Basileia; other rm, Basilea . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zürich a ...
and around
Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three 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 La ...
. High Alemannic is spoken in most of the
Swiss Plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
, and is divided in an eastern and a western group. Highest Alemannic is spoken in the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
. *Low Alemannic: **
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 ...
in
Basel-Stadt Basel-Stadt or Basel-City (german: Kanton ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Citad; french: Canton de Bâle-Ville; it, Canton Basilea Città) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as ...
(BS), closely related to Alsatian *
High Alemannic 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-speakin ...
: **Western: *** Bernese German, in the
Swiss Plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
parts of
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
(BE) ***Dialects of
Basel-Landschaft Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...
(BL) ***Dialects of
Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissen ...
(SO) ***Dialects of the western part of
Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capit ...
(AG) **In a middle position between eastern and western: ***Dialects in the eastern part of
Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capit ...
(AG) ***Dialects of
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...
(LU) ***Dialects of Zug (ZG) *** Zürich German, in
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zü ...
(ZH) **Eastern: ***Dialects of St. Gallen (SG) ***Dialects of
Appenzell Appenzell is a historic canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, ...
(AR & AI) ***Dialects of
Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is pa ...
(TG) ***Dialects of
Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimate ...
(SH) ***Dialects in parts of Graubünden (GR) *Highest Alemannic: **Dialects in parts of
Canton of Fribourg The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg (french: Canton de Fribourg ; german: Kanton Freiburg ; frp, Canton de Fribôrg rm, Chantun Friburg it, Canton Friburgo) is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French ...
(FR) **Dialects of the
Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...
(BE) **Dialects of
Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas''(''between the forests''), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or '' Talschaften'', now ...
(OW & NW) and
Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Isla ...
(UR) **Dialects of
Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ' ...
(SZ) **Dialects of
Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) } Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glaru ...
(GL) ** Walliser German in parts of the
Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the Sw ...
(VS) **
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), ...
: due to the medieval migration of the Walser, Highest Alemannic spread to pockets of what are now parts of northern Italy (Piedmont), the north-west of
Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
(TI), parts of Graubünden (GR),
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...
and
Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
. One can separate each dialect into numerous local subdialects, sometimes down to a resolution of individual villages. Speaking the dialect is an important part of regional, cantonal and national identities. In the more urban areas of the
Swiss plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
, regional differences are fading due to increasing mobility and to a growing population of non-Alemannic background. Despite the varied dialects, the Swiss can still understand one another, but may particularly have trouble understanding Walliser dialects.


History

Most Swiss German dialects, being ''High German'' dialects, have completed the
High German consonant shift In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development ( sound change) that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases. It probabl ...
(synonyms: Second Germanic consonant shift, High German sound shift), that is, they have not only changed ''t'' to or and ''p'' to or , but also ''k'' to or . There are, however, exceptions, namely the idioms of
Chur '' Chur (, locally ; it, Coira ; rm, label= Sursilvan, Cuera ; rm, label= Vallader, Cuoira ; rm, label= Puter and Rumantsch Grischun, Cuira ; rm, label= Surmiran, Coira; rm, label=Sutsilvan, Cuera or ; french: Coire ) la, CVRIA, and . is the ...
and
Basel Basel ( , ), also known as Basle ( ),french: Bâle ; it, Basilea ; rm, label= Sutsilvan, Basileia; other rm, Basilea . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zürich a ...
. Basel German is a ''Low Alemannic'' dialect (mostly spoken in Germany near the Swiss border), and Chur German is basically ''High Alemannic'' without initial or . Examples: The High German consonant shift happened between the 4th and 9th centuries south of the
Benrath line In German linguistics, the Benrath line (german: Benrather Linie) is the ''maken–machen'' isogloss: dialects north of the line have the original in ''maken'' (to make), while those to the south have the innovative (''machen''). The Line runs ...
, separating ''High'' German from Low German, where ''high'' refers to the geographically higher regions of the German-speaking area of those days (combining
Upper German Upper German (german: Oberdeutsch ) is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern German-speaking area (). History In the Old High German time, only Alemannic and Bairisch are grouped as Upper German. In the Middle High ...
and
Central German Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany. Central German di ...
varieties - also referring to their geographical locations). North of the
Benrath line In German linguistics, the Benrath line (german: Benrather Linie) is the ''maken–machen'' isogloss: dialects north of the line have the original in ''maken'' (to make), while those to the south have the innovative (''machen''). The Line runs ...
up to the North Sea, this consonant shift did not happen. The Walser migration, which took place between the 12th and 13th centuries, spread upper Wallis varieties towards the east and south, into Grisons and even further to western Austria and northern Italy. Informally, a distinction is made between the German-speaking people living in the canton of Valais, the ''Walliser'', and the migrated ones, the '' Walsers'' (to be found mainly in Graubünden,
Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
in Western Austria,
Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
in South Switzerland, south of the Monte Rosa mountain chain in Italy (e.g. in Issime in the Aosta valley), Tirol in North Italy, and Allgäu in Bavaria). Generally, the Walser communities were situated on higher alpine regions, so were able to stay independent of the reigning forces of those days, who did not or were not able to follow and monitor them all the time necessary at these hostile and hard to survive areas. So, the Walser were pioneers of the liberalization from
serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
and
feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
. And, Walser villages are easily distinguishable from Grisonian ones, since Walser houses are made of wood instead of stone.


Phonology


Consonants

Like all other Southern German dialects, Swiss German dialects have no voiced
obstruent An obstruent () is a speech sound such as , , or that is formed by ''obstructing'' airflow. Obstruents contrast with sonorants, which have no such obstruction and so resonate. All obstruents are consonants, but sonorants include vowels as well a ...
s. However, they have an opposition of consonant pairs such as and or and . Traditionally, that distinction is said to be a distinction of
fortis and lenis In linguistics, fortis and lenis ( and ; Latin for "strong" and "weak"), sometimes identified with tense and lax, are pronunciations of consonants with relatively greater and lesser energy, respectively. English has fortis consonants, such as th ...
, but it has been claimed to be a distinction of quantity. Swiss German keeps the fortis–lenis opposition at the end of words. There can be minimal pairs such as 'straight' and '
arête An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although freque ...
' or ''bis'' 'be ( imp.)' and 'bite'. That distinguishes Swiss German and
Swiss Standard German Swiss Standard German (german: Schweizer Standarddeutsch), or Swiss High German (german: Schweizer Hochdeutsch or ''Schweizerhochdeutsch''), referred to by the Swiss as ''Schriftdeutsch'', or ''Hochdeutsch'', is the written form of one of four o ...
from
German Standard German German Standard German, Standard German of Germany, or High German of Germany is the variety of Standard German that is written and spoken in Germany. It is the variety of German most commonly taught to foreigners. It is not uniform, which means ...
, which neutralizes the fortis–lenis opposition at the ends of words. The phenomenon is usually called
final-obstruent devoicing Final-obstruent devoicing or terminal devoicing is a systematic phonological process occurring in languages such as Catalan, German, Dutch, Breton, Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, Turkish, and Wolof. In such languages, voiced obstruents in ...
even though, in the case of German, phonetic voice may not be involved. Swiss German are not aspirated. Aspirated have (in most dialects) secondarily developed by combinations of prefixes with word-initial or by borrowings from other languages (mainly Standard German): 'keep' (standard German ); 'tea' (standard German ); 'salary' (standard German ). In the dialects of Basel and Chur, aspirated is also present in native words. All typically voiced consonant sounds are voiceless. Stop sounds being , and fricatives as . Unlike Standard German, Swiss German does not have the allophone but is typically , with allophones . The typical Swiss
shibboleth A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwor ...
features this sound: ('kitchen cupboard'), pronounced . Most Swiss German dialects have gone through the Alemannic ''n''- apocope, which has led to the loss of final ''-n'' in words such as 'garden' (standard German ) or 'to make' (standard German ). In some Highest Alemannic dialects, the ''n''-apocope has also been effective in consonant clusters, for instance in 'horn' (High Alemannic ) or 'to think' (High Alemannic ). Only the Highest Alemannic dialects of the
Lötschental The Lötschental is the largest valley on the northern side of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It lies in the Bernese Alps, with the Lonza running down the length of the valley from its source within the Langgletscher ...
and of the Haslital have preserved the -''n''. The
phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west ...
is pronounced as an
alveolar trill The voiced alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar trills is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r. I ...
in many dialects, but some dialects, especially in the Northeast or in the
Basel Basel ( , ), also known as Basle ( ),french: Bâle ; it, Basilea ; rm, label= Sutsilvan, Basileia; other rm, Basilea . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zürich a ...
region, have a
uvular trill The voiced uvular trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a small capital letter ''R''. This consonant is one of several collectively ...
, and other allophones resulting in fricatives and an approximant as [] like in many German varieties of Germany. In Bernese German, an [] can be pronounced as a []. It may also be pronounced this way when occurring towards the end of a syllable. A labiodental approximant is used in Bernese German, as the sound is present in Standard German. In Walser German, it is realized as a labiodental fricative [].


Vowels

Most Swiss German dialects have rounded front vowels, unlike other High German dialects. Only in Low Alemannic dialects of northwestern Switzerland (mainly Basel) and in Walliser dialects have rounded front vowels been unrounded. In Basel, rounding is being reintroduced because of the influence of other Swiss German dialects. Like Bavarian dialects, Swiss German dialects have preserved the opening
diphthongs A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...
of
Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hi ...
: : in 'lovely' (standard German but pronounced ); 'hat' (standard German ); 'cool' (Standard German ). Some diphthongs have become unrounded in several dialects. In the Zürich dialect, short pronunciations of // are realized as []. Sounds like the monophthong can frequently become unrounded to among many speakers of the Zürich dialect. Vowels such as a centralized [] and an open-mid [] only occur in the Bernese dialect. Like in Low German, most Swiss German dialects have preserved the old West-Germanic monophthongs : 'arrow' (Standard German ); 'belly' (Standard German ); 'pillar' (Standard German ). A few Alpine dialects show diphthongization, like in Standard German, especially some dialects of Unterwalden and Schanfigg (Graubünden) and the dialect of Issime (Piedmont). Some Western Swiss German dialects like Bernese German have preserved the old diphthongs , but the other dialects have like Standard German or . Zürich German, and some other dialects distinguish primary diphthongs from secondary ones that arose in
hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...
: Zürich German from Middle High German versus Zürich German from Middle High German ; Zürich German 'leg, woman' from Middle High German '','' versus Zürich German 'free, building' from Middle High German '','' .


Suprasegmentals

In many Swiss German dialects,
consonant length In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from '' gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from ...
and
vowel length In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived length of a vowel sound: the corresponding physical measurement is duration. In some languages vowel length is an important phonemic factor, meaning vowel length can change the meaning of the word, ...
are independent from each other, unlike other modern Germanic languages. Here are examples from Bernese German:
Lexical stress In linguistics, and particularly phonology, stress or accent is the relative emphasis or prominence given to a certain syllable in a word or to a certain word in a phrase or sentence. That emphasis is typically caused by such properties as i ...
is more often on the first syllable than in Standard German, even in French loans like or 'thanks' (despite stress falling on the final syllable in French). However, there are many different stress patterns, even within dialects. Bernese German has many words that are stressed on the first syllable: 'casino' while Standard German has . However, no Swiss German dialect is as consistent as Icelandic in that respect.


Grammar

The grammar of Swiss dialects has some specialties compared to Standard German: *There is no
preterite The preterite or preterit (; abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past; in some languages, such as Spanish, French, and English, it is equivalent to the simple pa ...
indicative A realis mood (abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood which is used principally to indicate that something is a statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker considers to be a known state of affairs, as in declarative sentences. Most ...
(yet there is a
preterite The preterite or preterit (; abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past; in some languages, such as Spanish, French, and English, it is equivalent to the simple pa ...
subjunctive The subjunctive (also known as conjunctive in some languages) is a grammatical mood, a feature of the utterance that indicates the speaker's attitude towards it. Subjunctive forms of verbs are typically used to express various states of unreality s ...
). *The
preterite The preterite or preterit (; abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past; in some languages, such as Spanish, French, and English, it is equivalent to the simple pa ...
is replaced by perfect constructs (this also happens in spoken Standard German, particularly in Southern Germany and Austria). *It is still possible to form
pluperfect The pluperfect (shortening of plusquamperfect), usually called past perfect in English, is a type of verb form, generally treated as a grammatical tense in certain languages, relating to an action that occurred prior to an aforementioned time i ...
phrases, by applying the perfect construct twice to the same sentence. *There is no
genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...
, though certain dialects have preserved a
possessive A possessive or ktetic form ( abbreviated or ; from la, possessivus; grc, κτητικός, translit=ktētikós) is a word or grammatical construction used to indicate a relationship of possession in a broad sense. This can include strict own ...
genitive (for instance in rural Bernese German). The
genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...
is replaced by two constructions: The first of these is often acceptable in Standard German as well: possession + Prp. (Std. German ) + possessor: vs. Standard German ('a book of a professor'), vs. Standard German ('the professor's book'). The second is still frowned on where it appears in Standard German (from dialects and spoken language): dative of the possessor + the possessive pronoun referring to the possessor + possession: ('the professor his book').Andreas Lötscher: Schweizerdeutsch – Geschichte, Dialekte, Gebrauch. Huber, Frauenfeld/Stuttgart 1983 *The order within verb groups may vary, e.g. vs. Standard German 'when you have come/came'. In fact, dependencies can be arbitrarily cross-serial, making Swiss German one of the few known non- context-free natural languages.. *All relative clauses are introduced by the relative particle ('where'), never by the
relative pronoun A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause. It serves the purpose of conjoining modifying information about an antecedent referent. An example is the word ''which'' in the sentence "This is the house which Jack built." Here the r ...
s as in Standard German, e.g. vs. Standard German ('the example that she writes'); vs. Standard German ('the example that she thinks of'). Whereas the relative particle replaces the Standard German relative pronouns in the Nom. (subject) and Acc. (direct object) without further complications, in phrases where plays the role of an indirect object, a prepositional object, a possessor or an adverbial adjunct it has to be taken up later in the relative clause by reference of (prp. +) the
personal pronoun Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person (as ''I''), second person (as ''you''), or third person (as ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', ''they''). Personal pronouns may also take dif ...
(if ' refers to a person) or the
pronominal adverb A pronominal adverb is a type of adverb occurring in a number of Germanic languages, formed in replacement of a preposition and a pronoun by turning the former into a prepositional adverb and the latter into a locative adverb, and finally joining ...
(if ' refers to a thing). E.g. ('the professor whose book I showed you'), ('the mountain that we were upon').


Reduplication verbs


Overview

In Swiss German, a small number of verbs reduplicate in a reduced infinitival form, i.e. unstressed shorter form, when used in their finite form governing the infinitive of another verb.  The reduced and reduplicated part of the verb in question is normally put in front of the infinitive of the second verb. This is the case for the motion verbs 'to go' and 'to come' when used in the meaning of 'go (to) do something', 'come (to) do something', as well as the verbs 'to let' and in certain dialects 'to start, to begin' when used in the meaning of 'let do something', or 'start doing something'. Most affected by this phenomenon is the verb , followed by '.  Both ' and ' are less affected and only when used in
present tense The present tense (abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present t ...
declarative main clauses. Declarative sentence examples: As the examples show, all verbs are reduplicated with a reduced infinitival form when used in a declarative main clause.  This is especially interesting as it stands in contrast to the standard variety of German and other varieties of the same, where such doubling effects are not found as outlined in the examples.


: weakest doubling effects

Reduplication In linguistics, reduplication is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word (or part of it) or even the whole word is repeated exactly or with a slight change. The classic observation on the semantics of reduplication is Edwar ...
effects are weaker in the verbs 'to let' and 'to start, to begin' than they are in 'to go' and 'to come'.  This means that ' is most likely to be used without its reduplicated and reduced form while retaining grammaticality, whereas utterances with ''goo'' are least likely to remain grammatical without the reduplicated part. Between ' and ', these effects are weakest in '.  This means that while reduplication is mandatory for ' in declarative main clauses almost everywhere in the country, this is the case for fewer varieties of Swiss German with '. The reason for this is unknown, but it has been hypothesized that the fact that ''afaa'' has a separable prefix (''a''-) might weaken its doubling capacity. The presence of this separable prefix also makes the boundaries between the reduced infinitival reduplication form and the prefix hard if not impossible to determine.  Thus, in the example above for ', an argument could be made that the prefix a- is left off, while the full reduplicated form is used: In this case, the prefix would be omitted, which is normally not permissible for separable prefixes, and in its place, the reduplication form is used. Meanwhile, ' is not reduplicated when used in a
subordinate clause A subordinate clause, dependent clause, subclause, or embedded clause is a clause that is embedded within a complex sentence. For instance, in the English sentence "I know that Bette is a dolphin", the clause "that Bette is a dolphin" occurs as t ...
or in the past tense.  In such instances, doubling would result in ungrammaticality: Past tense example with : The same is true for subordinate clauses and the verb ': Subordinate clause examples with : In order to achieve grammaticality in both instances, the reduced doubling part would have to be taken out.


and optionality of reduplication

While ' 'to start, to begin' is quite restricted when it comes to
reduplication In linguistics, reduplication is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word (or part of it) or even the whole word is repeated exactly or with a slight change. The classic observation on the semantics of reduplication is Edwar ...
effects, the phenomenon is more permissive, but not mandatory in the verb 'to let'.  While present tense declarative sentences are generally ungrammatical when ' remains unduplicated, this is not true for
past tense The past tense is a grammatical tense whose function is to place an action or situation in the past. Examples of verbs in the past tense include the English verbs ''sang'', ''went'' and ''washed''. Most languages have a past tense, with some hav ...
and subordinate clauses, where doubling effects are optional at best: Past tense example with ': Subordinate clause example with ': In the use of this form, there are both geographical and age differences. 
Reduplication In linguistics, reduplication is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word (or part of it) or even the whole word is repeated exactly or with a slight change. The classic observation on the semantics of reduplication is Edwar ...
is found more often in the western part of Switzerland than in the eastern part, while younger generations are much more inclined to leave out reduplication, which means that the phenomenon is more widespread in older generations.


and : stronger reduplication

Ungrammaticality in reduplication of 'to start, to begin' in the past tense and in subordinate clauses as well as the somewhat more lenient use of reduplication with ' 'to let' stand in contrast to doubling effects of the motion verbs ' 'to go' and 'to come'.  When the latter two verbs are used in other utterances other than a declarative main clause, where the finite verb traditionally is in second position, their use might not be mandatory; however, it is correct and grammatical to double them both in the past tense and in subordinate clauses: Past tense example with and : As outlined in both examples, the reduplicated form of both and can but does not have to be used in order for the past tense sentences to be grammatical. Notably, it is the reduced form of both verbs that is necessary, not the full participle form. Subordinate clause examples for and : In subordinate clauses, the reduplicated part is needed as the sentence would otherwise be ungrammatical in both ' and '. The same is true for the past tense.  Since there is only one past tense in Swiss German and since this is formed using an auxiliary verb – 'to be' or 'to have', depending on the main verb – reduplication seems to be affected and therefore, less strictly enforced for ' and ', while it is completely ungrammatical for and optional for respectively.


Questions

Questions behave a lot like their declarative counterparts, and reduplication is therefore mandatory for both motion verbs ' 'to go' and ' 'to come', while ' 'to let' and ' 'to start, to begin' show weaker doubling effects and more optionality. Furthermore, this is the case for both open and close (yes/no) questions.  Consider the following examples: in open and close questions: Just like in declarative forms, could be reduced to ''a-'' and thus be considered the detachable prefix.  In this case, ' would no longer be a reduplicated verb, and that is where the language development seems to move towards. in open and close questions: and especially , however, do not allow for their reduced doubling part to be left out in questions, irrespective of the fact whether they are open or close: in open and close questions: in open and close questions:


Imperative mood

In the
imperative mood The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. To form the imperative mood, ...
, just like in questions, 'to go' and 'come' are very strict in their demand for doubling. The same is true for 'to let'; it is ungrammatical to use it in imperative mood undoubled.  On the other hand, leaves a lot more room for the speaker to play with.  Speakers accept both sentences with only the detachable prefix and no doubling, and sentences with the full doubled form. Imperative mood: Imperative mood: Imperative mood: Imperative mood:


Cross-doubling with and

In the case of the verb 'to come', there are situations when instead of it being reduplicated with its reduced form , the doubled short form of 'to go', , is used instead. This is possible in almost all instances of ', regardless of mood or tense.  The examples below outline ' reduplicated with both its reduced form ' and the reduced form of ', ', in different sentence forms.   Declarative main clause, present tense Declarative main clause past tense Subordinate clause Imperative mood


Multiple reduplication with and

With the motion verbs 'to go' and 'to come', where reduplication effects are strongest, there is some variation regarding their reduplicated or reduced forms.  Thus, in some Swiss German dialects, ' will be doubled as , while will be doubled as .  In some analyses, this is described as a multiple reduplication phenomenon in that the reduced infinitives or part is repeated as , providing the forms ' and '. However, these forms are used less frequently than their shorter counterparts and seem to be concentrated into a small geographic area of Switzerland.


Vocabulary

The vocabulary is varied, especially in rural areas: many specialized terms have been retained, e.g., regarding cattle or weather. In the cities, much of the rural vocabulary has been lost. A Swiss German greeting is , from (Standard German ' ), loosely meaning 'God bless you'. Most word adoptions come from Standard German. Many of these are now so common that they have totally replaced the original Swiss German words, e.g. the words 'hill' (instead of '','' ), 'lip' (instead of ). Others have replaced the original words only in parts of Switzerland, e.g., 'butter' (originally called in most of Switzerland). Virtually any Swiss Standard German word can be borrowed into Swiss German, always adapted to Swiss German phonology. However, certain Standard German words are never used in Swiss German, for instance 'breakfast', 'cute' or 'at home'; instead, the native words , and are used. Swiss dialects have quite a few words from French and Italian, which are perfectly assimilated. (ice cream) for example is pronounced in French but or in many Swiss German dialects. The French word for 'thank you', , is also used as in (, cf. Standard German's and ). Possibly, these words are not direct adoptions from French but survivors of the once more numerous French loanwords in Standard German, many of which have fallen out of use in Germany. In recent years, Swiss dialects have also taken some English words which already sound very Swiss, e.g., ('to eat', from 'food'), ('to play computer games', from ''game'') or or – ('to snowboard', from ''snowboard''). These words are probably not direct loanwords from English but have been adopted through standard German intermediation. While most of those loanwords are of recent origin, some have been in use for decades, e.g. ('to play
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, Kick (football), kicking a Football (ball), ball to score a Goal (sport), goal. Unqualified, Football (word), the word ''football'' normally means the form of football tha ...
', from ''shoot''). There are also a few English words which are modern adoptions from Swiss German. The dishes '' müesli'', and ''
rösti Rösti or rööschti () is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes, sautéed or shallow-fried in a pan. It was originally a breakfast dish, commonly eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but is now eaten all over Switzerland and around th ...
'' have become English words, as did ''
loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeoli ...
'' (fine grain), ''
flysch Flysch () is a sequence of sedimentary rock layers that progress from deep-water and turbidity flow deposits to shallow-water shales and sandstones. It is deposited when a deep basin forms rapidly on the continental side of a mountain building ...
'' (sandstone formation), ''
kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most co ...
'', ''
landammann ''Landammann'' (plural ''Landammänner''), is the German title used by the chief magistrate in certain Cantons of Switzerland and at times featured in the Head of state's style at the confederal level. Old Swiss Confederacy ''Landammann'' or ''A ...
'', '' kilch'', ', and '' putsch'' in a political sense. The term ' is sometimes explained as originating from Swiss German, while printed etymological dictionaries (e.g. the German '' Kluge'' or '' Knaurs Etymological Dictionary'') derive it from Low German instead.


Orthography


History

Written forms that were mostly based on the local Alemannic varieties, thus similar to
Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hi ...
, were only gradually replaced by the forms of New High German. This replacement took from the 15th to 18th centuries to complete. In the 16th century, the Alemannic forms of writing were considered the original, truly Swiss forms, whereas the New High German forms were perceived as foreign innovations. The innovations were brought about by the
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
and were also associated with
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
. An example of the language shift is the Froschauer Bible: Its first impressions after 1524 were largely written in an Alemannic language, but since 1527, the New High German forms were gradually adopted. The Alemannic forms were longest preserved in the chancelleries, with the chancellery of
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
being the last to adopt New High German in the second half of the 18th century. Today all formal writing, newspapers, books and much informal writing is done in
Swiss Standard German Swiss Standard German (german: Schweizer Standarddeutsch), or Swiss High German (german: Schweizer Hochdeutsch or ''Schweizerhochdeutsch''), referred to by the Swiss as ''Schriftdeutsch'', or ''Hochdeutsch'', is the written form of one of four o ...
, which is usually called (written German). Certain dialectal words are accepted regionalisms in Swiss Standard German and are also sanctioned by the
Duden The Duden () is a dictionary of the Standard High German language, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880, and later by Bibliographisches Institut GmbH. The Duden is updated regularly with new editions appearing every four or five years. , ...
, e.g., (afternoon snack). Swiss Standard German is virtually identical to Standard German as used in Germany, with most differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and orthography. For example, Swiss Standard German always uses a double s (''ss'') instead of the eszett (''ß''). There are no official rules of Swiss German orthography. The orthographies used in the Swiss-German literature can be roughly divided into two systems: Those that try to stay as close to standard German spelling as possible and those that try to represent the sounds as well as possible. The so-called was developed by
Eugen Dieth Eugen Dieth (18 November 1893, in Neukirch an der Thur – 24 May 1956, in Zollikon) was a Swiss linguist, phonetician and dialectologist. He is well known for his work in English and German phonetics, and for co-initiating the Survey of English ...
, but knowledge of these guidelines is limited mostly to language experts. Furthermore, the spellings originally proposed by Dieth included some special signs not found on a normal
keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...
, such as instead of for or instead of for . In 1986, a revised version of the ''Dieth-Schreibung'' was published, designed to be typed with a regular typewriter.


Conventions

A few letters are used differently from the Standard German rules: * (and ) are used for the
affricate An affricate is a consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative, generally with the same place of articulation (most often coronal). It is often difficult to decide if a stop and fricative form a single phoneme or a consonant pai ...
. * is used for the
unaspirated In linguistics, a tenuis consonant ( or ) is an obstruent that is voiceless, unaspirated and unglottalized. In other words, it has the "plain" phonation of with a voice onset time close to zero (a zero-VOT consonant), as Spanish ''p, t, ch, ...
fortis . * (and sometimes ) traditionally stands for the (in many dialects shortened to , but still with closed quality) that corresponds to Standard German , e.g. in 'rice' (standard German ) vs. 'giant' (standard German ). This usage goes back to an old ij-ligature. Many writers, however, do not use , but /, especially in the dialects that have lost distinction between these sounds, compare Zürich German 'rice' or 'giant' to Bernese German 'rice' vs. ('giant'). Some use even , influenced by Standard German spelling, which leads to confusion with for . * represents , slightly different from Standard German as . * usually represents , and can also represent or . * represents , represents , and represents . *Since is written as , is written as , though in eastern Switzerland is often used for both of these phonemes.


Literature

Since the 19th century, a considerable body of Swiss German literature has accumulated. The earliest works were in Lucerne German (Jost Bernhard Häfliger, Josef Felix Ineichen), in Bernese German (Gottlieb Jakob Kuhn), in Glarus German (Cosimus Freuler) and in Zürich German (Johann Martin Usteri, Jakob Stutz); the works of
Jeremias Gotthelf Albert Bitzius (4 October 179722 October 1854) was a Swiss novelist; best known by his pen name of Jeremias Gotthelf. Biography Bitzius was born at Murten, where his father was pastor. The Bitzius family had once belonged to the Bernese patrici ...
which were published at the same time are in Swiss Standard German, but use many expressions of Bernese German. Some of the more important dialect writing authors and their works are: *Anna Maria Bacher (born 1947), (South Walser German of Formazza/Pomatt) * Albert Bächtold (1891–1981), (Schaffhausen dialect of Klettgau) *Ernst Burren (born 1944), (Solothurn dialect) * August Corrodi (1826–1885), (Zurich dialect) *Barbara Egli (1918–2005), (Zurich Oberland dialect) *Fritz Enderlin (1883–1971), '','' translated from C. F. Ramuz's French poem "" (Upper Thurgovian dialect) *Martin Frank (born 1950), (Bernese dialect with Zurich interferences) * Simon Gfeller (1868–1943), (Bernese dialect of Emmental) *Georg Fient (1845–1915), (Graubünden Walser dialect of Prättigau) *Paul Haller (1882–1920), (Western Aargau dialect) *Frida Hilty-Gröbli (1893–1957), (St Gall dialect) *Josef Hug (1903–1985), (Graubünden Rhine Valley dialect) * Guy Krneta (born 1964), (collection of short stories), (prose), (Bernese dialect) *Michael Kuoni (1838–1891), (Graubünden Walser dialect of Prättigau) *Maria Lauber (1891–1973), (Bernese Oberland dialect) *Pedro Lenz (born 1965), (Bernese Dialect) *Meinrad Lienert (1865–1933), (Schwyz dialect of Einsiedeln) * Carl Albert Loosli (1877–1959), (Bernese dialect of Emmental) *
Kurt Marti Kurt Marti (31 January 1921 – Bern, 11 February 2017) was a Swiss theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in univ ...
(born 1921), (Bernese dialect) *Werner Marti (1920–2013), (Bernese dialect) * Mani Matter (1936–1972), songwriter (Bernese dialect) *Traugott Meyer (1895–1959), (Basel-Landschaft dialect) * Gall Morel (1803–1872), (Schwyz German of Iberg) *Viktor Schobinger (born 1934), and a lot of other ''Züri Krimi'' (Zurich dialect) *Caspar Streiff (1853–1917), (Glarus dialect) * Jakob Stutz (1801–1877), (Zurich Oberland dialect) * Rudolf von Tavel (1866–1934), (Bernese dialect) *Alfred Tobler (1845–1923), (Appenzell dialect) * Johann Martin Usteri (1763–1827), (Zurich German) *Hans Valär (1871–1947), (Graubünden Walser dialect of Davos) *Bernhard Wyss (1833–1889), (Solothurn dialect) Parts of the Bible were translated in different Swiss German dialects, e.g.: * (Bernese New Testament, translated by Hans and Ruth Bietenhard, 1989) * (parts of the Old Testament in Bernese dialect, translated by Hans and Ruth Bietenhard, 1990) * (Psalms in Bernese dialect, translated by Hans, Ruth and Benedikt Bietenhard, 1994) * (Zurich German New Testament, translated by Emil Weber, 1997) * (Psalms in Zurich German, translated by Josua Boesch, 1990) * (parts of the Old and the New Testament in Basel dialect, 1981) * (Gospel of Mark in Lucerne dialect, translated by Walter Haas, 1988) * (Gospel of Mark in the Obwalden dialect, translated by Karl Imfeld, 1979)


See also

* Argentinien-schwyzertütsch dialect *
Swiss French Swiss French (french: français de Suisse or ') is the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, the others being German, Italian, and ...
*
Swiss Italian The Italian language in Switzerland or Swiss Italian ( it, italiano svizzero) is the variety of the Italian language taught in the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. Italian is spoken natively by about 700,000 people in the canton of Ticino ...
*
Swiss Standard German Swiss Standard German (german: Schweizer Standarddeutsch), or Swiss High German (german: Schweizer Hochdeutsch or ''Schweizerhochdeutsch''), referred to by the Swiss as ''Schriftdeutsch'', or ''Hochdeutsch'', is the written form of one of four o ...
* Linguistic geography of Switzerland


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Albert Bachmann (ed.), ''Beiträge zur schweizerdeutschen Grammatik'' (BSG), 20 vols., Frauenfeld: Huber, 1919–1941. * * Rudolf Hotzenköcherle (ed.), ''Beiträge zur schweizerdeutschen Mundartforschung'' (BSM), 24 vols., Frauenfeld: Huber, 1949–1982. * Rudolf Hotzenköcherle, Robert Schläpfer, Rudolf Trüb (ed.), '' Sprachatlas der deutschen Schweiz.'' Bern/Tübingen: Francke, 1962–1997, vol. 1–8. – Helen Christen, Elvira Glaser, Matthias Friedli (ed.), ''Kleiner Sprachatlas der deutschen Schweiz.'' Frauenfeld: Huber, 2010 (and later editions),

* Verein für das Schweizerdeutsche Wörterbuch (ed.), ''
Schweizerisches Idiotikon ''Schweizerisches Idiotikon'' ("the Swiss idioticon", also known as ''Wörterbuch der schweizerdeutschen Sprache'' "Dictionary of the Swiss German language") is an ongoing, major project of lexicography of the Swiss German dialects. Publication be ...
: Wörterbuch der schweizerdeutschen Sprache''. Frauenfeld: Huber; Basel: Schwabe, 17 vols. (16 complete), 1881–,


External links


Chochichästli-Orakel
– choose the Swiss German words you would normally use and see how well this matches the dialect of your area.
Dialekt.ch
a site with sound samples from different dialects.
Schweizerisches Idiotikon
The homepage of the Swiss national dictionary.



{{Authority control Swiss German language, * Alemannic German language Upper German languages German dialects Languages of Switzerland Diglossia