Swiss German

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This article is about the mostly spoken Swiss language, a family of local dialects. For the official language, see Swiss Standard German.
Swiss German
Schwizerdütsch
Pronunciation [ˈʃʋit͡sərˌd̥yt͡ʃ]
Native to Switzerland (as German), Liechtenstein, Vorarlberg (Austria), Piedmont & Aosta Valley (Italy)
Native speakers
 4.5 million in Switzerland and Austria  (1991–2000)[1]
Unknown number in Germany
(excluding Alsatian)
Language codes
ISO 639-2 gsw
ISO 639-3 gsw (with Alsatian)
Glottolog swis1247[2]
Linguasphere 52-ACB-f (45 varieties: 52-ACB-faa to -fkb)
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Swiss German (German: Schweizerdeutsch, Alemannic German: Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch[note 1]) refers to any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. 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.[citation needed]

Linguistically, Swiss German forms no unity. The linguistic division of Alemannic is rather into Low, High and Highest Alemannic, varieties of all of which are spoken both inside and outside of Switzerland. 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 the other countries is restricted or even endangered.

The dialects of Swiss German must not be confused with Swiss Standard German, the variety of Standard German used in Switzerland. German people tend not to understand Swiss German, therefore when an interview with a Swiss German speaker is shown on German television, subtitles are required. Although Swiss German is the native language, from age 6 people additionally learn Swiss Standard German at school and are thus fully able to understand, write and to speak Standard German with varying abilities mainly based on the level of education.

Use[edit]

Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the spoken everyday language 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.[3] There are a few settings where speaking Standard German is demanded or polite, e.g., in education (but not during breaks in school lessons, where the teachers will speak in the dialect with students), in multilingual parliaments (the federal parliaments and a few cantonal and municipal ones), in the main news broadcast or in the presence of non-Alemannic speakers. This situation has been called a "medial diglossia", since the spoken language is mainly the dialect, whereas the written language is mainly (the Swiss variety of) Standard German.

Swiss German is intelligible to speakers of other Alemannic dialects, but poses greater difficulty in total comprehension to speakers of Standard German, including French- or Italian-speaking Swiss who learn Standard German at school. Swiss German speakers on TV or in movies are thus usually dubbed or subtitled if shown in Germany.

Dialect rock is a music genre using the language; many Swiss rock bands, however, alternatively rather sing in English.

The Swiss Amish of Indiana also use Swiss German.

Variation and distribution[edit]

Swiss German is a regional or political umbrella term, not a linguistic unity. For all dialects, there are idioms spoken outside Switzerland that are more closely related to them than some Swiss German dialects. The main linguistic divisions within Swiss German are those of Low, High and Highest Alemannic, and mutual intelligibility across those groups is almost fully seamless, though with some minor exceptions, mainly regarding vocabulary. Low Alemannic is only spoken in the northernmost parts of Switzerland, in Basel and around Lake Constance. High Alemannic is spoken in most of the Swiss Plateau, and is divided in an eastern and a western group. Highest Alemannic is spoken in the Alps.

Language distribution in Switzerland
  French (Romandy)
  German
  Italian
  Romansh

Each dialect is separable 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, regional differences are fading due to increasing mobility, and a growing population of non-Alemannic descent. Despite the varied dialects, the Swiss can still understand one another, but may particularly have trouble understanding Walliser dialects.

History[edit]

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Most Swiss German dialects, being High German dialects, have completed the High German consonant shift (synonyms: Second Germanic consonant shift, or High German sound shift[4][5]), that is, they have not only changed t to [t͡s] or [s] and p to [p͡f] or [f], but also k to [k͡x] or [x]. But, for example, most Swiss dialects have initial [x] or [k͡x] instead of k; there are, however, exceptions, namely the idioms of Chur and Basel. Basel German is a Low Alemannic dialect (mostly spoken in Germany near the Swiss border), and Chur German is basically High Alemannic without initial [x] or [k͡x].

Examples:

High Alemannic Low Alemannic Standard German translation
[ˈxaʃtə] [ˈkʰaʃtə] [ˈkʰastən] box
[k͡xaˈri(ː)b̥ik͡x] [kʰaˈriːbikʰ] [kʰaˈriːbɪk] Caribbean

However, some Highest Alemannic dialects, such as the Unterwalden dialect to some extent, but especially the dialect spoken in the German part of the valley of Valais (south-western Switzerland, German: Wallis), did not participate in the Second Germanic consonant shift happening between the fourth and 9th centuries south of the so-called Benrather Line in the German world, actually in the High German world, while high refers to the geographically higher regions of the German spoken world of those days (combining Upper German and Middle German languages/dialects - also referring to their geographical locations). North of the Benrath line up to the North Sea, this consonant shift had not been happening. Therefore, it is not so surprising to find similarities among the Highest Alemannic dialects in Switzerland and Low German dialects in the north of Germany.

The same phenomena are also found at different, distributed places in the Alps, mainly east of the Valais, e.g. also in the valley of Schanfigg (south-eastern Switzerland in the canton of Graubünden (En.: Grisons), where the resort Arosa is located).

The reason for this characteristic in the Schanfigg valley as well, even though the German-speaking part of the canton of Graubünden belongs to the High Alemannic dialect regions (and they did actually take part in this mentioned consonant shift), was a migration going on between the 12th and 13th centuries, from the upper Wallis to more eastern Alps (but also south) into Grisons and even further to western Austria and northern Italy. Therefore, the linguistic peculiarities in this valley are based on two aspects: First, the missing of the Second Germanic consonant shift in the Wallis valley (fourth-9th centuries AD) and, secondly, because of the migration (12th and 13th centuries AD) of Walliser to this Grisonian valley.

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: Grisons, Vorarlberg in West Austria, Ticino 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 liberalisation from serfdom and feudalism. And, Walser villages are easily distinguishable from Grisonian ones, since Walser houses are made of wood instead of stone.

Pronunciation[edit]

Consonants[edit]

Like all Southern German dialects, Swiss German dialects have no voiced obstruents. However, they have an opposition of consonant pairs such as [t] and [d] or [p] and [b]. Traditionally, that distinction is said to be a distinction of fortis and lenis, though it has been claimed to be a distinction of quantity.[6]

Swiss German keeps the fortis–lenis opposition at the end of words. There can be minimal pairs such as graad [ɡ̊raːd̥] 'straight' and Graat [ɡ̊raːt] 'arête' or bis [b̥ɪz̥] 'be (imp.)' and Biss [b̥ɪs] 'bite'. This distinguishes Swiss German and Swiss Standard German from German Standard German, which neutralizes the fortis–lenis opposition at the ends of words, a phenomenon usually called final-obstruent devoicing, even though, in the case of German, phonetic voice need not be involved.

Swiss German /p, t, k/ are not aspirated. Aspirated [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] have (in most dialects) secondarily developed by combinations of prefixes with word-initial /h/ or by borrowings from other languages (mainly standard German), e.g., /ˈphaltə/ 'keep' (standard German behalten [bəˈhaltn̩]); /ˈtheː/ 'tea' (standard German Tee [ˈtʰeː]); /ˈkhalt/ 'salary' (standard German Gehalt [ɡəˈhalt]).

In the dialects of Basel and Chur, aspirated /k/ is also present in native words.

Unlike Standard German, Swiss German /x/ does not have the allophone [ç], but is always [x], or in many dialects even [χ]. The typical Swiss shibboleth features this sound: Chuchichäschtli ('kitchen cupboard'), pronounced [ˈχuχːiˌχæʃtli].

Most Swiss German dialects have gone through the Alemannic n-apocope, which has led to the loss of final -n in words such as Garte 'garden' (standard German Garten) or mache 'to make' (standard German machen). In some Highest Alemannic dialects, the n-apocope has also been effective in consonant clusters, for instance in Hore 'horn' (High Alemannic Horn) or däiche 'to think' (High Alemannic dänke). Only the Highest Alemannic dialects of the Lötschental and of the Haslital have preserved the -n.

The phoneme /r/ is pronounced as an alveolar trill [r] in many dialects, though certain dialects, especially in the Northeast or in the Basel region, have a uvular trill [ʀ] like the one heard in many German varieties of Germany.

Vowels[edit]

Monophthongs of the Zürich dialect, from Fleischer & Schmid (2006:256)

Most Swiss German dialects have rounded front vowels, unlike other High German dialects.[7] Only in the Low Alemannic dialects of northwest Switzerland (mainly Basel) and in the Walliser dialects have the rounded front vowels been unrounded. In Basel, the rounding is being reintroduced under the influence of other Swiss German dialects.

Like Bavarian dialects, Swiss German dialects have preserved the opening diphthongs of Middle High German: /iə̯, uə̯, yə̯/, e.g. in /liə̯b̥/ 'lovely' (standard German lieb, but pronounced /liːp/); /huə̯t/ 'hat' (standard German Hut /huːt/); /xyə̯l/ 'cool' (standard German kühl /kyːl/). Note that some of those diphthongs have been unrounded in several dialects.

Like the Low German language, most Swiss German dialects have preserved the old West-Germanic monophthongs /iː, uː, yː/, e.g. /pfiːl/ 'arrow' (standard German Pfeil /pfaɪ̯l/); /b̥uːx/ 'belly' (standard German Bauch /baʊ̯x/); /z̥yːlə/ 'pillar' (standard German Säule /zɔʏ̯lə/). A few Alpine dialects show diphthongization similar to Standard German, especially some dialects of Unterwalden and Schanfigg (Graubünden) and that of Issime (Piedmont).

Diphthongization in some dialects
Middle High German/many Swiss German dialects Unterwalden dialect Schanfigg and Issime dialects Standard German translation
[huːs] [huis] [hous] [haʊ̯s] house
[tsiːt] [tseit] [tseit] [tsaɪ̯t] time

Some Western Swiss German dialects (e.g. Bernese German) have preserved the old diphthongs /ei̯, ou̯/, whereas the other dialects have /ai̯, au̯/ like Standard German or /æi̯, æu̯/. Zurich German and some other dialects distinguish primary diphthongs from secondary ones that arose in hiatus position, i.e. Zurich German /ai̯, au̯/ from Middle High German /ei̯, ou̯/ versus Zurich German /ei̯, ou̯/ from Middle High German /iː, uː/, e.g. Zurich German /bai̯, frau̯/ 'leg, woman' from M.H.G. bein, vrouwe versus Zurich German /frei̯, bou̯/ 'free, building' from M.H.G. frī, būw.

Suprasegmentals[edit]

In many Swiss German dialects, consonant length and vowel length are independent from each other, whereas they are dependent in other Germanic languages. Examples from Bernese German:

short /a/ long /aː/
short /f/ /hafə/ 'bowl' /d̥i b̥raːfə/ 'the honest ones'
long /fː/ /afːə/ 'apes' /ʃlaːfːə/ 'to sleep'

Stress is more often on the first syllable than in standard German, even in French loans such as [ˈmɛrsːi] or [ˈmersːi] "thanks". Note that there are many different stress patterns even within dialects. Bernese German is one of the dialects where many words are stressed on the first syllable, e.g. [ˈkaz̥ino] 'casino', whereas standard German has [kʰaˈziːno]. However, no Swiss German dialect is as consistent as the Icelandic language in this respect.

Grammar[edit]

The grammar of Swiss dialects has some specialties compared to Standard German:

  • There is no preterite indicative (yet there is a preterite subjunctive).
  • The preterite is replaced by perfect constructs
  • There is no genitive case, though certain dialects have preserved a possessive genitive (for instance in rural Bernese German). The genitive case is replaced by two constructions: The first of these is often acceptable in Standard German as well: possession + Prp. vo (std. German von) + possessor: es Buech vomene Profässer vs. Standard German ein Buch von einem Professor ("a book of a professor"), s Buech vom Profässer vs. Standard German das Buch des Professors ("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: em Profässer sis Buech ("the professor his book").[8]
  • The order within verb groups may vary, e.g. wo du bisch cho/wo du cho bisch vs. standard German als du gekommen bist "when you have come/came".[9]
  • All relative clauses are introduced by the relative particle wo (‘where’), never by the relative pronouns der, die, das, welcher, welches as in Standard German, e.g. ds Bispil, wo si schrybt vs. Standard German das Beispiel, das sie schreibt (‘the example that she writes’); ds Bispil, wo si dra dänkt vs. Standard German das Beispiel, woran sie denkt (‘the example that she thinks of’). Whereas the relative particle wo replaces the Standard German relative pronouns in the Nom. (subject) and Acc. (direct object) without further complications, in phrases where wo 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 (if wo refers to a person) or the pronominal adverb (if wo refers to a thing). E.g. de Profässer won i der s Buech von em zeiget ha ("the professor whose book I showed you"), de Bärg wo mer druf obe gsii sind ("the mountain that we were upon").[8]
  • In combinations with other verbs, the verbs gah or goh "go", cho "come", la or lo "let" and aafa or aafo "begin" reduplicate, prefixed to the main verb.
example: Si chunt üse Chrischtboum cho schmücke.
literal translation: she comes our Christmas tree come decorate
translation She comes to decorate our Christmas tree.
standard German: Sie kommt unseren Christbaum schmücken.
example: Si lat ne nid la schlafe.
literal translation: she lets him not let sleep
translation: She doesn't let him sleep.
standard German: Sie lässt ihn nicht schlafen.
This is probably a generalization of a close association of these verbs with the following verb in perfect or modal verb constructions:
perfect: Si het ne nid la schlafe.
literal translation: she has him not let sleep
translation: She hasn't/didn't let him sleep.
standard German: Sie hat ihn nicht schlafen lassen. or Sie ließ ihn nicht schlafen.
modal verb: Si wot ne nid la schlafe.
literal translation: she wants him not let sleep
translation: She doesn't want to let him sleep.
standard German: Sie will ihn nicht schlafen lassen.

Vocabulary[edit]

The vocabulary is rather rich, especially in rural areas: many specialised terms have been retained, e.g., regarding cattle or weather. In the cities, much of the rural vocabulary has been lost.

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 Hügel 'hill' (instead of Egg, Bühl), Lippe 'lip' (instead of Lefzge). Others have replaced the original words only in parts of Switzerland, e.g., Butter 'butter' (originally called Anken 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 Frühstück 'breakfast', niedlich 'cute' or zu hause 'at home'; instead, the native words Zmorge, härzig and dehei are used.

Swiss dialects have quite a few words from French and Italian, which are perfectly assimilated. Glace (ice cream) for example is pronounced /ɡlas/ in French but [ˈɡ̊lasːeː] or [ˈɡ̊lasːə] in many Swiss German dialects. The French word for 'thank you', merci, is also used as in merci vilmal, literally "thanks many times". 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., [ˈfuːd̥ə] ('to eat', from "food"), [ɡ̊ei̯mə] ('to play computer games', from "game") or [ˈz̥nœːb̥ə] or [ˈb̥oːrd̥ə] – ('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. [ˈ(t)ʃutːə] (to play football, from "shoot").

There are also a few English words which are modern adoptions from Swiss German. The dishes müesli, and rösti have become English words, as did loess (fine grain), flysch (sandstone formation), kepi, landamman, kilch[disambiguation needed], schiffli, and putsch in a political sense. The term bivouac is sometimes explained as originating from Swiss German,[10] while printed etymological dictionaries (e.g. the German Kluge or Knaurs Etymological Dictionary) derive it from Low German instead.

Literature[edit]

Written forms that were mostly based on the local Alemannic varieties, thus similar to Middle High German, 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 and were also associated with Lutheranism. 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 being the last to adopt New High German in the second half of the 18th century.[11]

Today all formal writing, newspapers, books and much informal writing is done in Swiss Standard German, which is usually called Schriftdeutsch (written German). Certain dialectal words are accepted regionalisms in Swiss Standard German and are also sanctioned by the Duden, e.g., Zvieri (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 Schwyzertütschi Dialäktschrift was developed by Eugen Dieth, 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, such as ⟨ʃ⟩ instead of ⟨sch⟩ for [ʃ] or ⟨ǜ⟩ instead of ⟨ü⟩ for [ʏ]. In 1986, a revised version of the Dieth-Schreibung was published, designed to be written "on a normal typewriter".[12]

A few letters are used differently from the Standard German rules:

  • ⟨k⟩ (and ⟨ck⟩) are used for the affricate /kx/.
  • ⟨gg⟩ is used for the unaspirated fortis /k/.
  • ⟨y⟩ (and sometimes ⟨yy⟩) traditionally stands for the /iː/ (in many dialects shortened to /i/, but still with closed quality) that corresponds to Standard German /aɪ̯/, e.g. in Rys ‘rice’ (standard German Reis /raɪ̯s/) vs. Ris ‘giant’ (standard German /riːzə/). This usage goes back to an old ij-ligature. Many writers, however, don't use ⟨y⟩, but ⟨i⟩/⟨ii⟩, especially in the dialects that have lost distinction between these sounds, compare Zürich German Riis /riːz̥/ ‘rice’ or 'giant' to Bernese German Rys /riːz̥/ 'rice' vs. Ris /rɪːz̥/ (‘giant’). Some use even ⟨ie⟩, influenced by Standard German spelling, which leads to confusion with ⟨ie⟩ for /iə̯/.
  • ⟨ä⟩ usually represents [æ], and can also represent [ə] or [ɛ].
  • ⟨ph⟩ represents [pʰ], ⟨th⟩ represents [tʰ], and ⟨gh⟩ represents [kʰ].
  • Since [ei] is written as ⟨ei⟩, [ai] is written as ⟨äi⟩, though in eastern Switzerland ⟨ei⟩ is often used for both of these phonemes.

Since the 19th century, a considerable body of Swiss German literature has accumulated. The earliest works were in Zurich German (Johann Martin Usteri, Jakob Stutz); the works of Jeremias Gotthelf 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), Z Kschpel fam Tzit; Litteri un Schattä; Z Tzit fam Schnee (South Walser German of Formazza/Pomatt)
  • Albert Bächtold (1891–1981), De goldig Schmid; Wält uhni Liecht; De Studänt Räbme; Pjotr Ivanowitsch (Schaffhausen dialect of Klettgau)
  • Ernst Burren (born 1944), Dr Schtammgascht; Näschtwermi (Solothurn dialect)
  • August Corrodi (1826–1885), De Herr Professer; De Herr Vikari; De Herr Dokter, translation of Plautus's Mostellaria (Zurich dialect)
  • Barbara Egli (1918–2005), Wildi Chriesi (Zurich Oberland dialect)
  • Fritz Enderlin (1883–1971), De Sonderbunds-Chrieg, translated from C. F. Ramuz's French poem La Grande Guerre du Sondrebond (Upper Thurgovian dialect)
  • Martin Frank (born 1950), Ter Fögi ische Souhung; La Mort de Chevrolet (Bernese dialect with Zurich interferences)
  • Simon Gfeller (1868–1943), Ämmegrund; Drätti, Müetti u der Chlyn; Seminarzyt (Bernese dialect of Emmental)
  • Jeremias Gotthelf (1797–1854), only parts of his works are written in dialect (Bernese dialect)
  • Paul Haller (1882–1920), Maria und Robert (Western Aargau dialect)
  • Frida Hilty-Gröbli (1893–1957), Am aalte Maartplatz z Sant Galle; De hölzig Matroos (St Gall dialect)
  • Josef Hug (1903–1985), S Gmaiguet; Dunggli Wolgga ob Salaz (Graubünden Rhine Valley dialect)
  • Thomas Hürlimann (born 1950), Dr Franzos im Ybrig, loosely based on Morel's play
  • Guy Krneta (born 1964), Furnier (collection of short stories), Zmittst im Gjätt uss (prose), Ursle (Bernese dialect)
  • Michael Kuoni (1838–1891), Bilder aus dem Volksleben des Vorder-Prättigau's (Graubünden Walser dialect of Prättigau)
  • Maria Lauber (1891–1973), Chüngold; Bletter im Luft; Der jung Schuelmiischter (Bernese Oberland dialect)
  • Pedro Lenz (born 1965), Plötzlech hets di am Füdle (Bernese Dialect)
  • Meinrad Lienert (1865–1933), Flüeblüemli; 's Mireli; Der Waldvogel (Schwyz dialect of Einsiedeln)
  • Carl Albert Loosli (1877–1959), Mys Dörfli; Mys Ämmitaw; Wi's öppe geit! (Bernese dialect of Emmental)
  • Kurt Marti (born 1921), Vierzg Gedicht ir Bärner Umgangssprache; Rosa Loui (Bernese dialect)
  • Mani Matter (1936–1972), songwriter (Bernese dialect)
  • Traugott Meyer (1895–1959), 's Tunnälldorf; Der Gänneral Sutter (Basel-Landschaft dialect)
  • Gall Morel (1803–1872), Dr Franzos im Ybrig (Schwyz German of Iberg)
  • Viktor Schobinger (born 1934), Der Ääschme trifft simpatisch lüüt and a lot of other Züri Krimi (Zurich dialect)
  • Caspar Streiff (1853–1917), Der Heiri Jenni im Sunnebärg (Glarus dialect)
  • Jakob Stutz (1801–1877), Gemälde aus dem Volksleben; Ernste und heitere Bilder aus dem Leben unseres Volkes (Zurich Oberland dialect)
  • Rudolf von Tavel (1866–1934), Ring i der Chetti; Gueti Gschpane; Meischter und Ritter; Der Stärn vo Buebebärg; D’Frou Kätheli und ihri Buebe; Der Frondeur; Ds velorene Lied; D’Haselmuus; Unspunne; Jä gäl, so geit’s!; Der Houpme Lombach; Götti und Gotteli; Der Donnergueg; Veteranezyt; Heinz Tillman; Die heilige Flamme; Am Kaminfüür; Bernbiet; Schweizer daheim und draußen; Simeon und Eisi; Geschichten aus dem Bernerland (Bernese dialect)[13]
  • Alfred Tobler (1845–1923), Näbes oß mine Buebejohre (Appenzell dialect)
  • Johann Martin Usteri (1763–1827), Dichtungen in Versen und Prosa (Zurich German)
  • Hans Valär (1871–1947), Dr Türligiiger (Graubünden Walser dialect of Davos)
  • Bernhard Wyss (1833–1889), Schwizerdütsch. Bilder aus dem Stilleben unseres Volkes (Solothurn dialect)

Parts of the Bible were translated in different Swiss German dialects, e.g.:[14]

  • Ds Nöie Teschtamänt bärndütsch (Bernese New Testament, translated by Hans and Ruth Bietenhard, 1989)
  • Ds Alte Teschtamänt bärndütsch (parts of the Old Testament in Bernese dialect, translated by Hans and Ruth Bietenhard, 1990)
  • D Psalme bärndütsch (Psalms in Bernese dialect, translated by Hans, Ruth and Benedikt Bietenhard, 1994)
  • S Nöi Teschtamänt Züritüütsch (Zurich German New Testament, translated by Emil Weber, 1997)
  • D Psalme Züritüütsch (Psalms in Zurich German, translated by Josua Boesch, 1990)
  • Der guet Bricht us der Bible uf Baselbieterdütsch (parts of the Old and the New Testament in Basel dialect, 1981)
  • S Markus Evangelium Luzärntüütsch (Gospel of Mark in Lucerne dialect, translated by Walter Haas, 1988)
  • Markusevangeeli Obwaldnerdytsch (Gospel of Mark in the dialect of the Obwalden County, translated by Karl Imfeld, 1979)

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Because there is no standard orthography, many different spellings can be found.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Swiss German at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ^ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Swiss German". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. 
  3. ^ See, for instance, an Examination of Swiss German in and around Zürich, a paper that presents the differences between Swiss German and High German.
  4. ^ Translations of Hochdeutsche Lautverschiebung
  5. ^ Tranlslations of High German consonant shift
  6. ^ Astrid Krähenmann: Quantity and prosodic asymmetries in Alemannic. Synchronic and diachronic perspectives. de Gruyter, Berlin 2003. ISBN 3-11-017680-7
  7. ^ Werner König: dtv-Atlas zur deutschen Sprache. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1989. ISBN 3-423-03025-9. S. 149.
  8. ^ a b Andreas Lötscher: Schweizerdeutsch – Geschichte, Dialekte, Gebrauch. Huber, Frauenfeld/Stuttgart 1983 ISBN 3-7193-0861-8
  9. ^ See Rudolf Hotzenköcherle, Rudolf Trüb (eds.) (1975): Sprachatlas der deutschen Schweiz II 261s.
  10. ^ Cf. the entry bivouac of the Online Etymology Dictionary
  11. ^ Entry Deutsch ('German') in the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
  12. ^ Dieth, Eugen: Schwyzertütschi Dialäktschrift. Dieth-Schreibung. 2nd ed. revised and edited by Christian Schmid-Cadalbert, Aarau: Sauerländer, 1986. ISBN 3-7941-2832-X (in German)
  13. ^ [1] Archived 1 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ See a compilation on http://www.bibel-gesangbuch.de/mundart.html#schweizerdeutsch (in German)

Bibliography[edit]

  • Albert Bachmann (ed.), Beiträge zur schweizerdeutschen Grammatik (BSG), 20 vols., Frauenfeld: Huber, 1919–1941.
  • Fleischer, Jürg; Schmid, Stephan (2006), "Zurich German" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association 36 (2), doi:10.1017/S0025100306002441 
  • Rudolf Hotzenköcherle (ed.), Beiträge zur schweizerdeutschen Mundartforschung (BSM), 24 vols., Frauenfeld: Huber, 1949–1982.
  • Peter von Matt: Deutsch in der Deutschen Schweiz. In: Peter von Matt: Das Kalb vor der Gotthardpost. Zur Literatur und Politik in der Schweiz. Carl Hanser Verlag, München, 2012, ISBN 978-3-446-23880-0, S. 127–138.
  • Verein für das Schweizerdeutsche Wörterbuch (ed.): Schweizerisches Idiotikon: Wörterbuch der schweizerdeutschen Sprache. Frauenfeld: Huber, 17 vols. (16 complete), 1881–, ISBN 978-3-7193-0413-3. [2]

A Select Bibliography of English Texts on Swiss German offers the homepage of Schweizerisches Idiotikon.

External links[edit]

Alemannic edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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