| Swiss German | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schwyzerdütsch | ||||
| Pronunciation | [ˈʃʋitsərˌd̥ytʃ] | |||
| Spoken in | Switzerland Liechtenstein Vorarlberg (Austria) Piedmont (Italy) Aosta Valley (Italy) |
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| Region | Europe | |||
| Native speakers | 4,500,000 (date missing) | |||
| Language family |
Indo-European
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| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-2 | gsw | |||
| ISO 639-3 | gsw | |||
| Linguasphere | 52-ACB-f (45 varieties: 52-ACB-faa to -fkb) | |||
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Swiss German (German: Schweizerdeutsch, Alemannic German: Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch) is 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.
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.
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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 dialect conveys neither social nor educational inferiority and is done with pride.[1] There are only a few specific 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 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 German-speaking foreigners. This situation has been called a medial diglossia since the spoken language is mainly the dialect whereas the written language is mainly 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, sing in English.
The Swiss Amish of Indiana also use Swiss German.
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. 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.
Each dialect is separable into numerous local sub-dialects, sometimes down to a resolution of individual villages. Speaking the dialect is an important part of regional, cantonal and national identity. 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.
As Alemannic dialects, Swiss German dialects did not participate in the second German vowel shift during medieval times — they use mostly the same vowels as Middle High German. Therefore, even though the Alemannic dialects belong to High German, their vowels are closer to Low Saxon than other High German dialects or standard German. An exception is certain central Swiss and Walser dialects, e.g. some dialects of Unterwalden, of the Schanfigg Valley (Graubünden) and that of Issime (Piedmont).
Examples:
| Zürich dialect | Unterwalden dialect | Schanfigg and Issime dialects | Standard German | translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [huːs] | [huis] | [hous] | [haʊ̯s] | house |
| [tsiːt] | [tseit] | [tseit] | [tsaɪ̯t] | time |
Most Swiss German dialects, being High-Alemannic dialects, have completed the High German consonant shift, 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]. 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 (like most, but not all, Alemannic dialects in Germany), 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 |
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.[2]
Swiss German /p, t, k/ are not aspirated. Aspirated [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] have (in most dialects) secondarily developed by contractions 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].
Neither Swiss German nor the Swiss national variety of standard German exhibits final devoicing, unlike the German national variety of standard German (for example, "Zug" is pronounced [tsuːɡ] and not [tsuːk]).
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.
Most Swiss German dialects have rounded front vowels, unlike other High German dialects.[3] 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 Low Saxon dialects, most Swiss German dialects have preserved the old 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 diphthongation similar to Standard German, especially some dialects of Unterwalden and Schanfigg (Graubünden) and that of Issime (Piedmont); for examples see above.
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.
In many Swiss German dialects, consonant length and vowel length are independent from each other, whereas they interdepend in the 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.
The grammar of Swiss dialects has some specialties compared to Standard German:
| example: | Si | chunt | üse | Chrischtboum | cho | schmücke. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| literal translation: | she | comes | our | Christmas tree | come | decorate |
| translation | She comes to decorate our Christmas tree. | |||||
| example: | Si | lat | ne | nid | la | schlafe. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| literal translation: | she | lets | him | not | let | sleep |
| translation: | She doesn't let him sleep. | |||||
| perfect: | Si | het | ne | nid | la schlafe. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| literal translation: | she | has | him | not | let sleep |
| translation: | She hasn't let/didn't let him sleep. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
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, 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, schiffli, and putsch in a political sense. The term bivouac is sometimes explained as originating from Swiss German,[5] while printed etymological dictionaries (e.g. the German Kluge or Knaurs Etymological Dictionary) derive it from Low German instead.
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.[6]
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). Note that 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 nearly only language experts know about these guidelines. 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".[7]
A few letters are used differently from the Standard German rules:
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:
Parts of the Bible were translated in different Swiss German dialects, e.g.:[9]
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