| Swiss German | |
| Nativename: | Schwiizerdütsch |
| Pronunciation: | in Swiss German; Alemannic; Alsatian pronounced as /ˈʃʋitsərˌd̥ytʃ/ |
| States: | Switzerland (as German), Liechtenstein, Vorarlberg (Austria), Piedmont & Aosta Valley (Italy) |
| Speakers: | million in Switzerland |
| Ref: | [1] |
| Date: | 2013 |
| Speakers2: | Unknown number in Germany and Austria |
| Familycolor: | Indo-European |
| Fam2: | Germanic |
| Fam3: | West Germanic |
| Fam4: | Elbe Germanic |
| Fam5: | High German |
| Fam6: | Upper German |
| Fam7: | Alemannic |
| Iso2: | gsw |
| Iso3: | gsw |
| Iso3comment: | (with Alsatian) |
| Lingua: | 52-ACB-f (45 varieties: 52-ACB-faa to -fkb) |
| Glotto: | swis1247 |
| Glottorefname: | Central Alemannic |
| Glotto2: | wals1238 |
| Glottorefname2: | Walser |
| Notice: | IPA |
| Map: | Lang Status 80-VU.svg |
Swiss German (Standard German: German: Schweizerdeutsch, Swiss German; Alemannic; Alsatian: Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,[2] and others) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy bordering Switzerland. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg, which are closely associated to Switzerland's.[3] [4]
Linguistically, Alemannic is divided into Low, High and Highest Alemannic, varieties all of which are spoken both inside and outside Switzerland. The only exception within German-speaking Switzerland is the municipality of Samnaun, where a Bavarian dialect is spoken. The reason Swiss German dialects constitute a special group is their 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.[5]
The dialects that comprise Swiss German must not be confused with Swiss Standard German, the variety of Standard German used in Switzerland. Swiss Standard German is fully understandable to all speakers of Standard German, while many people in Germany – especially in the north – do not understand Swiss German. An interview with a Swiss German speaker, when shown on television in Germany, will require subtitles.[6] Although Swiss German is the native language in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, Swiss school students are taught Swiss Standard German from the age of six. They are thus capable of understanding, writing and speaking Standard German, with varying abilities.
Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the everyday spoken language for the majority of the population, in all social strata, from urban centers to the countryside. Using Swiss German conveys neither social nor educational inferiority and is done with pride.[7] 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 with students in Swiss German), 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 Swiss German, whereas the written language is mainly (the Swiss variety of) Standard German.
In 2014, about 87% of the people living in the German-speaking portion of Switzerland were using Swiss German in their everyday lives.[8]
Swiss German is intelligible to speakers of other Alemannic dialects, but largely unintelligible to speakers of Standard German who lack adequate prior exposure. This is also a challenge for French- or Italian-speaking Swiss who learn Standard German at school. In the rare cases that Swiss German is heard on TV in Germany and Austria, the speaker is most likely to be dubbed or subtitled. More commonly, a Swiss speaker will speak Standard German on non-Swiss media.
"Dialect rock" is a music genre using the language;[9] many Swiss rock bands, however, sing in English instead.
The Swiss Amish of Adams County, Indiana, and their daughter settlements also use a form of Swiss German.[10]
Swiss German is a regional or political umbrella term, 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, High 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 and around Lake Constance. High Alemannic is spoken in most of the Swiss Plateau, and is divided into an eastern and a western group. Highest Alemannic is spoken in the Alps.
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 (TI), parts of Graubünden (GR), Liechtenstein and Vorarlberg.
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, 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.
Most Swiss German dialects have completed the High German consonant shift. Unlike Standard German, which has only shifted t to pronounced as /[t͡s]/ or pronounced as /[s]/ and p to pronounced as /[p͡f]/ or pronounced as /[f]/, they have also shifted k to pronounced as /[k͡x]/ or pronounced as /[x]/. The dialects of Chur and Basel are exceptions to this. Basel German is a Low Alemannic dialect (mostly spoken in Germany near the Swiss border), and Chur German is basically High Alemannic without initial pronounced as /[x]/ or pronounced as /[k͡x]/.
Examples:
| High Alemannic | Low Alemannic | Standard German | Spelling | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /[ˈxaʃtə]/ | pronounced as /[ˈkʰaʃtə]/ | pronounced as /[ˈkastn]/ | 'Kasten' | 'box' | |
| pronounced as /[k͡xaˈri(ː)b̥ik͡x]/ | pronounced as /[kʰaˈriːbikʰ]/ | pronounced as /[kaˈriːbɪk]/ | 'Karibik' | 'Caribbean' |
The High German consonant shift occurred between the 4th and 9th centuries south of the Benrath line, separating High German from Low German (where high refers to areas of greater altitude). It combines Upper German and Central German varieties - also referring to their geographical locations.
The Walser migration, which took place in the 12th and 13th centuries, spread varieties from upper Valais to the east and south, into Grisons and to modern western Austria and northern Italy. Informally, a distinction is made between the German-speaking people living in Valais, the Walliser, and those who have migrated, the Walsers. The latter can mainly be found in Grisons and Ticino in Switzerland, Vorarlberg in Austria, south of the Monte Rosa mountain chain in Italy (e.g. in Issime in Valle d'Aosta), South Tyrol in northern Italy, and the Allgäu in Bavaria).
Generally, the Walser communities were situated on higher alpine regions, so were able to stay independent of the ruling forces of those days, who did not or were not able to oversee them all the time in these hostile environments. Hence the Walsers were pioneers of the liberation from serfdom and feudalism. In addition, Walser villages are easily distinguishable from Grisonian ones, as Walser houses are made of wood rather than stone.
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Affricate | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ – pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Rhotic | pronounced as /r/ |
Like most other Southern German dialects, Swiss German dialects have no voiced obstruents. The voiceless lenis obstruents are often marked with the IPA diacritic for voicelessness as pronounced as //b̥ d̥ ɡ̊ v̥ z̥ ɣ̊ ʒ̊//. Swiss German pronounced as //p, t, k// are not aspirated. Nonetheless, there is an opposition of consonant pairs such as pronounced as /[t]/ and pronounced as /[d]/ or pronounced as /[p]/ and pronounced as /[b]/. Traditionally, it has been described as a distinction of fortis and lenis in the original sense, that is, distinguished by articulatory strength or tenseness. Alternatively, it has been claimed to be a distinction of quantity.[11]
Aspirated pronounced as /[pʰ, tʰ, kʰ]/ have secondarily developed by combinations of prefixes with word-initial pronounced as //h// or by borrowings from other languages (mainly Standard German): pronounced as //ˈphaltə// 'keep' (standard German pronounced as /[bəˈhaltn̩]/); pronounced as //ˈtheː// 'tea' (standard German pronounced as /[ˈtʰeː]/); pronounced as //ˈkhalt// 'salary' (standard German pronounced as /[ɡəˈhalt]/). In the dialects of Basel and Chur, aspirated pronounced as //kʰ// is also present in native words, corresponding to the affricate pronounced as //kx// of the other dialects, which does not occur in Basel or Chur.
Swiss German keeps the fortis–lenis opposition at the end of words. There can be minimal pairs such as pronounced as /[ɡ̊raːd̥]/ 'straight' and pronounced as /[ɡ̊raːt]/ 'arête' or bis pronounced as /[b̥ɪz̥]/ 'be (imp.)' and pronounced as /[b̥ɪs]/ 'bite'. That distinguishes Swiss German and Swiss Standard German from German Standard German, which neutralizes the fortis–lenis opposition at the ends of words. The phenomenon is usually called final-obstruent devoicing even though, in the case of German, phonetic voice may not be involved.
Unlike Standard German, Swiss German pronounced as //x// does not have the allophone pronounced as /[ç]/ but is typically pronounced as /[x]/, with allophones pronounced as /[ʁ̥ – χ]/. The typical Swiss shibboleth features this sound: ('kitchen cupboard'), pronounced pronounced as /[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 '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 and of the Haslital have preserved the -n.
The phoneme pronounced as //r// is pronounced as an alveolar trill pronounced as /[r]/ in many dialects, but some dialects, especially in the Northeast or in the Basel region, have a uvular trill pronounced as /[ʀ]/, and other allophones resulting in fricatives and an approximant as [{{IPA|ʁ ʁ̥ ʁ̞}}] like in many German varieties of Germany.
In many varieties of Bernese German and adjacent dialects, an pronounced as //l// at the syllable coda and intervocalic pronounced as //lː// are pronounced as a pronounced as /[w]/ or pronounced as /[wː]/ respectively.
A labiodental approximant pronounced as /[ʋ]/ is used instead of the Northern Standard German fricative pronounced as /[v]/ as the reflex of Middle High German pronounced as //w//. In Walser German, the fricative is used instead.[12]
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | rounded | ||||
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Near-close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Close-mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Open-mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | ||
| Open | pronounced as /link/ | (pronounced as /link/) | pronounced as /link/ ~ pronounced as /link/ |
Like Bavarian dialects, Swiss German dialects have preserved the opening diphthongs of Middle High German: pronounced as //iə̯, uə̯, yə̯//: in pronounced as //liə̯b̥// 'lovely' (standard German but pronounced pronounced as //liːp//); pronounced as //huə̯t// 'hat' (standard German pronounced as //huːt//); pronounced as //xyə̯l// 'cool' (Standard German pronounced as //kyːl//). Some diphthongs have become unrounded in several dialects. In the Zürich dialect, short pronunciations of /pronounced as /i y u// are realized as [{{IPA|ɪ ʏ ʊ}}]. Sounds like the monophthong pronounced as /[ɒ]/ can frequently become unrounded to pronounced as /[ɑ]/ among many speakers of the Zürich dialect. Vowels such as a centralized [{{IPA|a}}] and an open-mid [{{IPA|ɔ}}] only occur in the Bernese dialect.[14]
Like in Low German, most Swiss German dialects have preserved the old West-Germanic monophthongs pronounced as //iː, uː, yː//: pronounced as //pfiːl// 'arrow' (Standard German pronounced as //pfaɪ̯l//); pronounced as //b̥uːx// 'belly' (Standard German pronounced as //baʊ̯x//); pronounced as //z̥yːlə// 'pillar' (Standard German pronounced as //zɔʏ̯lə//). A few Alpine dialects show diphthongization, like in Standard German, especially some dialects of Unterwalden and Schanfigg (Graubünden) and the dialect of Issime (Piedmont).
| Middle High German/many Swiss German dialects | Unterwalden dialect | Schanfigg and Issime dialects | Standard German | translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /[huːs]/ | pronounced as /[huis]/ | pronounced as /[hous]/ | pronounced as /[haʊ̯s]/ | 'house' | |
| pronounced as /[tsiːt]/ | pronounced as /[tseit]/ | pronounced as /[tseit]/ | pronounced as /[tsaɪ̯t]/ | 'time' |
Some Western Swiss German dialects like Bernese German have preserved the old diphthongs pronounced as //ei̯, ou̯//, but the other dialects have pronounced as //ai̯, au̯// like Standard German or pronounced as //æi̯, æu̯//. Zürich German, and some other dialects distinguish primary diphthongs from secondary ones that arose in hiatus: Zürich German pronounced as //ai̯, au̯// from Middle High German pronounced as //ei̯, ou̯// versus Zürich German pronounced as //ei̯, ou̯// from Middle High German pronounced as //iː, uː//; Zürich German pronounced as //bai̯, frau̯// 'leg, woman' from Middle High German , versus Zürich German pronounced as //frei̯, bou̯// 'free, building' from Middle High German , .
In many Swiss German dialects, consonant length and vowel length are independent from each other, unlike other modern Germanic languages. Here are examples from Bernese German:
| short pronounced as //a// | long pronounced as //aː// | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| short pronounced as //f// | pronounced as //hafə// 'bowl' | pronounced as //d̥i b̥raːfə// 'the honest ones' | |
| long pronounced as //fː// | pronounced as //afːə// 'apes' | pronounced as //ʃlaːfːə// 'to sleep' |
Lexical stress is more often on the first syllable than in Standard German, even in French loans like pronounced as /[ˈmɛrsːi]/ or pronounced as /[ˈmersːi]/ '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: pronounced as /[ˈkaz̥inɔ]/ 'casino' while Standard German has pronounced as /[kʰaˈziːno]/. However, no Swiss German dialect is as consistent as Icelandic in that respect.
The grammar of Swiss dialects has some idiosyncratic features in comparison to Standard German:
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.[18] 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'.[19] Most affected by this phenomenon is the verb, followed by . Both and are less affected and only when used in present tense declarative main clauses.
Declarative sentence examples:
| Swiss German | ||||||
| Gloss | I | go-1SG | now | go | eat-INF | |
| Standard German | Ø | |||||
| English | I'm going to eat now. / I'll go eat now. | |||||
| Swiss German | ||||||
| Gloss | He | comes | now | come | eat-INF | |
| Standard German | Ø | |||||
| English | He's coming to eat now. | |||||
| Swiss German | ||||||
| Gloss | You | let-2SG | me-ACC | let | eat-INF | |
| Standard German | Ø | |||||
| English | You're letting me eat. / You let me eat. | |||||
| Swiss German | |||||||
| Gloss | We | start-1PL | now | start-PREF | start | eat-INF | |
| Standard German | |||||||
| English | We're starting to eat now. / We start eating now. | ||||||
Reduplication 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 .[21] 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 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.
While 'to start, to begin' is quite restricted when it comes to reduplication 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 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 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.[22]
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 .[23]
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 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:
In 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:
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.[24] 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
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 .[25] However, these forms are used less frequently than their shorter counterparts and seem to be concentrated into a small geographic area of Switzerland.
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'.[26] [27]
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 pronounced as //ɡlas// in French but pronounced as /[ˈɡ̊lasːeː]/ or pronounced as /[ˈɡ̊lasːə]/ 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., pronounced as /[ˈfuːd̥ə]/ ('to eat', from 'food'), pronounced as /[ɡ̊ei̯mə]/ ('to play computer games', from game) or pronounced as /[ˈz̥nœːb̥ə]/ or pronounced as /[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. pronounced as /[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, landammann, kilch, , and putsch in a political sense. The term is sometimes explained as originating from Swiss German,[28] while printed etymological dictionaries (e.g. the German Kluge or Knaurs Etymological Dictionary) derive it from Low German instead.
| English | Swiss German (Bern) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hello. | Grüessech. | |
| Yes. | Ja. | |
| Yes please. | Ja gärn. | |
| No. | Nei. | |
| No thanks. | Nei merci. | |
| Please. | Bitte. | |
| Thank you. | Merci. | |
| Thank you very much. | Merci viu Mau. | |
| You're welcome. | Gärn gscheh. | |
| I'd like a coffee please. | I hätti gärn es Kaffi. | |
| Two beers please. | Zwöi Bier bitte. | |
| Excuse me. | Exgüsee. | |
| What time is it? | Was isch für Ziit? | |
| Can you repeat that please? | Chöiter das bitte wyderhole? | |
| Please speak more slowly. | Red chli langsamer, bitte. | |
| I don't understand. | Das verschtaani nid. | |
| Sorry. | Sorry. | |
| Where are the toilets? | Wo isch d´Tualette? | |
| How much does this cost? | Was choschtet das? | |
| Welcome! | Härzlech wiukomme! | |
| Good morning. | Guete Morge! | |
| Good evening. | Gueten Aabe! | |
| Good night. | Guet Nacht! | |
| Goodbye. | Tschüss! |
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.[30] [31] [32]
Today all formal writing, newspapers, books and much informal writing is done in Swiss Standard German, which is usually called (written German). Certain dialectal words are accepted regionalisms in Swiss Standard German and are also sanctioned by the Duden, 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, 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 instead of for pronounced as /[ʃ]/ or instead of for pronounced as /[ʏ]/. In 1986, a revised version of the Dieth-Schreibung was published, designed to be typed with a regular typewriter.[33]
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 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 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.:[35]
Many films and TV series produced in German-speaking Switzerland are filmed in Swiss German, although these are sometimes re-dubbed into Standard German for broadcast or when shown in cinemas.[36] [37] For instance, episodes of Tatort are re-recorded with dialogue in Standard German spoken with a Swiss accent to preserve the local colour of the setting.[37]