Skip to main content

Different Swiss German Dialects

Switzerland has four official languages: (Swiss) German, French, Italian and Rumantsch. The spoken language, however, in the so called 'German' part of Switzerland is not actually standard German but Swiss German.

Swiss German Dialects

Swiss German is spoken in more than half of the 26 cantons of Switzerland which makes it the most spoken language in Switzerland. In fact, in 21 of the 26 German is recognized as the official language, in some cantons together with another official language like French or Rumantsch.

People from each of the (Swiss) German speaking cantons have their own distinct dialect. Someone who grew up in Berne has a very different dialect from someone who was raised in St. Gallen or Zurich. The dialects differ slightly in grammar and a bit more in vocabulary. The biggest difference lies definitely in the pronunciation of the words! Yet, despite the differences a native of Zurich can understand almost all other dialects, with the exception of some mountain dialects that no outsider really understands.

To give you a few example for the different dialects, watch the following videos. The first is a video of an interview with the Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. He has a typical Basel dialect which we Swiss call 'Baslerdytsch'.


This is an example of Zurich Swiss German i.e. Züridütsch.


The most common dialect in the east of Switzerland is 'St. Galler-Dütsch'. Here is a short video with 29 words that sound great in St. Gallen Swiss German.


If you are in the capital of Switzerland, you'll hear lots of Bernese Swiss German.






© 2011 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Schätzli, Schnüggel and Müüsli - Terms of Endearment in Swiss German

Kiss -  Oliver Haja  / pixelio.de If you've ever been invited to the home of a Swiss couple, you are probably familiar with the most popular Swiss German term of endearment "Schätzli" ('little treasure') or one of it's many varieties like e.g. "Schatz" or "Schätzeli" . Obviously, this is not the only pet name used by Swiss couples (or parents for that matter). Like many other languages, Swiss German offers a wide variety of words and phrases that you can use to address your loved one. Swiss German Terms of Endearment What most of these pet names have in common is the ending "-li" which basically turns the thing or person a word refers to into something small or cute. For example "Haus" means house and "Hüüs li " means small house. Plus, this ending "-li" can also be added to first names as a means of endearment, e.g. Benjamin li , Esther li or Fabienne li . I tried to come up with a colle

How to Say 'I Love You' in Swiss German

To be completely honest, I'm not very fond of hallmark holidays and Valentine's Day is probably the mothership of them all. In my home there will be no cheesy cards or flowers on that day and, personally, I'm happy about it. However, I know that there are many people who like to celebrate Valentine's Day and take it as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation to their loves. Even in Switzerland, there are plenty of people celebrating it nowadays. If you're short on ideas for this years Valentine's Day in Switzerland you might find some inspiration here: Valentine's Day in Switzerland . If you're already set and have the perfect date ready, how about surprising your loved one with a few romantic Swiss German phrases? You should know that the expression "I love you" has only recently made its way into Swiss German from the High German "Ich liebe dich". Swiss people used to simply say "I like you" or "I like

How to Make Appenzeller Biberli

Switzerland is famous all over the world for its chocolate. Yet, there are plenty of other sweet dishes typical of Switzerland that are worth trying. Amongst them carrot cake , Magenbrot , Vermicelles , and a great variety of cookies. I'm game for any dessert or cookie that contains almonds or almond paste and therefore one of my personal favorites of Swiss sweet dishes is the Appenzeller Biberli . What are Appenzeller Biberli? This pastry is originally from the canton of Appenzell - thus the name - but is produced and eaten all over Switzerland nowadays. There also exists a larger version of the Biberli which is called a "Biber" and comes without the almond paste filling of the Biberli. If you're living in Switzerland or passing through on a visit you can find Biberli in almost every supermarket. However, if you're abroad chances are high there are no Biberli to be found anywhere nearby - not even in the imported foods section of your local deli. What can