Misplaced Pages

#536463

46-504: The Hohtürli ( Swiss German , literally means High Little Door ) is a high Alpine hiking pass of the Bernese Alps . The pass crosses the col between the peaks of Wildi Frau and Dündenhorn , at an elevation of 2,778 m (9,114 ft). The pass is traversed by a hiking track, which connects the hamlet of Griesalp , at an elevation of 1,408 m (4,619 ft) in the upper Kiental south of Reichenbach im Kandertal , at

92-467: A medial diglossia instead. Most German Swiss can speak fluent Swiss Standard German, but may or may not like doing so, as it feels stilted and unnatural to many. When they compare their Swiss Standard German to the way people from Germany speak, they think their own proficiency is inferior because it is studied and slower. Most German Swiss think that the majority speak rather poor Swiss Standard German; however, when asked about their personal proficiency,

138-582: 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 afaa , an argument could be made that the prefix a- is left off, while the full reduplicated form is used: Mier We fanged start- 1PL jetzt now afa start ässe eat- INF Mier fanged jetzt afa ässe We start-1PL now start eat-INF We're starting to eat now. / We start eating now. In this case,

184-536: A Swiss German speaker, when shown on television in Germany, will require subtitles. 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

230-1200: 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

276-431: A distinction of quantity. Aspirated [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] have secondarily developed by combinations of prefixes with word-initial /h/ or by borrowings from other languages (mainly Standard German): /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 /kʰ/

322-506: 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. Swiss German

368-528: 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

414-480: A typical case of diglossia , although this term is often reserved to language pairs where the vernacular has lower prestige than the other, while Swiss German dialects do not meet this criterion as they permeate every socio-economic class of society. Since Swiss Standard German is the usual written language and the Swiss German dialects are the usual spoken language, their interrelation has sometimes been called

460-651: Is a music genre using the language; 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. 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

506-574: 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 . One can separate each dialect into numerous local subdialects, sometimes down to

SECTION 10

#1732800995537

552-494: Is also important. In informal situations, Swiss Standard German is only used whenever a German Swiss is communicating with a non-Swiss and it is assumed that this person does not understand the respective dialect. Amongst themselves, the German-speaking Swiss use their respective Swiss German dialect, irrespective of social class, education or topic. Unlike other regions where German varieties are spoken, there

598-533: Is also present in native words, corresponding to the affricate /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 graad [ɡ̊raːd̥] 'straight' and Graat [ɡ̊raːt] ' arête ' or bis [b̥ɪz̥] 'be ( imp. )' and Biss [b̥ɪs] 'bite'. That distinguishes Swiss German and Swiss Standard German from German Standard German , which neutralizes

644-663: 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. Linguistically, Alemannic

690-425: 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

736-458: Is being reintroduced because of 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/ : in /liə̯b̥/ 'lovely' (standard German lieb but pronounced /liːp/ ); /huə̯t/ 'hat' (standard German Hut /huːt/ ); /xyə̯l/ 'cool' (Standard German kühl /kyːl/ ). Some diphthongs have become unrounded in several dialects. In

782-499: 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

828-474: 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"

874-540: Is more often on the first syllable than in Standard German, even in French loans like [ˈmɛrsːi] or [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: [ˈkaz̥inɔ] 'casino' while Standard German has [kʰaˈziːno] . However, no Swiss German dialect

920-470: Is no continuum between Swiss Standard German and the Swiss German dialects. The speakers speak either Swiss Standard German, or a Swiss German dialect, and they are conscious about this choice. Nevertheless, about 10%, or 828,200, of Swiss residents speak High German (also called Standard German) at home, but mainly due to the presence of German or Austrian immigrants. The concurrent usage of Swiss Standard German and Swiss German dialects has been called

966-493: Is only spoken in very few specific formal situations, such as in news broadcasts and reputable programmes of the public media channels; in the parliaments of German-speaking cantons ; in the federal parliament in Berne (unless another official language of Switzerland is used), although dialect is certainly encroaching on this domain; in loudspeaker announcements in public places such as railway stations, etc. Church services, including

SECTION 20

#1732800995537

1012-526: Is similar in most respects to the Standard German in Germany and Austria ; there are a few differences in spelling, most notably the replacing of the German ß with ss (since the 20th century). For example: There are some differences in vocabulary, including, for instance, using a loanword from another language. For example: In addition, SSG uses different orthography in letter writing, and

1058-544: 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. 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

1104-539: Is the respective local dialect. Due to a rather large inter-cantonal migration rate (about 5% p.a.) within modern Switzerland for decades, many different Swiss German dialects are spoken in any one place, especially in urban areas; for example, in the city of Zürich (end of 2013): of the 272,700 Swiss (total: 400,000) living in Zürich, only 40% (28%) are from Zürich itself with 51% (36%) from the entire canton of Zürich. Outside of any educational setting, Swiss Standard German

1150-513: The ¨ dead key . The names of municipalities, towns, stations, and streets are often not written with a starting capital umlaut, but instead with Ae , Oe , or Ue , such as the Zürich suburb Oerlikon , the hamlet Aetzikofen , and the Bernese municipality Uebeschi . However, field names, such as Äbenegg, Ötikon (near Stäfa), or Überthal, and any other word, such as Ärzte (English: physicians), usually start with capital umlauts. As for

1196-537: The High German consonant shift . Unlike Standard German , which has only shifted t to [t͡s] or [s] and p to [p͡f] or [f] , they have also shifted k to [k͡x] or [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 [x] or [k͡x] . Examples: The High German consonant shift occurred between

1242-734: The syllable coda and intervocalic /lː/ are pronounced as a [w] or [wː] respectively. A labiodental approximant [ʋ] is used instead of the Northern Standard German fricative [v] as the reflex of Middle High German /w/ . In Walser German, the fricative is used instead. 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

1288-519: 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,

1334-457: 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

1380-716: 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, but some dialects, especially in the Northeast or in the Basel region, have a uvular trill [ʀ] , and other allophones resulting in fricatives and an approximant as [ ʁ ʁ̥ ʁ̞ ] like in many German varieties of Germany. In many varieties of Bernese German and adjacent dialects, an /l/ at

1426-462: The IPA diacritic for voicelessness as /b̥ d̥ ɡ̊ v̥ z̥ ɣ̊ ʒ̊/ . Swiss German /p, t, k/ are not aspirated. Nonetheless, there is an opposition of consonant pairs such as [t] and [d] or [p] and [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

Hohtürli - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-785: The Zürich dialect, short pronunciations of / i y u / are realized as [ ɪ ʏ ʊ ]. Sounds like the monophthong [ɒ] can frequently become unrounded to [ɑ] among many speakers of the Zürich dialect. Vowels such as a centralized [ a ] and an open-mid [ ɔ ] only occur in the Bernese dialect. Like in Low German , most Swiss German dialects have preserved the old West-Germanic monophthongs /iː, uː, yː/ : /pfiːl/ 'arrow' (Standard German Pfeil /pfaɪ̯l/ ); /b̥uːx/ 'belly' (Standard German Bauch /baʊ̯x/ ); /z̥yːlə/ 'pillar' (Standard German Säule /zɔʏ̯lə/ ). A few Alpine dialects show diphthongization, like in Standard German, especially some dialects of Unterwalden and Schanfigg (Graubünden) and

1518-421: The capital umlaut keys Ä , Ö and Ü . This dates back to mechanical typewriters that had the French diacritical marks letters on these keys to allow the Swiss to write French on a Swiss German QWERTZ keyboard (and vice versa). Thus a Swiss German VSM keyboard has an ä key that prints an à (a-grave) when shifted. However, it is possible to write uppercase umlauts by use of caps lock or by using

1564-860: The dialect of Issime (Piedmont). Some Western Swiss German dialects like Bernese German have preserved the old diphthongs /ei̯, ou̯/ , but the other dialects have /ai̯, au̯/ like Standard German or /æi̯, æu̯/ . Zürich German , and some other dialects distinguish primary diphthongs from secondary ones that arose in hiatus : Zürich German /ai̯, au̯/ from Middle High German /ei̯, ou̯/ versus Zürich German /ei̯, ou̯/ from Middle High German /iː, uː/ ; Zürich German /bai̯, frau̯/ 'leg, woman' from Middle High German bein , vrouwe versus Zürich German /frei̯, bou̯/ 'free, building' from Middle High German frī , būw . 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: Lexical stress

1610-917: The entrance of the Kiental, with Kandersteg , at an elevation of 1,174 m (3,852 ft) in the valley of the Kander , the Kandertal . The track forms part of the Alpine Pass Route , a long-distance hiking trail across Switzerland between Sargans and Montreux , and the Hohtürli is the highest pass crossed by that route. This Canton of Bern location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Swiss German Swiss German ( Standard German : Schweizerdeutsch , Alemannic German : Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart , and others)

1656-487: 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 /x/ does not have the allophone [ç] but is typically [x] , with allophones [ʁ̥ – χ] . The typical Swiss shibboleth features this sound: Chuchichäschtli ('kitchen cupboard'), pronounced [ˈχuχːiˌχæʃtli] . Most Swiss German dialects have gone through

1702-399: The infinitive of the second verb. This is the case for the motion verbs gaa 'to go' and choo 'to come' when used in the meaning of 'go (to) do something', 'come (to) do something', as well as the verbs laa 'to let' and in certain dialects afaa 'to start, to begin' when used in the meaning of 'let do something', or 'start doing something'. Most affected by this phenomenon is

1748-534: The prefix would be omitted, which is normally not permissible for separable prefixes, and in its place, the reduplication form is used. Swiss Standard German Swiss Standard German is the official written language in German-speaking Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is used in books, all official publications (including all laws and regulations), in newspapers, printed notices, most advertising, and other printed matter. Authors write literature mainly using Swiss Standard German; some dialect literature exists. SSG

1794-414: The reduplicated part. Between laa and afaa , these effects are weakest in afaa . This means that while reduplication is mandatory for laa in declarative main clauses almost everywhere in the country, this is the case for fewer varieties of Swiss German with afaa . The reason for this is unknown, but it has been hypothesized that the fact that afaa has a separable prefix (

1840-537: 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. Like most other Southern German dialects, Swiss German dialects have no voiced obstruents . The voiceless lenis obstruents are often marked with

1886-579: The salutations used for the same also differ from Non-Swiss Standard German. The Swiss use the Standard German word Spital (hospital). Spital is also found in volumes of Standard German language dictionaries; however, Germans from northern Germany prefer to use Krankenhaus , whereas Spital is also used in areas of southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and South Tyrol . Some nouns have different gender: Some expressions are borrowed from French and thus differ from usage in Germany, such as The Swiss keyboard layout has no ß key, nor does it have

Hohtürli - Misplaced Pages Continue

1932-448: The same, where such doubling effects are not found as outlined in the examples. Reduplication effects are weaker in the verbs laa 'to let' and afaa 'to start, to begin' than they are in gaa 'to go' and choo 'to come'. This means that afaa 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

1978-515: The sermon and prayers, are usually in Swiss Standard German. Generally in any educational setting Swiss Standard German is used (during lessons, lectures or tutorials). However, outside of lessons Swiss-German dialects are used, even when, for example, talking to a teacher about the class. The situations in which Swiss Standard German is spoken are characteristically formal and public, and there are situations where written communication

2024-423: The use of the Alemannic dialects in other countries is restricted or even endangered. 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

2070-472: The various dialects of Swiss German, they are occasionally written, but their written usage is mostly restricted to informal situations such as private text messages , e-mails , letters , notes, or within social media such as Facebook . The ability of German Swiss to transliterate their language into writing is an integral and important part of the identity and culture of German-speaking Switzerland. The default spoken language in German-speaking Switzerland

2116-430: The verb gaa , followed by choo . Both laa and afaa are less affected and only when used in present tense 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

#536463