Basel German or Baseldytsch (also Baseldütsch, Baseldeutsch) is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. Among the Swiss German dialects, it is the only Low Alemannic one. It is sometimes viewed as a mix between Low and High Alemannic. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... Basel (English traditionally: Basle [ba:l], German: Basel [ba:z@l], French Bâle [ba:l], Italian Basilea [bazilE:a]) is Switzerlands third most populous city (188,000 inhabitants in the canton of Basel-City as of 2004; the 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate... Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzertütsch, Schwizertitsch) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland. ... Low Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects and belongs to the German language, even though they are only partly intelligible to German speakers. ...

Phonetics and Phonology

Consonants

Aspirated plosives

It is characterised by aspirates /kh, th, ph/ which are absent or at least less common in other dialects. Compare Basel German Khind (usually spelled Kind), pronounced more or less as Standard German Kind, with Chind with initial /x-/, used in all other Swiss German dialects, with the exception of the dialect of Chur. Thus, Basel German, like Standard German, didn't complete the second (High German) sound shifting. Nowadays, many speakers pronounce the /x-/, however. There are nevertheless still words that are never pronounced with /x-/, for example khenne (Standard German kennen, to know) or Kenig/König (Standard German König). Typically, words from Standard German or Latin are pronounced with aspirated /kh, ph, th/, too, which is not or only to a lesser extent done in other dialects. Examples: phee (name of letter), phalte (to keep), Phargg (park); Thee (tea and name of letter), tholl (great, swell), Thangg (tank); khaa (name of letter; had), Khaschte (caste, cupboard), kheje (to throw, to fall).

Affricates

Like other dialects and forms of the standard, Basel German has /pf, ts/ as well as /tS/. Examples: Pfanne (pan), Zaan (tooth), dytsch (German) (also word-initially, especially in loan words).

Pronunciation of /r/ phoneme

A French-style pronunciation of /r/ is also used in Basel German, although many younger speakers - especially those with foreign parents - also use Italian style /r/ which is more common in other Swiss German dialects. Traditionally, /r/ is voiceless /X/, and it may in general be described as a lenis /x/. The pronunciation per se seems to derive from French (originally Parisian), and was probably re-interpreted as a lenis /x/ according to Basel German phonology. Not surprisingly, French influence was for a long time dominant in Basel, with well-to-do families speaking French even at home.

Lenition of consonants

Basel German also has more lenis sounds in word-initial position - for example, Dag (day). This lenition is now often absent due to influence from other dialects, for example, the name of Santa Claus, Santiglaus, is now often pronounced with /kh/ or /x/, as is the word Graft (Standard German Kraft), which traditionally has a lenis sound, now also /kh/ and /x/. In the same vein, the verb schútte /Sutt@/(which derives from English to shoot), has initial /S/ whereas the dialect of Zürich has /tS/ and of course /u:/ /tSu:t:@/.

Lenis plosives

Lenis plosives are however all voiceless; whereas fortis plosives are long or geminated. They are (like other lenis or short consonants) always preceded by long vowels, with the possible exception of unstressed vowels. According to Pilch, vowel length is not distinctive, however, vowel length is not always predictible: /ro:tt@/ 'to guess' has both a long vowel and a long/geminated consonant. Examples: Dag /tA:k/ (day), ume /Um@/ (around), ane /A:n@/ (there), lose /lo:s@/ (listen), Gas /gA:s/ gas.

Fortis consonants

Fortis or long consonants in general are more stable than in other dialects - 'to swim' is always schwimme, whereas it's pronounced with only a short /m/ in other dialects. This is probably due to the fact that in stressed words, short vowels only appear before double or geminated/long consonants. Hence, a word like /'SvYm@/ is not possible in Basel German. As in other dialects, the difference between fortis and lenis is in length. Pilch (180) however interprets /tt/ as alveolar, not long. Examples: schwimme (to swim), phagge (to pack), drugge (to squeeze), rootte (to guess - note the long /o:/ followed by fortis /tt/)

Vowels

Unrounding of vowels

Unrounding is also typical, but now it has been abandoned by many speakers. Lengthening of vowels is also found, linking it more closely to Standard German than all other Swiss German dialects. Lengthening always occurs before lenis (short) vowels, for example in words like Dag (day), lose (listen), mir (we). Shortening, on the other hand, always occurs before long or fortis consonants, for example in Baseldytsch/Baseldütsch, the name of the dialect: whereas other dialects have long /y:/ in Baseldütsch or any other word with -dütsch (German) in it, Basel German always has short /i/ or /y/. Examples: griezi (good day; grüezi in other dialects, still more common), Hell (hell, now rounded form more common), greescht (biggest, greatest; now grööscht more common).

Velarisation of MHG /a:/

Middle High German /a:/ was velarised and appears as /o:/. For example, Strooss /Stro:ss/ 'street'.

Vowels before /r/

Typically (but not exclusively) open vowels occur before /r/, for example, Oor ('ear') has the allophone [O:], not [o:]. Additionally, vowels before /r/ are always long, with the exception of loan words such as ['sOri] 'sorry', ['k2ri] 'curry'. Examples: [mI:r] 'we', [E:r] 'honour'.

Pronunciation of /a/ /a:/

/a/ /a:/ traditionally are palatal, yet distinct from /{/ /{:/. Nowadays, a velar pronunciation /A/ /A:/ is more common.

Diphthongs

Modern pronunciation has /aj/ /ej/ /aw/ /9j/; traditional pronunciation lacks /9j/ which is partly /aj/, partly /ej/. In modern pronunciation /aj/ /aw/ are [{j] [{w], whereas traditional pronunciation has [aj]] [aw]. In exclamations, [uj Ow] also exist.

Sociolinguistics

Unlike other dialects, Basel German is also characterised by a rather strong dichotomy between the traditional Baseldytsch, used especially for Fasnacht (Basel carnival), and normal spoken language. Some speakers prefer to use the more traditional variety in written form. The traditional variety is normally associated with the upper classes.

Spelling

At the same time there is a lot of confusion especially when it comes to the use of the grapheme <y>, which is often used for rounded sounds, whereas it is exclusively used for /i/ traditionally. Typically, lenis stops are spelled b, d, g, fortis stops are spelled p, pp, sometimes bb (öpper, öbber, ebber 'someone'); t, tt, rarely dd (Mitti 'middle'); gg, rarely and mainly in loan-words k, ck, etc. This use of gg for the fortis, unaspirated consonant is used also in other varieties of Swiss German, but sometimes abandoned in favour of spellings more closely resembling Standard German spellings. Examples: drugge (to push), Läggerli (typical sweet; but also Läckerli), Sagg (bag; but sometimes also Sack), Gugge (bag, traditional word). Obviously, especially the typical use of y and gg leads to confusion, even among native speakers. Aspirates are normally spelled as in Standard German, namely with p, t, k.

Terminology and spelling

Baseldytsch reflects traditional pronunciation with /i/, Baseldütsch reflects modern pronunciation with /y/, whereas Baseldeutsch is the standard German form.

Bibliography

• Pilch, Herbert. 1977. *Baseldeutsche Phonologie. Auf Grundlage der Intonation" In: Phonetica 34: 165-190.