NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Swiss German

Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are called Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein which are closely associated to Switzerland's. World map showing the location of Europe. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families A language family is a group of related languages said to have descended from a common proto-language. ... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... The Germanic languages in Europe are divided into North (blue) and West Germanic (green and orange) Languages Low Saxon-Low Franconian (Dutch) High German (standard German, SchwyzerdÃ¼tsch) Insular Anglo-Frisian (English, Scots) Continental Anglo-Frisian (Frisian) East North Germanic (Danish, BokmÃ¥l Norwegian, Swedish) West North Germanic (Nynorsk Norwegian... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Some basics of Germanic linguistics : in linguistics, German and Germanic do not have the same meaning: see Germanic. ... Alemannic German (Alemannisch) is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the â€œInternational Phonetic Alphabetâ€. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Unicode is an industry standard allowing computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in any of the worlds writing systems. ... Alemannic German (Alemannisch) is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. ...

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. Low Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects and belongs to the German language, even though they are only partly intelligible to German speakers. ... High Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects and belongs to the German language, even though they are only partly intelligible to German speakers. ... Highest Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects and belongs to the German language, even though they are not intelligible to German speakers. ...

The dialects of Swiss German must not be confused with Swiss Standard German, the variety of standard German used in Switzerland. Even though Swiss Standard German is influenced by the Swiss German dialects to a certain degree, it is very distinct and any native speaker will immediately note the difference. Swiss Standard German refers to the spoken and written varieties of Standard German used in the German speaking part of Switzerland. ... Standard German is the prescriptive norm variant of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas. ...

There are a few practical books and small dictionaries with direct English to Swiss German translation and can occasionally be found in the bookstores in Switzerland. There are a few more comprehensive books and dictionaries that translate some of the major Swiss dialects into standard German. However, almost any Swiss German speaker will be able to speak standard German or even some English when necessary. For longer stays it may be better to try to learn the native dialect as most conversations between people will be in this unless there are Germans or Austrians involved in the conversation in which case the Swiss will usually switch to accommodate them.

The Italians put Swiss German (Svizzero-Tedesco) into a slightly larger group (Tedesco Alemanno) which encompasses the speech in parts of Southern Germany and the Alsace region in France. Within specifically Swiss German (Svizzero-Tedesco) they break it down generally to West Swiss German and East Swiss German as well as the "highest" German from the mountainous cantons, and also Basel German and Zurich German are in separate categories.

Use

Unlike most dialects 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 no social or educational inferiority and is spoken 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 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. World map showing the location of Europe. ... Look up city, City in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Diglossia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Spoken language is a language that people utter words of the language. ... A Specimen of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ...

Swiss German is intelligible to speakers of other Alemannic dialects but is usually not intelligible 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. Alemannic German (Alemannisch) is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. ...

Dialect rock is a music genre using the language. Dialect rock - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

Variation and Distribution

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. An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of related concepts, also called a hypernym. ... Low Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects and belongs to the German language, even though they are only partly intelligible to German speakers. ... High Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects and belongs to the German language, even though they are only partly intelligible to German speakers. ... Highest Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects and belongs to the German language, even though mutual intellegibility with Standard German and other non-Alemannic German dialects is very limited. ... Basel (British English traditionally: Basle and more recently Basel , German: , French: , Italian: ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands second-largest urban area as of 2003). ... For other uses, see Lake Constance, New Zealand. ... The Swiss plateau (plateau suisse in French, Schweizer Mittelland in German) constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Alps. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Each dialect is separable in 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 (although on occasion just barely) but may particularly have trouble understanding Walliser dialects. A map showing the distribution of the Swiss languages; drawn by Kokiri: German (64%; yellow), French (19%; purple), Italian (8%; green), Romansh (less than 1%; red) File links The following pages link to this file: Switzerland Categories: GFDL images ... A map showing the distribution of the Swiss languages; drawn by Kokiri: German (64%; yellow), French (19%; purple), Italian (8%; green), Romansh (less than 1%; red) File links The following pages link to this file: Switzerland Categories: GFDL images ... The French-speaking part of Switzerland is shown in green on this map. ... Romansh (also spelled Rumantsch, Romansch or Romanche) is one of the four national languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian and French. ... Basel German or Baseldytsch (also BaseldÃ¼tsch, Baseldeutsch) is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. ... Basel (British English traditionally: Basle and more recently Basel , German: , French: , Italian: ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands second-largest urban area as of 2003). ... This inscription in Alsatian on a window in Eguisheim, Alsace, reads: Dis Hausz sted in Godes Hand - God bewar es vor Feyru (This house stands in Gods hand - God beware it for fire) Alsatian (French Alsacien, German ElsÃ¤ssisch) is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in Alsace, a... ZÃ¼rich German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Canton of ZÃ¼rich, Switzerland. ... The Canton of ZÃ¼rich (German: Kanton ) has a population of about 1. ... The Canton of St. ... Appenzell (or Appenzellerland) is a region in the northeast of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. ... Thurgau (Thurgovia) is a canton of Switzerland. ... The Canton of is a canton of Switzerland. ... GraubÃ¼nden or Grisons (German: ; Italian: Grigioni; Romansh: Grischun, French: Grisons) is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. ... Bernese German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. ... The Swiss plateau (plateau suisse in French, Schweizer Mittelland in German) constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Alps. ... The Swiss canton of (helpÂ· info) is bilingual (German: Kanton Bern; French Canton de Berne) and has a population of about 947,000. ... For other uses, see Aargau (disambiguation). ... is a canton of Switzerland. ... Lucerne (German Luzern) is a canton of Switzerland. ... (-German; French: Zoug; Italian: Zugo) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. ... View from hiking trail between Ibergeregg and Spirstock Schwyz (German ) is a canton in central Switzerland between Lake Lucerne in the south and Lake Zurich in the north, centered around and named after the town of Schwyz. ... View of Thun and Lake Thun from the Niederhorn The Bernese Oberland (Bernese highlands) is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the South of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps (thus, the inhabitable parts from... (French Glaris) is a canton in east central Switzerland. ... Unterwalden is the old name for what is now two cantons in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne. ... Uri (German: ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. ... The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. ... Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects The Walliser German (Walliserdeutsch in German) is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland, specifically in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Wallis (in French: Valais), in the uppermost RhÃ´ne valley. ... Geography The canton of Valais is located in the south of Switzerland. ... Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects The Walser language, in German Walserdeutsch, is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria. ... Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects The Walser are German-speaking people (more specifically, they speak Walser German dialects) that live in the alps of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. ... This article is about the Swiss canton Ticino. ... GraubÃ¼nden or Grisons (German: ; Italian: Grigioni; Romansh: Grischun, French: Grisons) is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. ... Vorarlberg is the westernmost state (Land) of Austria. ... The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. ... The Swiss plateau (plateau suisse in French, Schweizer Mittelland in German) constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Alps. ... Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects The Walser language, in German Walserdeutsch, is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria. ...

History

Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See International Phonetic Alphabet for a pronunciation key. Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the â€œInternational Phonetic Alphabetâ€. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Unicode is an industry standard allowing computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in any of the worlds writing systems. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the â€œInternational Phonetic Alphabetâ€. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ...

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. As such, 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 are certain central Swiss dialects, e.g. the Uri dialect. Alemannic German (Alemannisch) is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. ... Middle High German (MHG, German Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. ... Low Saxon (in Low Saxon, Nedersaksisch, Neddersassisch, Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch) is any of a variety of Low German dialects spoken in northern Germany and the Netherlands. ...

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 spoken in Germany), and Chur German is basically High Alemannic without initial [x] or [k͡x]. High German subdivides into Upper German (green) and Central German (blue), and is distinguished from Low German (yellow). ... Chur (French: Coire, German Chur (khoor) [kuËr] (in GraubÃ¼nden); [xuËr] (elsewhere), Romansh Cuira (KWAY-rah) [Ëˆkwera] or (KWOI-rah) [Ëˆkwojra], Italian Coira (KOI-rah) [Ëˆkojra], Latin: Curia, Curia Rhaetorum and Curia Raetorum), is the capital of the Swiss canton of GraubÃ¼nden and lies in the northern... Basel (British English traditionally: Basle and more recently Basel , German: , French: , Italian: ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands second-largest urban area as of 2003). ...

Pronunciation

Consonants

Like in all Southern German dialects, Swiss German dialects have no voiced obstruents. Instead, there is a length distinction. In phonetics, an obstruent is a consonant sound formed by obstructing the airway. ...

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); /ˈtheː/ 'tea' (standard German Tee [ˈtʰeː]); /ˈkhalt/ 'salary' (standard German Gehalt).

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]. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Neither Swiss German nor the Swiss national variety of standard German exhibits final devoicing, unlike the German national variety of standard German. The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject to understand later context. ...

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-apokope 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. An apocope or apocopation is a type of metaplasm that refers to a word formed by removing the end of a longer original word. ... View of LÃ¶tschental The LÃ¶tschental is the largest northern side valley of RhÃ´ne valley in the Valais in Switzerland. ... The Haslital is a valley in the Bernese Oberland (Oberhasli district), Switzerland, bordering on the cantons of Obwalden, Uri and Wallis. ...

The phoneme /r/ is pronounced as an alveolar trill [r] in many dialects, though certain dialects, especially in the Northeast, have an uvular trill [ʀ] like that of standard German. In human language, a phoneme is the theoretical representation of a sound. ... The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages (such as Russian, Spanish, Armenian, and Polish). ... The uvular trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ...

Vowels

Most Swiss German dialects have rounded front vowels, unlike many German dialects. Only in the Low Alemannic dialects of northwest Switzerland (mainly Basel) and in the Walliser dialects, these have been unrounded. Due to influence from other Swiss German dialects, the rounding is spreading.

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. Austro-Bavarian or Bavarian is a major group of Upper German varieties. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (in Greek δίφθογγος) is a vowel combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... Middle High German (MHG, German Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. ...

Like Low Saxon dialects, 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/). Low Saxon (in Low Saxon, Nedersaksisch, Neddersassisch, Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch) is any of a variety of Low German dialects spoken in northern Germany and the Netherlands. ...

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. Bernese German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. ...

Suprasegmentals

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: Listen to this article Â· (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-07-20, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ...

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. In linguistics, stress is the emphasis given to some syllables (often no more than one in each word, but in many languages, long words have a secondary stress a few syllables away from the primary stress, as in the words cóunterfòil or còunterintélligence. ... Icelandic (Ãslenska) is a North Germanic language spoken in Iceland. ...

Grammar

The preterite (also praeterite, in American English also preterit, or past historic) is the grammatical tense expressing actions which took place in the past. ... In linguistics, many grammars have the concept of grammatical mood, which describes the relationship of a verb with reality and intent. ... The preterite (also praeterite, in American English also preterit, or past historic) is the grammatical tense expressing actions which took place in the past. ... In grammar, the subjunctive mood (sometimes referred to as the conjunctive mood) is a verb mood that exists in many languages. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Possession, in the context of linguistics, is an asymmetric relationship between two constituents, one of which possesses (owns, rules over, has as a part, has as a relative, etc. ... Bernese German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. ... Reduplication, in linguistics, is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word, or only part of it, is repeated. ... In linguistics, a prefix is a type of affix that precedes the morphemes to which it can attach. ... Concept A is a (strict) generalization of concept B if and only if: every instance of concept B is also an instance of concept A; and there are instances of concept A which are not instances of concept B. Equivalently, A is a generalization of B if B is a... The perfect tenses are verb tenses showing actions completed at or before a specific time. ... A modal verb (also modal, modal auxiliary verb, modal auxiliary) is a type of auxiliary verb that is used to indicate modality. ...

Vocabulary

The vocabulary is rather rich - especially in rural areas there are many special terms retained, e.g. regarding cattle or weather. In the cities, much of the rural vocabulary has been lost.

Most borrowings 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 parts 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 /glas/ 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". Maybe these words aren't direct borrowings from French but survivors of the once more numerous French loans in Standard German, many of which have fallen out of use in Germany.

In recent years, Swiss dialects have also borrowed some English words which already sound very Swiss, e.g. [ˈfuːd̥ə] ('to eat', from "food"), [ɡ̊ei̯mə] ('to play computer games', from "game") or [ˈz̥nœːb̥ə] - ('to snowboard', from "snowboard"). These words are probably not direct loans 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. [ˈʃutːə] (to play football, from "shoot"). A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ...

There are also a few English words which are modern borrowings from the Swiss German languages. The dishes muesli, and rösti have become English words, as did loess (fine grain), flysch (sandstone formation), bivouac, kepi, landamman, kilch, schiffli, and the act of putsching in a political sense. Muesli (originally (Bircher)mÃ¼esli [myÉ™Ì¯s li] in Swiss German, MÃ¼sli [my:s li] in German) is a popular breakfast dish (breakfast cereal) based on uncooked rolled oats and fruit. ... RÃ¶sti RÃ¶sti is a potato dish from Switzerland. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A flysch is a sandstone formation, the word comes from the Swiss German language. ... A bivouac may be: Look up camp on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... French Kepis. ... Landammann or Landaman was the name given to the chief magistrate in certain Swiss cantons, also to the President of the Swiss Diet. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...

Literature

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 the 18th century to be completed. In the 16th century, the Alemannic forms of writing were considered to be the original, truely 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 Berne being the last to adopt New High German in the second half of the 18th century.^[2] Middle High German (MHG, German Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. ... New High German (NHG) is the term used for the most recent period in the history of the German language. ... The printing press is a mechanical device for printing many copies of a text on rectangular sheets of paper. ... Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity which follows the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther. ... ZÃ¼rich Bible (ZÃ¼rcher Bibel, also Zwinglibibel) is a bible translation historically based on the translation by Ulrich Zwingli. ... For other uses, see Berne (disambiguation). ...

Today All formal writing, newspapers, books and much of 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). Standard German is the prescriptive norm variant of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas. ... The Duden () is a German dictionary, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880. ... The ß — Eszett [] in German or scharfes Es (sharp es) if spelled out — is a letter used only in the German alphabet. ...

Today especially young people use the dialect more and more in informal written communication (e.g. e-mail or text messaging). However, most write standard German more fluently than their dialect. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... SMS arrival notification on a Siemens phone Text messaging, or texting is the common term for the sending of short (160 characters or fewer) text messages, using the Short Message Service, from mobile phones. ...

There are no official rules about writing Swiss German. The orthographies used in the Swiss German literature can be roughly divided in 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.

Since the 19th century, a small body of Swiss German literature has accumulated. Before 1900, most of the works were in Bernese German An affricate is a consonant that begins like a stop (most often an alveovelar, such as [t] or [d]) and that doesnt have a release of its own, but opens directly into a fricative (or, in one language, into a trill). ... Fortis (from Latin fortis strong) and lenis (from Latin lenis weak) are linguistics terms. ... The words â€œijsvrijâ€ and â€œyoghurtâ€ in various forms of handwriting. ... ZÃ¼rich German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Canton of ZÃ¼rich, Switzerland. ... Bernese German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. ... Bernese German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. ...

Gall Morel O. S. B. was a poet, scholar, aesthete, and educationist, born at Bischofszell, Switzerland, on 24 March, 1803; died at the Abbey of Einsiedeln on 16 December, 1872. ... Unteriberg is a commune in the Schwyz district, Schwyz canton, Switzerland. ... Mani Matter (1936–1972, officially Hans-Peter Matter) was a popular Swiss songwriter. ... Thomas HÃ¼rlimann is a Swiss playwright and novelist. ...

Encyclopedia > Swiss German

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