Busfahrer/Busführer

Language Corner
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Bus driver would be Busfahrer

A Busführer I would understand as a bus guide (eg: tourguide)

Which ever one is correct depends on the context...

and some Swiss would use the same word for both

but I may also be wildly wrong (I have been in the past, therefore am likely to be in the futre...)

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Ok, just because a word is not found in the High German dictionary does not mean that it would not be used by the Swiss or found in an advert.

There are many many many words used in the media and in print in the german speaking part of Switzerland that would not be found in the High German Dictionary. That does not mean that in Switzerland it is not a 'proper' word.

And I'm sorry to insist but you don't live in a country where high german is the culturally accepted official language.

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It's definitely Busfahrer, never heard Busführer before ever in my life.

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Never heard of Busführer but if I did I would expect it to be a handy little book telling me about all the buses of the World.

A Busfahrer it the one driving the bus (including myself sometimes after night out in town ;-)

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Really? Where?

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The motivation for the original thread, which I started, came about because when traveling on the bus for a certain period of time, about a year ago, there was a series of adverts/announcements from the ZVV where they used busführer. Maybe you were mistaken, one might ask? No, because on a few occasions I had conversations with german speaking friends, who were on the bus with me, about busführer.

Error by ZVV? Perhaps.

Regardless, using the argument that a word is not found in the High German Dictionary and hence might not be a real word in the german speaking part of Switzerland most likely isn't going to be valid.

And bus driver and bus leader could be two different things.

EDIT: Anyhoo, here's the link to an article from TagesAnzeiger where they use busführer.

http://sc.tagesanzeiger.ch/dyn/news/zuerich/825713.html

"Zum ersten Mal gehen die Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich gezielt im Ausland auf Personalsuche. In Berlin sollen zehn bis zwölf Busführer angeworben werden."

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That I totally agree with and so did my very German German teacher I had when I studied German at the University. He fully accepted my Swiss High German and am sure half of the Swiss German I used would not be found in Duden. Although I must say, they do normally tend to be quite good at stating the Swiss equivalent to high German words as I recall (haven't checked out a Duden for years).

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Well there you have it! Definitely a Swiss High German word. Case closed :-)

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Maybe busführer is used for the guy in charge of the busfahrer?

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"My Google" shows 355 hits for Busführer versus one Million for Busfahrer

On a quick check I guess some are simple misspellings, some where as guessed before little books that guide you on bustravelling and some seem to use the word for a travel guide that leads the group that travels by bus. I, as a German, never heard the term before.

But if the Tagesanzeiger uses it, I guess it is an accepted term for bus driver in Zurich: http://sc.tagesanzeiger.ch/dyn/news/zuerich/825713.html

Ironically the article tells that the VBZ are recruiting "Busführer" in Germany

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Busführer is a more formal term, typical for job ads, laws, please don't talk to the bus driver-signs etc.

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Maybe it was just another ZVV joke or word game. Ever saw the ads "Ich bin auch ein Tram, ich bin auch ein Schiff etc."?

You have to say Tramführer and Zugführer but Busfahrer. Maybe you have to use führer if there are several vehicles attached in a row and there is a leading one in the front as it is the case in a tram or train.

So to use the word Busführer could just indicate that ZVV has not only buses but also trains and trams. They could also have said Buskapitäne (or Buspiloten if ZVV had planes, too ;-))

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Please scroll back up and read rest of thread.

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and to make it more complicated here in the western part of CH ( and so tagged in in newspapers as well) it is called Bus CHAUFFEUR

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Also here in the east but more specifically for a coach driver