Swiss German for dummies.

Language Corner
21
Nice site! Love the neology there with Müüsli/Müesli at the end of the page.

22
Ouuu good site. So now I can continue my german course and try to learn Swiss German at the same time. Thanks!

23
Interesting post, I always wanted to learn swiss german!

24
I only oppose in regard to the Schmetterling which also in Switzerland is dä Schmätterling and also in Germany-German in some areas is a Sommervogel

in our schooltimes, girls and boys who spoke about än Summervogel were taught in definite terms that this is än Schmätterling

25

I have never seen the Herrgöttli until about two or three years ago, and only in one particular place in Oerlikon. It may have come from Bern but very common in Zürich it is not yet

26
When it comes to (native) english speaking people that try to learn/speak swiss-germen be assured that every Swiss will always honor and appreciate your effort! It will be much valued as an appreciaton to our country and our culture.

Even it it seems to be easy to speak english only (because most of the swiss people here will understand you) please try to speak our language. No Swiss would ever go to a country like UK or US expecting everyone to speak/understand german ;-)

27

Use Pingu to learn Swiss German. It's the only way

28
Hi Swiss german for dummies site looks to be an interesting one!!! Thanks

29
Hey cool I had no idea there were online resources for picking up Swiss German. Thanks!

Do the Swiss really appreciate it when you try to speak Swiss German with them? Because I know I'm gonna sound really terrible and probably butcher it. It's a similar situation in Singapore with Singlish...if a foreigner tried speaking it with me I'd be really happy (and amused), but I do know people who thought that if a foreigner couldn't speak it properly they couldn't be bothered with them. I didn't agree, I mean, we all have to start from somewhere, right?

30
my experience is that yes, your efforts to learn dialect will almost always be met with a combination of surprise (why, where and how are you learning it?), appreciation and probably a little bit of fun at your expense. but generally the fun at your expense will also be coupled with an attempt to help you with anything you mispronouce or miss in terms of grammar.

31
That's great, time to start then! ^^

32
If interested about Swiss dialects you can download an app called "Grűezi". You can then make your choice from all Swiss dialects and enjoy yourself learning the diversity of swiss dialects. They are not all free of charge to access bust most of them are. Some of them sound really peculiar, to put it nicely

33
if you can read and write German then I have found this to be a great resource:

http://www.exlibris.ch/de/buecher-bu.../9783033011731

you can find it at Orel Fuessli for about CHF 70. my German was actually not that great (ok, it's still not that great) when I started with the book, so I used it as an excuse to improve my German, as well.

34
Happy to find this post,really help a lot to find the resource to learn Swiss German,with the normal German learning still not enough to settle in Swiss local life,thanks for the info...

35
Not sure if i am posting to the correct forum or thread. Can one first learn Swiss German and then high German ?

36
Better the other way around. Everything is written in high German - Swiss German is just the dialect.

37
The problem I am having is practising my German. I dont get practice at work because It is a english company . and then outside the people speak swiss german as apposed to high german.

38
I agree, will be easier the other way around.

Imagine English is German and Scottish is Swiss German

39
Ask them to speak german, I'm sure most of them will. For me (and everyone I know) it is totally normal to speak german with people from abroad.

40
Rustum, hey!

Here's my experience:

(1) Don't listen to people who say Swiss German is "JUST a dialect". It's not just a dialect, and it's not like Scottish. It's the native language of most Swiss. They speak it all times, even in many formal situations. They consider standard German a foreign language. So yes, it is a good idea to learn it! Unless you are planning to only read books and magazines and not socialize with locals. "Asking them to speak German with you" only works if there're 1-3 Swiss around you. If there's a party of 10-15 there's no chance they're going to stick to standard German for more than 1 min, especially after a round of drinks. And even when they do, they behave like this guy.

(2) However, it is true that it's simply easier to learn Swiss German when you know standard German at B1/B2 level. That is because there are very few resources for learning Swiss German in English, but there are quite a lot in standard German. Here's one that helped me quite a bit . Also after you understand the standard German grammar and know the basic vocabulary, it will be easier for you to understand Swiss German grammar and vocabulary because they're similar.

You don't need to practice German (yeah I know it's difficult to practice it with the Swiss). Just learn it enough to understand texts and grammar, then you can move on to learning Swiss German.

(3) There are also Swiss German courses, but I think they're also usually offered only to people with at least B1 level of German.

(4) I also recommend you to find a language tandem, for example for Swiss German / English exchange. I meet every week or two for Swiss German / Russian exchange. A good place to find a tandem if you want to meet offline is Couchsurfing.org.

(5) Sign up to Swiss memes and jokes on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. (e.g. "SwissMeme")

Good luck!