“fine,” said Fritz in 1959, as he lit his engagement ring. “Casual,” said his daughter, Cornelia, in 1982, on your new WG. “Nice,” says her son, Leon, as he gets the job as a web administrator. the languages is changing. Also, the Swiss dialects. The children’s rhyme “Aazele, Bölle schele…” is today rather: “Aazele, Zwible schele…”.
Our dialect is changing with the world we live in. What is addiction in the age of finger food, cheap flights and mobile Phone from the well-known Swiss German? This is the question the Maturandin Lea Schlatter drives. Schlatter grew up with several dialects: grison German, Thurgau, and of the mother here in Zurich German. She goes to school in Winterthur. You and your Girlfriends have talked often about how to speak properly Winterthur dialect. On the Eulach, it’s called “niid” and not “nöd”. The Maturandin took over the “niid”, however, to the chagrin of its Zurich-based parent. In such disputes, Schlatter has sharpened its voice heard. This results in the drive to write a diploma thesis entitled on the subject.
English and high German
In the everyday life of the English terms in our language are the first to fall. From the Store a Shop – and – America- a Store. Such terms follow a fashion. “The least of them will stick,” says Schlatter. In fact: Where there is a “Tearoom”?
In the wind shadow of the English words, however, the high German will infiltrate in the Swiss dialect. This happens already for a long time. You say “escalator” and not “Rollstäge”, since it is the thing in the first place. “Escalator” is here to stay. The adaptation of the dialect to the high-level language is in most cases irreversible. “There is no point to retrieve, lost words,” says Schlatter. However, the latest high-German traces in the dialect disturb your sense of “Ä Schiibe bread”, “I han iichaufe vo mim dad horse becho”, or the phrase that you used as the title of the diploma thesis entitled: “mommy, chomm me gönd’ll go.”
Eingeschweizertes high German
Since chasch demit
As you can what do you what
I do morn the departure
Actually Switzerland has English has no future form with the auxiliary verb “to be”
Suits
German/Austrian: okay, like, good
I bechume black tea
Or:
I wars n’black tea
: “überchume”. The twist is, by the way, as a Whole, high-German: I get a black tea
Thank you (restaurant guest)
Like! (Waitress)
Shortened wording for “you’re welcome”
Ig live in bear
Instead of: Ig live z’bear
Me hands wele go bathing, but d’Badi at the lake, Japanese unfortunately, CDE gsi
“However” instead of “but”
tree
Instead of Holiday: Chrischt tree
Wiehnachtsmaa
Instead of: Santa Claus
butterfly
Instead of: summer bird
horse
Instead of: Ross
Früestücke
Instead of: zmorge esse
Träppestufe
Instead of: Stägetritt
Illustration: Leandro Alzate
the dialect words such as “übercho” or “poschte” stay more and more on the track. To substantiate this subjective impression, made Schlatter in her diploma thesis entitled a survey. The results are amazing. So becho has been reached “” according to the survey, already have a share of 46 percent of the Talking. Only a slim majority remained in “übercho”. For poschte” with 78 percent is “still far ahead “iichaufe” (20 percent).
more fixes for the high German word for “Wöschchorb” instead of “Wöschzaine”, “puddle” instead of “Gunte”, and as to be expected for “Zwible” instead of “Bölle”. This brings it to 30 percent. Don’t have a Chance yet to poke “a” and “work”. But: “Of the Little ones in the Kindergarten, I heard that you “früehschtücked”,” says Schlatter. And already 13 percent of the people Speaking say that according to their survey of “horse”. The surprised especially. Because “Ross” is not a dialect word, but the southern high German variant of horse. The corresponding German phrase means “with horse and cart”.
high German to read and write
As an explanation of the influence of the media and the media transported Trends are quickly at Hand. German-language music, movies and TV shows are often produced in the North of Germany, often in the face of Berlin said. Probably, therefore, of the South unit of language under pressure. Not only the highly modified English to the Swiss dialects, but the Northern high German is superimposed on the southern.
In her work, Schlatter underlines, however, another influence. Starting at the age of 16. Century, some cantons in Switzerland, education in schools. Since 1874, the compulsory education is enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Children learn high read English and write. In the German part of Switzerland, you change so easily and sometimes even unconsciously, between Swiss high German and dialect. High-German words in the head are always available.
a surprising discovery by Schlatter: In the small Atlas of German Switzerland said she has found areas where one or the other word has always been used. On lake Walen, and in some other areas, it is said, almost as in high German, “wärfe” instead of Zurich German “rüere”. Of such a word island of the high German word is spreading much faster than if it is only used in Germany.
So becho docks “” to the Basel German “biko”. In addition, two Swiss from a variety of dialect use areas, when you talk to each other, with the advantage of words, of which you assume that the other understands you. The girl from Basel, Switzerland says, “Gugge”, the Winterthurerin “bag”, and the bag comes out at some point “”. About the mechanism works.
The work also shows that new dialect words.
However, even if you have small children “früehschtücked” and even “work gönd”, as Schlatter observes, the Swiss dialects continue to live. The author shows in her work, that new dialect words. In many cases, they come from the Slang of the very young. So bike was meant to be “” originally mocking. Today, it is the generally accepted designation of “motorcycle”.
in Addition, the German language is changing in a different direction: again and again the Swiss dialect words find their way into the high German. “Cereal” is only the best known. Recently, we read but also “Shocking” and that the Swiss policy, the term “referendum”. In high German, one would expect the “people’s decision”.
Still a little surprised: Recent literature on the dialect of customer Schlatter. Most of the Work, the address, date from the years 1980 to 2000. This is a aftereffect of which, that Switzerland experienced from the 1970s, a dialect of the shaft. Movies, literature and theatre in the local dialect found in these years in Switzerland, but also in Germany, with a great response. This cultural movement was accompanied by linguistic studies.
Politicized dialect
Later, the political rights sought in the dialect. The dialect was used to Switzerland to be separated from the outside. On the Background of this mood, the Zurich Electorate approved in 2011 a popular initiative, the rubbing for Kindergarten is mandatory and dialect as the language of instruction in mind. Probably in vain, as the experience of Schlatter show. In addition, she has no understanding of the fact that the dialect is politicized: “Our dialect is not a matter of policy. It depends on the will of individual persons.”
Schlatter speaks of how the majority of young people today. Still, she wishes that as many of the dialect words are preserved. It calls on us to maintain the dialect. The dialects make up the diversity of Switzerland. “It’s Fun when friends can compare from different regions of your vocabulary,” says Schlatter. She brings an example. A ladybug is called in Winterthur “Herrgottetierli”: “Such a beautiful word. All of the “Herrgottetierli says please”!”
(country messenger)
Created: 20.02.2019, 14:07 PM
