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Alemannic German (Alemannisch) is a group of dialect
Dialect

A dialect is a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class....
s of the Upper German
Upper German

Upper German is a family of High German languages dialects spoken primarily in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy....
 branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein

The Principality of Liechtenstein is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked country alpine country microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and by Austria to the east....
, and Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. The name derives from the ancient Germanic alliance of tribes known as the Alamanni
Alamanni

The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic languagess located around the upper Main river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211?17 and claimed thereby to be their defeater....
 (from which also comes French "Allemagne", Spanish "Alemania", Portuguese "Alemanha" and Turkish
Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
 "Almanya", all names for Germany).

Status
Alemannic itself comprises a dialect continuum
Dialect continuum

A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater....
, from the Highest Alemannic spoken in the mountainous south to Swabian
Swabian German

Swabian is one of the Alemannic German dialects of High German languages, spoken in the region of Swabia. Swabia covers much of Germany's southwestern Bundesland of Baden-W?rttemberg and the southwest of the Bundesland Bavaria....
 in the relatively flat north, with more of the characteristics of Standard German
Standard German

Standard German is the standard language of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas....
 the further north you go.

Some linguist
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
s and organisations that differentiate between languages and dialects primarily on the grounds of mutual intelligibility, such as SIL International
SIL International

SIL International is a United States, worldwide Evangelicalism non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document lesser-known languages, in order to expand linguistics knowledge, promote literacy and aid minority language development....
 and UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
, describe Alemannic German as one or several independent languages.






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Alemannic German (Alemannisch) is a group of dialect
Dialect

A dialect is a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class....
s of the Upper German
Upper German

Upper German is a family of High German languages dialects spoken primarily in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy....
 branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein

The Principality of Liechtenstein is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked country alpine country microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and by Austria to the east....
, and Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. The name derives from the ancient Germanic alliance of tribes known as the Alamanni
Alamanni

The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic languagess located around the upper Main river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211?17 and claimed thereby to be their defeater....
 (from which also comes French "Allemagne", Spanish "Alemania", Portuguese "Alemanha" and Turkish
Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
 "Almanya", all names for Germany).

Status


Alemannic itself comprises a dialect continuum
Dialect continuum

A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater....
, from the Highest Alemannic spoken in the mountainous south to Swabian
Swabian German

Swabian is one of the Alemannic German dialects of High German languages, spoken in the region of Swabia. Swabia covers much of Germany's southwestern Bundesland of Baden-W?rttemberg and the southwest of the Bundesland Bavaria....
 in the relatively flat north, with more of the characteristics of Standard German
Standard German

Standard German is the standard language of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas....
 the further north you go.

Some linguist
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
s and organisations that differentiate between languages and dialects primarily on the grounds of mutual intelligibility, such as SIL International
SIL International

SIL International is a United States, worldwide Evangelicalism non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document lesser-known languages, in order to expand linguistics knowledge, promote literacy and aid minority language development....
 and UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
, describe Alemannic German as one or several independent languages. ISO 639-3
ISO 639-3

ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. The standard describes three-letter codes for identifying languages. It extends the ISO 639-2 alpha-3 codes with an aim to cover all known natural language languages....
 distinguishes four languages: gsw (Swiss German
Swiss German

Swiss German is any of the Alemannic Germans spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are called Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg which are closely associated to Switzerland's....
), swg (Swabian German
Swabian German

Swabian is one of the Alemannic German dialects of High German languages, spoken in the region of Swabia. Swabia covers much of Germany's southwestern Bundesland of Baden-W?rttemberg and the southwest of the Bundesland Bavaria....
), wae (Walser German
Walser German

The Walser language, in German language Walserdeutsch, is a group of Highest Alemannic German dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria....
) and gct (Alemán Coloniero
Alemán Coloniero

Alem?n Coloniero, spoken in Colonia Tovar, Venezuela, is a dialect that belongs to the Low Alemannic German branch of German language.The language, like other Alemannic German is not mutually intelligible with German language#Standard German, is spoken by descendants of Germans from the Black Forest region of Southern Baden, who emigrated t...
 — spoken since 1843 in Venezuela
Venezuela

Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a country on the northern coast of South America.The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands located off the Venezuelan coastline in the Caribbean Sea....
).

At this level, the distinction between a language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
 and a dialect
Dialect

A dialect is a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class....
 is frequently considered a cultural and political question, in part because linguists have failed to agree on a clear standard. Standard German
Standard German

Standard German is the standard language of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas....
 is used in writing, and orally in formal contexts, throughout the Alemannic-speaking regions (with the exception of Alsace
Alsace

Alsace is the fourth-smallest of the 26 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the sixth-most densely populated region in France , with 222 inhabitants per km? ....
), and Alemannic varieties are generally considered German dialects
German dialects

German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German language with the Dutch language....
 (more precisely, a dialect group within Upper German
Upper German

Upper German is a family of High German languages dialects spoken primarily in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy....
) rather than separate languages.

Variants

Alemannic comprises the following variants:
  • Swabian
    Swabian German

    Swabian is one of the Alemannic German dialects of High German languages, spoken in the region of Swabia. Swabia covers much of Germany's southwestern Bundesland of Baden-W?rttemberg and the southwest of the Bundesland Bavaria....
     (mostly in Swabia
    Swabia

    Swabia, Suabia, or Svebia is both a historic and linguistics region in Germany. Swabia consists of much of the present-day state of Baden-W?rttemberg , as well as the Bavarian Swabia ....
    , in Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    ). Unlike most other Alemannic dialects, it does not retain the Middle High German
    Middle High German

    Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German....
     monophthongs û, î but shifts them to , (as opposed to Standard German , ). For this reason, "Swabian" is sometimes used in opposition to "Alemannic".
  • Low Alemannic
    Low Alemannic German

    Low Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German and belongs to the German language, even though they are only partly intelligible to German speakers....
     dialects. Retain German initial as (or ) rather than fricativising to as in High Alemannic. For the start of a grammar, click the above. Subvariants:
    • Lake Constance Alemannic (in Southern Württemberg
      Württemberg

      W?rttemberg [], formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
      , Southeastern Baden, Northwestern Vorarlberg
      Vorarlberg

      Vorarlberg is the westernmost and wealthiest States of Austria of Austria. Though it is the second smallest in terms of area , it borders three countries; Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein....
      )
    • Alsatian
      Alsatian language

      Alsatian is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in most of Alsace, a region in eastern France which has passed between French and Germany control many times....
       (in Alsace
      Alsace

      Alsace is the fourth-smallest of the 26 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the sixth-most densely populated region in France , with 222 inhabitants per km? ....
      , France
      France

      France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
      )
    • Alemán Coloniero
      Alemán Coloniero

      Alem?n Coloniero, spoken in Colonia Tovar, Venezuela, is a dialect that belongs to the Low Alemannic German branch of German language.The language, like other Alemannic German is not mutually intelligible with German language#Standard German, is spoken by descendants of Germans from the Black Forest region of Southern Baden, who emigrated t...
       (in Venezuela
      Venezuela

      Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a country on the northern coast of South America.The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands located off the Venezuelan coastline in the Caribbean Sea....
      )
    • Basel German
      Basel German

      Basel German or Baseldytsch is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. Among the Swiss German dialects, it is the only Low Alemannic German one....
       (in Basel
      Basel

      Basel is Switzerland's third most populous city . With 731,000 inhabitants in the tri-national metropolitan area , Basel is Switzerland's third-largest urban area....
      , Switzerland
      Switzerland

      Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
      )
  • High Alemannic
    High Alemannic German

    High Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German and is considered a German dialect, even though they are only partly intelligible to non-Alemannic German speakers....
     (mostly in Switzerland
    Switzerland

    Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
    , parts of Vorarlberg
    Vorarlberg

    Vorarlberg is the westernmost and wealthiest States of Austria of Austria. Though it is the second smallest in terms of area , it borders three countries; Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein....
    , and in the southern parts of the Black Forest
    Black Forest

    The Black Forest is a forest mountain range in Baden-W?rttemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south....
     in Germany). Complete the High German consonant shift
    High German consonant shift

    In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift was a phonological development which took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases, probably beginning between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, and was almost complete before the earliest written recor...
     by fricativising initial to . Subvariants:
    • Bernese German
      Bernese German

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

      Z?rich German, or Z?rit??tsch is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Canton of Z?rich, Switzerland.It is divided in six sub-dialects, covering the entire Canton with the exception of the parts north of the Thur and the Rhine....
    • Vorarlbergisch
  • Highest Alemannic
    Highest Alemannic German

    Highest Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German and belongs to the German language, even though mutual intelligibility with Standard German and other non-Alemannic German dialects is very limited....
     (in the Canton of Wallis
    Valais

    The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of Switzerland, around the valley of the Rh?ne from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps....
    , in the Walser
    Walser

    The Walser are German language-speaking people who live in the Alps of Swiss Alps, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. The Walser people are named after the Valais , the uppermost Rh?ne River valley....
     settlements (eg. in the canton of Grisons), in the Bernese Oberland
    Bernese Oberland

    The Bernese Oberland 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 ....
     and in the German-speaking part of Fribourg
    Canton of Fribourg

    The Canton of Fribourg is a Cantons of Switzerland of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is Fribourg....
    ). Do not have the hiatus
    Hiatus (linguistics)

    Hiatus in linguistics is the separate pronunciation of two adjacent vowels, sometimes with an intervening glottal stop. In poetic metre , hiatus can also refer to the failure of two vowels straddling a word boundary to coalesce, for example by elision of the first vowel....
     diphthongisation of other dialects of German with , and not . Subvariants:
    • Walliser German
      Walliser German

      The Walliser German is a group of Highest Alemannic German dialects spoken in Switzerland, specifically in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Valais , in the uppermost Rh?ne River valley....
    • Walser German
      Walser German

      The Walser language, in German language Walserdeutsch, is a group of Highest Alemannic German dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria....


Note that the Alemannic dialects of Switzerland are often called Swiss German
Swiss German

Swiss German is any of the Alemannic Germans spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are called Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg which are closely associated to Switzerland's....
 or Schwyzerdütsch.

Written Alemannic

The oldest known texts in Alemannic are brief Elder Futhark
Elder Futhark

The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the runic alphabet, used by Germanic tribes for Northwest Germanic and Migration period Germanic dialects of the 2nd to 8th centuries for inscriptions on artifacts and runestones....
 inscriptions dating to the 6th century (Bülach fibula
Bülach fibula

The B?lach fibula is a silver Fibulae_and_ancient_brooches#Fibulae_Components Fibulae_and_ancient_brooches with almandine inlay found in B?lach, Canton of Z?rich in 1927....
, Pforzen buckle
Pforzen buckle

The Pforzen buckle is a silver belt buckle found in Pforzen, Ostallg?u in 1992. The Alemannic grave in which it was found dates to the end of the 6th century and was presumably that of a warrior, as it also contained a lance, spatha, seax and shield....
, Nordendorf fibula
Nordendorf fibula

The Nordendorf fibula is an early 7th century Alamanni Fibula found in Nordendorf near Augsburg ....
). In the Old High German
Old High German

The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of Old High German proper to 750 for this reason...
 period, the first coherent texts are recorded in the St. Gall Abbey, among them the 8th century Paternoster
Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father or Pater noster, is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity. On Easter Sunday 2007 it was estimated that 2 billion Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Christians read, recited, or sang the short prayer in hundreds of languages in houses of worship of all shapes and size...
,

Fater unser, thu bist in himile
uuihi namu dinan
qhueme rihhi diin
uuerde uuillo diin,
so in himile, sosa in erdu
prooth unseer emezzihic kip uns hiutu
oblaz uns sculdi unsero
so uuir oblazem uns skuldikem
enti ni unsih firleit in khorunka
uzzer losi unsih fona ubile


Due to the importance of the Carolingian
Carolingian

File:Charlemagne denier Mayence 812 814.jpgThe Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century....
 abbeys of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall

The Abbey of Saint Gall was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It is located in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland....
 and Reichenau Island
Reichenau Island

Reichenau Island lies in Lake Constance in southern Germany, at approximately . It lies between the Gnadensee and the Untersee, almost due west of the city of Konstanz....
, a considerable part of the Old High German corpus has Alemannic traits. Alemannic Middle High German
Middle High German

Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German....
 is less prominent, in spite of the Codex Manesse
Codex Manesse

The Codex Manesse, Manesse Codex, or Gro?e Heidelberger Liederhandschrift is an illuminated manuscript in codex form copied and illustrated between ca....
 compiled by Johannes Hadlaub of Zürich
Zürich

Z?rich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Z?rich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne....
. The rise of the Old Swiss Confederacy
Old Swiss Confederacy

The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland. The Swiss Eidgenossenschaft, as the Confederacy was called, was a loose federation of largely independent small states called Cantons of Switzerland that existed from the late 13th century until 1798, when it was invaded by the France Republic, who transformed it into...
 from the 14th century leads to the creation of Alemannic Swiss chronicles. Huldrych Zwingli
Huldrych Zwingli

Huldrych Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Old Swiss Confederacy patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenaries, he attended the University of Vienna and the University of Basel, a scholarly centre of Renaissance humanism....
's bible translation of the 1520s (the 1531 Froschauer Bible) was in an Alemannic variant of Early Modern High German. From the 17th century, written Alemannic was displaced by Standard German
Standard German

Standard German is the standard language of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas....
, which emerged from 16th century Early Modern High German, in particular in the wake of Martin Luther
Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a Germans monk, theology, university professor, priest, father of Protestantism, and Protestant Reformers whose ideas started the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western culture....
's bible translation of the 1520s. The 1665 revision of the Froschauer Bible removed the Alemannic elements, approaching the language used by Luther. For this reason, no binding orthographical standard for writing modern Alemannic emerged, and orthographies in use usually compromise between a precise phonological notation, and proximity to the familiar Standard German orthography (in particular for loanwords).

Johann Peter Hebel
Johann Peter Hebel

Johann Peter Hebel was a German people short story writer and dialectal poet, most famous for his collection of alemannic tales Schatzk?stlein des rheinischen Hausfreundes ....
 published his Alemannische Gedichte in 1803. Swiss authors often consciously employ Helvetism
Helvetism

Helvetisms are a large group of words typical for Swiss Standard German, which do not appear in either of Standard German or Standard German dialects....
s within Standard German, notably Jeremias Gotthelf
Jeremias Gotthelf

Albert Bitzius , Switzerland novelist, best known by his pen name of Jeremias Gotthelf, was born at Murten, where his father was pastor....
 in his novels set in the Emmental
Emmental

For the cheese made in the region, see Emmental .The Emmental is the valley of the Emme river in west central Switzerland in the canton of Bern , a region mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming....
, and more recently Tim Krohn
Tim Krohn

Tim Krohn is a Swiss novelist, recipient of the 1994 Conrad-Ferdinand-Meyer-Preis. Born in Wiedenbr?ck, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Krohn grew up in canton of Glarus....
 in his Quatemberkinder.

Characteristics


  • The diminutive
    Diminutive

    In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form, is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment....
     is used frequently in all Alemannic dialects. Northern and eastern dialects use the suffix -le; southern dialects use the suffix -li (Standard German suffix -lein or -chen). Depending on dialect, thus, 'little house' could be Häusle, Hüüsle, Hüüsli or Hiisli (Standard German Häuslein or Häuschen).
  • A significant difference between the high and low variants is the pronunciation of ch after the front vowels (i, e, ä, ö and ü) and consonants. In Standard German and the lower variants, this is a palatal (the Ich-Laut), whereas in the higher variants, a velar or uvular or (the Ach-Laut) is used.
  • The verb to be is conjugated differently in the various dialects:
    (The common gs*-forms do historically derive from words akin to ge-sein, not found in modern standard German.)


The conjugation of the verb to be in Alemannic dialects
English
(standard German) 		Low Swabian Alsatian Allgäuerisch Lower
Markgräflerland 		Voralpenland Eastern Swiss German Western Swiss German Sensler
I am
(ich bin)		 I ben I bìn I bin Ich bi I bee I bi I(g) bi I bü/bi
You are
(du bist)		 du bisch dü bìsch du bisch du bisch dou bisch du bisch du bisch du büsch/bisch
He is
(er ist)		 er isch är ìsch är isch är isch är isch är isch är isch är isch
We are
(wir sind)		 mir send mir sìnn mir send/sönd mir sin mr send m(i)r send/sön/sinn mir sy mier sy
You are
(ihr seid)		 ihr send ihr sìnn ihr send ihr sin ihr send i(i)r sönd/sind dihr syt dier syt
They are
(sie sind)  		se send sie sìnn dui send si sin dia send di sönd si sy si sy
I have been
(ich bin ... gewesen)		 i ben gwä i bìn gsìnn i bi gsi ich bi gsi i bee gsei i bi gsi i(g) bi gsi/gsy i bü/bi gsy

See also

  • German dialects
    German dialects

    German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German language with the Dutch language....
  • Swiss German
    Swiss German

    Swiss German is any of the Alemannic Germans spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are called Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg which are closely associated to Switzerland's....


External links