Observations of a Global Nomad, Lessons in Swiss-German - Pronunciation
Lessons in Swiss-German - Pronunciation

Swiss-German varies from canton to canton, but some things they have generally in common. 

One of them is taking the High German “ei” and turning it to “ie.” 

I found this happened to me while I was in Münich. I was ordering a Schnitzel mit Beilage, ie. a Schnitzel with accompaniment. But instead of the “ei” sound I pronounced it with “ie.” Like a Swiss, I said “Bielage.” They might spell it with a “y” instead of “ie.”

The guy felt the need to correct me. And I realized that I carry more Swiss German around than I really should. 

Similarly, “eu” sounds typically become “üü” sounds, ie. Leute becomes Lüüte

Bring the two together and you can say Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch) the way the Swiss do: Schwyzertüütsch

  1. alexanderweitzman reblogged this from uncdan
  2. uncdan posted this