Chuchichäschtli, Chäschüechli etc...
This dinosaur web site was made back in the year of 2000! Since it still seems to be useful for a few people I keep it running, like some sort of Stonehenge of the internet! Did you learn that they speak German in Switzerland? That's a common misconception! In Switzerland they speak Swiss German, and that's something completely different. Swiss German has its own pronunciation, many different words, its own grammar, and most Germans have difficulty understanding this funny language. The German-speaking Swiss write standard German, that's true - there is no Swiss German official language (but still some literature, e-mails etc. using the dialect). The Swiss can also speak standard German very well, but to them it's a foreign language that they have to learn how to use when they start school.
To my advanced Swiss German page
On this page:
Would you like to win a Swiss person's heart? Then learn these two beautiful words. They are almost like national treasures, because they are so typical of Swiss German. Note: Ch is pronounced like in the German word ach (whereas sch is like the normal sh-sound, like in "sheep"). You may have to practise a lot to make it, but don't practise so much that you get a sore throat!
1) CHUCHICHÄSCHTLI
2) CHÄS-CHÜECHLI
What do they mean? Number 1 is "kitchen cupboard", number 2 is "cheese pie(s) (or, more directly translated, "cheese cake(s)")!
As we know, the abbreviation of Switzerland is CH. Some times I've wondered if this has some kind of connection to the Swiss German sounds... ( ;-) ! I do know the real meaning of the abbreviation, thank you...)
Here are some of the most common words that might be good to know. I have also written some other words, either because they have different meanings in standard German and Swiss German, or just because I like them...
Note: This is Züridüütsch - Zürich German, which is the Swiss dialect that I know the best. Other dialects may some times sound very different!
Remember, here as well, that all ch's should be pronounced like in German ach. All the vowels I have written should be pronounced. If you see ue, üe or ie, for instance, the e should also be pronounced. The standard German version that you see here is to be pronounced the normal German way.
(By the way, it's not always easy to "translate" Swiss German words and expressions into standard German - if any of you have some other suggestions, I'm very thankful...)
Top 5 - Hello/good bye - Food&drinks - Transport - Diverse verbs - Small, useful words - Miscellaneous - The week - Numbers - "Useful" expressions
Röstigraben
...is an expression used for the border between the German-speaking and the French-speaking Switzerland. In English it would be "the Rösti ditch", and it has probably got something with the different (food) cultures to do...
Merci vilmal
...is a nice language mixture. An explanation that I have got, which probably isn't completely true, but funny anyway, is that the German-speaking Swiss wanted to say "merci" instead of "danke", to prove that they weren't German. The problem was only that then they sounded like they were trying to speak French without being very successful (the Swiss German pronunciation of "merci" is rather special). The solution was to add the typical Swiss German ending "vilmal". Then there would be no doubt of where they were coming from. ....and this is how the expression "merci vilmal" - thanks a lot - may have been created...
These pages are 100% home-made. I don't mind sharing the soundclip and the illustrations with others, but I'd be happy if you ask me first, at eldrios (at) eldrid.ch...