Have you ever taken a plane to Zurich or Basel, expecting upon arrival that people would sound like your friends or colleagues from Germany, but then feeling somewhat puzzled when hearing them talk? The reason is that Swiss Germans have a very strong Alemannic dialect in their everyday conversation, called “Schweizerdeutsch”. This, however, should not discourage you from practising your German skills because every Swiss German can switch to the “Standardsprache” (Standard German) when necessary.

Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the spoken everyday language at all social levels in industrial cities and in the countryside in Switzerland. Using dialect conveys neither social nor educational inferiority and is spoken with pride. There are only a few specific settings where speaking Standard German is expected or is done out of politeness, for example, in education, during parliamentary sessions, in the main news broadcast or the presence of German-speaking foreigners. This situation has been called a “medial diglossia“, since the spoken language is mainly the dialect, whereas the written language is Standard German. They write Standard German exactly like the Germans do, apart from a few small exceptions, such as writing the double s (ss) instead of eszett (ß).

In terms of vocabulary, Swiss Germans tend to use French loanwords like “Glace” (ice cream) instead of the German expression “Eis”, or they use “Trottoir” for “Bürgersteig” (pavement). On a grammatical level, Swiss German, for example, does not have a genitive case or a simple past tense.

Swiss German has also preserved certain vowel sounds from Middle High German. Words like “Haus” (house) are pronounced as /huːs/, and “Wein” (wine) would be pronounced as /viː/. The contrast in pronunciation between Swiss German and German is as distinct as hearing Brummies talking to Glaswegians.

Should you learn Swiss German?

Many people moving to Zurich or Basel ask whether they should learn Swiss German. Start with Standard German. It is what the Swiss read and write, what they use in education, in parliament and on the main news, and what they switch to when they talk to German-speaking visitors. Once your Standard German is secure, you will begin to tune in to the dialect around you, and picking some of it up becomes a pleasure rather than a hurdle. For the history, spelling and grammar of Swiss German in more detail, read The uniqueness of Swiss German.

If you want to improve your German skills and also learn a bit more about the different dialects of spoken German and its usage in German-speaking countries, then a native German tutor in London or online German lessons can take you through it.