The gem of a story for today is a lesson in why I must learn Swiss German, otherwise known as “dialect.“ The background information you need for this story is that Swiss kids grow up speaking dialect and don’t usually hear much High German until they hit school at about age six. Thus, I am acutely aware that when I speak German to the neighborhood kids it can sound as strange as when I tell them off in English (yes, I’ve done it once). Today as I walked to the tram for my fiddle lesson a trio of girls from about 3 to 6 years eagerly greeted me. I’d said hello to them before, but this time curriosity got the better of them and they came running up to me. Here is the dialogue with my thoughts in italics.
“Hallo!“ The girls chorus excitedly with great big smiles.
“Hallo! Wie Gehts?“ I know there must be a different way of saying that in dialect.
“Good“ What beautiful Swiss German. Thank goodness she understood.
“What’s that?“ Pointing at my fiddle. Oh no! Nicola used a different word for fiddle yesterday. It started with a ‘G.’ What was it? I have to say something.
“It’s a fiddle.” Blank stares. Oh dear, they don’t understand. I fee like a giant, they’re so tiny! I’m used to having little boys around me, not cute little girls!
“It’s a Gzxcndf” Right, like that helped.
“Can we see it?” Oh no, I have to catch my tram!
“No, I don’t have time. I have to go.” Surely you can take a second to show them.
“Here, maybe I can.” I open the case and they ooh and ah.
“How much does it cost?” Like I have a clue!
“Um, I don’t know. It’s not mine. I’m borrowing it.” Shoot, that was all high German, they don’t understand me at all.
“It’s not mine. It’s my friend’s” Gaa! I wish I could talk to them!
“You mean it’s not yours?” The look was incredulous. That was a perfect example of a beautiful sentence in dialect.
“That’s right.” “I have to go now” I turn to leave.
“What’s your name?” The smallest one asks.
“Janet. And you?”
“---, ---, ---“ Nice, I can’t understand a word.
“What pretty names!” Maybe I can fake it this time and catch them again later.
“This is ---, this is ---, and I am ---“ Great, second time and I haven’t a clue. They’re so cute, though.
“ I have to go. Bye!” I really have to catch the tram or I’ll be late for my lesson.
“Okay, bye!” They run off with the sweetest smiles on their faces. I’ve just got to learn the dialect. Maybe I should join their makeup parties on the street, only I haven’t a clue about makeup. I should get out of my room and get in the community and just DO IT! They were so cute. Oh good, three minutes until the tram comes. I should have practiced more for this lesson. There’s not enough time in the day!
You have a gzxcndf?! Man, those things are hard to find! I saw a beautifully restored one once, but it was larger, an alto-gzxcndf. Is there a gzxcndf consort in Basel?
I'll stop now. Of course you know that conversation would have gone for me:
"Hallo!"
"Hallo!"
"Gzxcndf!"
" . . . "
I believe the proper response to "Gzxcndf!" is "God bless you!"
I should ask Stephan to post a comment in Swiss German. Then you won't find my Gmumble so strange . . .
Das chönnt men aso scho mache, nur würd's natürlig niemer vrstoh. Und das wär doch schad.
Doch! I think I understood that! Is it something like: I can do that, but of course nobody will understand. That would be too bad. Might the German be something like: Dass könnte man also schon machen, nur wird es natürlich niemand verstehen. Und dass wäre doch schade.
"Vrstoh" is a good example of what I was hoping your comment would illustrate. Gzxcndf is going a bit far, to be sure.
Thanks for humoring me!
Guet gmacht! Sälbvrständlich isch unseri Sprooch grschribe dr Schriftsprooch nööcher as wemme se redt. Und die heftigen Unterschid, wie die fählende Zytformen und süscht so Gschichte, die gseht me chuum.
Wow, that's a big difference! (Now be honest, was that second sample for real? "Schriftsprooch?" That's almost as remarkable as Dutch.
Yep, he's for real. I'm not sure I caught everything in that post, but "Schriftsprooch" is "Schriftsprache" in high German, which literally means "literary language" and is what the Swiss call high German. I find Sälbvrständlich a more amusing word. I wish you could hear the lilt in the intonation. It's a pretty language.
Now this Swiss German discussion is as clear to me as the Dutch onoverzichtelijke bocht.
Showing my ignorance here, but I thought Swiss German wasn't written, and that's why High German is the language of school and business? Or is it like Scots, which (as I understand it) has a written form but that varies from place to place and was subordinated to English in schools?
Bear in mind that most of my knowledge of Scots comes from reading George MacDonald. :) I can imagine his novels translated into German, with Swiss German substituted for the Scots. I'll bet you'd pick it up pretty quickly then, Janet! But still not be able to speak. I can understand the written form of Scots pretty well now, but I'm sure there's little correspondence between what I "hear" in my head and the actual pronunciation.
Heh, yeah; by the time I had muscled through to the end of Robert Falconer I kind of had the hang of it. That's probably a good analogy.
From what I know it would be a good way to think about it. Written dialect is not standardized, they just write as they speak, and it is different between person and region.
Correct, Swiss German is a spoken language. It is gaining ground as a written language in informal use (cell phone text messages, local radio, e-mails, classifieds, etc.), but still has no unified spelling. [That, I think, should motivate Janet to learn it.] Spelling depends on the individual's dialect, grasp of German phonics, and self-discipline. Although I try, I'm not entirely consistent myself. Should a German "st" be spelled "st" or "scht"? In High German a leading "st," such as "Stück," is pronounced "sht," but an ending "st," such as "Wurst," pronounced "st." In Swiss German, both are pronounced "sht." So, should I spell "Stügg" because the German phonics demand "sht" there, but "Wurscht" because otherwise German phonics demand a mispronounciation? Or should I unify it and go for "Schtügg" and "Wurscht?" Or just presume on the reader's intelligence and go for "Stügg" and "Wurst?" I don't always decide the same way.
And I'm a person who was brought up to care about these things. Others bushwhack their way through Swiss spelling and still are understood.
Some people care even more than I do, especially in Fasnacht-crazy Basel, and add ù and ùù and other phonetic distinctions. I'm not up to speed on those.
We use High German in school, but more and more informal instructions ("go close the window") are given in Swiss German and only the classwork is done in High German. This leads to a distinction between High German as the language of reason and Swiss German as our heart language. That's why we almost all tend to envy the Germans their suave and authoritative pronounciation and use of the language, very self-conscious of our shortcomings in High German, but also strongly dislike High German and if we date a German girl then it's in spite and not because...
And did I mention it's local? Here's a website that tells you where you're from by how you pronounce a set of ten words. It's pretty darn accurate, too...
http://dialects.from.ch/
And this is where that website places me:
Well, I did my best, considering I had to leave a few answers at "?" because I could see no relationship at all between the written word and my choices of pronunciation. But for what it's worth, I ended up solidly in "Arisdorf."
