Schwyzertüüsch
Switzerland has four official languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansh), but the country’s dominant language is Schwyzertüüsch or Swiss German–a collection of regional and local dialects spoken by nearly two-thirds of the country’s population. In this beautiful nation, Confoederatio Helvetica as it is written on the front of the Bundeshaus or Capitol Building in downtown Bern above the river Aare, are endless opportunities to explore language and learn about the Swiss people and their culture. Two words that sum up the complex sound of Swiss German are: CHUCHICHÄSCHTLI and CHÄS-CHÜECHLI which mean “kitchen cupboard” and “cheese cake”. Notice the repeating CH sound, which also is the country code abbreviation for Switzerland, Confoederatio Helvetica or Helvetic Confederation, though most Americans would have thought it to be SW or SL like me I’m sure.
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There are endless resources for learning Swiss German on the Internet, and one of the easiest to understand and follow was created by Eldrid Hågård Aas, a Norwegian born linguist who also speaks Swiss German, German, English, French, and Icelandic. Wanna learn Schwyzertüüsch enough to survive on the street, then start here. With just a handful of words, and a week in Switzerland like me, you’ll be able to begin to decipher the greetings that are exchanged on the street and in the office, and you’ll be on the path toward conversing with Swiss in their natural environment.
Dialects such as Züritüüsch and Bärndüsch exist side by side with Schweizerhochdeutsch, the Swiss version of standard or High German. German-speaking Swiss typically use dialect at home, at work, in shops, etc., with local radio and TV programs frequently being in dialect as well. Standard German is used in school, in newspapers and magazines, in international business, and for broadcasts such as national news and imported TV shows.
One reason why dialect and standard German coexist is that Swiss German is a spoken language, not a written language (although various ways of spelling Swiss-German words do exist, mainly for use in reference and teaching materials, advertising, and such). If you were a German-speaking Swiss, you’d probably converse with friends and relatives in Swiss-German but send them e-mail or letters in the High German that you learned in school.
For the foreigner, standard or High German will work just fine as a spoken language in the German-speaking cantons. But it can be fun to learn a bit of the local lingo, and it’s also convenient to understand a store clerk’s request for drisg (30) francs or your hotel receptionist’s comment that “Morn isch schöö” (“Morgen ist schön,” a.k.a. “It’s a beautiful morning.”). And you can’t help feeling a sense of accomplishment when a passerby asks you the time at 10:30 a.m. and you’re able to reply, “Halbi Ölfi.”