Should you learn Swiss German? (Explained by a Swiss local)

Рет қаралды 17,519

Күн бұрын

When you think about life in Switzerland, you automatically think about how to learn Swiss German. Often this question is asked before moving to Switzerland, as you want to be well prepared. Depending on where you move in Switzerland, you are interested in learning German, French, Italian or Romansh. The one that is most popular is Swiss German though.
Swiss German has many dialects and they all sound a bit different. Not only that but with the different sound, the German Swiss usually know from which part of Switzerland you are from, and what mentality you have. As not all mentalities are appreciated in all of the different regions, this may lead to complications or difficulties in the relationship with the respective locals. Avoiding this is very important on your journey to settle in Switzerland. For this reason, you want to learn the proper dialect of where you will live.
For beginners, I suggest to first learn some High German, or the German form Germany, as it helps to understand the basics of the language and you can speak to more people. Only then I would dive into learning Swiss German with locals directly, preferably a good friend of yours, as then you will get to learn the desired dialect as well.
I hope you find this useful and I wish you a lot of fun learning Swiss German!
Greg
For free travel tips in and around Switzerland visit switzerlandinsider.com
Contents of this video:
0:18 Languages in Switzerland
0:29 What is Swiss German?
1:33 The Difficulty with Swiss German
3:41 Should you learn Swiss German?
4:17 How to learn Swiss German!

Пікірлер: 87

@billbirkett7166 10 ай бұрын

Even if we say that Swiss German is a 'dialect', it still takes a long time to learn a true dialect. The issue is more about standardization, and since there is no standard form of Swiss German, that makes it quite difficult to learn. However, I think Swiss German will survive longer than most other German dialects precisely because it is not standardized (paradoxically). But if you really see what Swiss Germans are pronouncing when they are speaking, you will realize that Swiss German is almost as far apart from standard German as Portuguese is from Spanish. It's only called 'German' because it's sort of German-like. And every Swiss German dialect is a bit like its own secret local language, which is how most dialects USED to be across Europe (even in England). Maybe it's just because of the isolation of the mountains?

@howna13 2 жыл бұрын

So nice Greg! Thank you so much for this lovely videos! So funny and so useful!

@Larr_Leisle 2 жыл бұрын

Herzlichen Glückwunsch. Vielen Dank für ein interessantes Video und nützliche Informationen. Und nicht auf leere Kritik achten. Nochmals vielen Dank.

@ivankadagidze7074 2 жыл бұрын

Great info, thanks!

@stargazer0016 2 жыл бұрын

"Rumantsch which is made up" lmaooo - greetings from a Rumantsch speaker

@adastra3147 2 жыл бұрын

I love your videos I recently moved to CH and I find your videos hilarious

@SwitzerlandInsider 2 жыл бұрын

Welcome to Switzerland, I wish you great experiences!

@curiousnomadic Жыл бұрын

Greg you are THE BEST presenter of Switzerland there is.

@SwitzerlandInsider Жыл бұрын

Haha thanks

@seekbeautytravel 3 жыл бұрын

Like your sense of humor man, lol, thanks for the advice :)

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

I am happy that you liked the bits I included! Thanks :-)

@seekbeautytravel 3 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider By the way, why people from other cantons don't like those who are from Zurich? Switzerland seems friendly, but apperently not to everyone :)

@Sunshowers902 2 жыл бұрын

Hey cool video 🙂

@slrdave6308 3 жыл бұрын

Dude! You just broke my heart. A few months ago I decided to learn French on a phone app, and Swiss German from youtube for when I visit/maybe move to CH. And that's when I saw your other video on Swiss German. But I'm sad to hear this thing about the feelings people have based on Canton dialect. Well, a couple of weeks ago I decided to use the app for regular German because I thought traditional German would have more use for paperwork in Switzerland and speaking in Germany and Austria. Now I guess it's definitely the way to go.

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Hey Dave! You can still do it man 😄 look the thing is that it‘s present but if you are a good guy, you will overcome this easily 😉 it‘s a process and i wish you the best of luck and most of all fun!

@slrdave6308 3 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider Thanks man for the encouragement. Keep up the good work with your videos!

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Dave! Let me know if you have some Seiss German and German questions 😉

@slrdave6308 3 жыл бұрын

Haha, well as "the date" get's closer, I might just ask a few more questions. You've done very helpful videos on seeing sights most people ignore--and I take notes! On paper! So I'm...excited, and nnnnneeeerrrrvvoooouss...

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Okay sure! 😊 thanks, I am happy that you get to take something from my videos 😄👌

@justinagritzan 3 жыл бұрын

Hoi Greg! I'm learning now Swissgerman from online platform:) Interesting to know, that the dialect has connection with mentality of each region. With my German, I've still difficulties with pronunciation and writing in Swissgerman:) Danke vilmal! Liebi Grüess us Indonesien!

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Hey Dina, writing is a whole different story 😄 aber es freut mich, dass du die schöni Sprach lernsch! Mach‘s guet 😊

@justinagritzan 3 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider How many dialects are there in Switzerland, Greg? 26? Like the number of cantons? Mach's guet au ☺️

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

@@justinagritzan i have no idea 😄 i would say less, but it‘s probably more 😉

@trudidolder6122 2 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider I would say, there are many more then there are cantons. I am from the “Kandertal”. My dialect is different from the “Stadt Bern” dialect. My sister in law is from Wengen. I took us a while to really understand each other. Then there is the Emmental. It is funny to hear a “Spisser talk to an Emmentaler….. You have to experience that…….We all are from the canton Bern.

@SwitzerlandInsider 2 жыл бұрын

@@trudidolder6122 Very true, I will try to look for the different dialects next time Im in Kanton Bern!

@tessrogers6497 3 жыл бұрын

I plan on retiring in Lucerne, Switzerland in about 2 years. We live in Vancouver, BC, Canada at the moment. I have been learning High German for the last 3 months and hoped to learn that I can speak German in Luzern when We arrive. We plan on taking Swiss-German classes upon our arrival. Do you think taking Swiss-German classes is necessary? I really value your opinion. Best, Tess

@leung9401 2 жыл бұрын

Usually us swiss german speaking people understand standard german because we learn it in school. Most of us will probably ask you whether you understand swiss german or not and will automatically switch to standard german if you don't. However, some swiss people have a pretty strong accent when speaking standard german, especially older people, while younger people will try to sound more german. All in all you will be able to communicate and live a normal life speaking only standard german in Switzerland, so it is not particularly necessary to learn swiss german, but if you plan on settling permanently, I'd recommend you to learn it. Not only is it a beautiful and interesting language with a lot of unique expressions that are funny and charming, it is also pretty easy to learn when you already know standard german and it will also help you to get to know and understand swiss people and swiss culture a little bit better. :-)

@SwitzerlandInsider 2 жыл бұрын

My honest opinion is that you will just do fine with english 😄 you can learn swiss german when youre here and enjoy the process 👌

@Nwk843 Жыл бұрын

Nice explanation Greg about the culture of swiss german, in near future swiss that ARE natural talented polyglots can do swiss german that have links with hig German, alsacian, walser german,bavarian german, cimbric german, limburguish, luxemburguish 👍.

@Nwk843 Жыл бұрын

I understand you so much the swiss german today is very cantonal municipal, in other words exista many swiss germans, better a people speak high german or austro bavarian german, and luxemburguish than ALL swisses german that's Impossible cos are many dialects by canton.👍👍🫂🫂🥂🥂🥂

@clarytealife Жыл бұрын

Hello! I have a Swiss German friend who uses the word “lml” pronounced as “lermal” but have been trying to find out what it actually means. Can some Swiss Germans help?

@WaechterDerNacht 3 жыл бұрын

Hauptsach of de Charte eifach "Capuns"... Aber au die andere Charte, vorallem die metem Mittelfinger gäg Zöri, send de hammer! :-P Werd mi definitiv mol no dör es paar Videos vo der döre klicke!

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Danke Philip, versueche doch au chli Mehrwert für Schwiizer Zueschauer z bringe :-)

@jd7929 3 жыл бұрын

After learning German for ~2-4 years in school and informally (radio, music, tv), I want to start learning Swiss German 😄 ! I was wondering if you have any advice for: Learning Swiss German spoken in Züg (since there are a few people in my network that can connect me to a company in Züg) And do you recommend any Swiss French or Swiss German music? I turn on the internet radio (RTS, SRF, RSI) but most of the time I listen to it, they play English music 🙃 Anyhow, thank you and please do keep making Swiss German language (slang, phrases, pronunciation tips) learning videos 🙂! Thank you! A viewer from Los Angeles

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Hey, I am happy you enjoyed it! It‘s cool that you want to learn Swiss German and music certainly helps! What kind of music do you like? A classic (although a bit older) is Mani Matter. Popular Swiss Rock is Göla, popular hip hop is Bligg. Contemporary artists exist a lot nowadays. If you search „Mundart“ you will get some Swiss German music 😉 and if you listen to Eviva Radio on DAB you get some alpine music as it‘s the farmer‘s choice radio 😄 i think i will make some more language videos! Take care!

@jd7929 3 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider 😯! Bligg is awesome! Thanks for sharing this, please do share more Swiss German hip-hop artists 🙂! It's hard to find regional foreign music when searching overseas (i.e. iTunes, Spotify, etc) unless your locale settings are set to that and if you know what/who to search for! I've been attempting switching my locale settings for my accounts (i.e. Amazon, Google, iTunes) and adding a VPN for foreign countries, but I still get search content from the US 🙃. Also, Google forces you to revert your locale settings if your settings are for a different locale and have been searching in a different part of the world for a while. Anyhow, please do share more! Any content that a non-Swiss person or Swiss language learner would not know (i.e. who is Globi ) or find out by speaking with locals is gold 🙂! Thanks in advance, and thanks again!

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

@@jd7929 Yeah this is always a thing with these setting… cool that you like Swiss hip hop. Some more artists are: Lo & Leduc, Nemo, Mimiks, Steff la Cheffe, Breitbild, Knackeboul, Sektion Kuchikäschtli, Chlyklass and Black Tiger. I hope thats a good selection for now 😉 I will post more entertainment related content 👌😊

@Ian-dn6ld 2 жыл бұрын

@@jd7929 Hey, just saw this and thought I might add to the list. It's interesting. Just a side note. You can take your swiss and up until you reach Mannheim or so, you can actually still speak swiss and the people will generally understand. Personally, as someone who can follow Schwäbisch and write with it, I find people from Basel to be way more easy to understand than from Zürich. Anyways, Hier d'onda hao ii ebbes na'gschriebe für dich. (Hier da unten habe ich etwas hingeschrieben für dich.) (For example, in Switzerland as far as I know it's "öppis" (etwas) and "öpper" (jemand (or jem'r) whereas here around Stuttgart and in the Black Forest it's "ebbes/eppes/epp's" (etwas) and "ebber/epper" for jemand (also jem'r). L Loko & Drini Soukey Morow Eliel & Rojhat Cinnay REA & OVE Pronto Mira Mare DAWILL Stereo Luchs LCone Z the Freshman STR808 SQUAD KimBo Mondetto Starter tip if you haven't figured it out, ALL -st sounds up until you reach Mannheim in Germany about (and even into Hessen) make the -scht sound.

@jaltkitakyushyu9391 Жыл бұрын

I would disagree with you to a certain extent. I would encourage people to learn both at the same time. Before visiting Switzerland I had only learnt hoch-deutsch. Unfortunately it made the people I interacted with less comfortable than when I made the effort to learn their dialect. I also felt more socially isolated as I was unable to catch the meaning of a lot of what people were saying to each other.

@LudwikCSiadlak 2 жыл бұрын

After living in Germany for a couple of years, I consider moving to Ticino. Is Swiss-Italian a regular Italian or also a dialect that have little to do with the main language? I find Hochdeutsch being almost useless in terms of understanding Swiss, regardless of the Canton they come from :)

@SwitzerlandInsider 2 жыл бұрын

the swiss italian is a dialect, but i think you should be fine with regular italian and get to learn the swiss italian along the way. however i am not an expert in this matter.

@LeopoldoGhielmetti Жыл бұрын

In Ticino we speak proper Italian and the dialect of the region you are (there are many regions and valleys). It's good to know the dialect because many people uses it regularly, but I'm myself a native Ticinese and I don't speak dialect, only Italian, and I've never had problems (I understand the dialect well, but I'm not used at all to speak it and my mother and friends always tells me that my dialect is weird and that's better that I've avoid to speak it 😀).

@ahmetdemet1344 6 ай бұрын

Greetings from Sank Gallen, we also say Grüezi :)

@Scotzie69 3 жыл бұрын

2:38 Vouträffer!!! Gruess ä Bärner😂😂😂

@kevinschilt133 3 жыл бұрын

Question. If I go to Switzerland to visit and do research on my family, is it important to speak Swiss German?

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

If you want to speak to locals in the last farm village of the mountain then you may not go far with English. But I can offer you this: on our website (link in description) you will find a way to contact me and I will try and bridge the language gap if there is a need 😉 if you go to see administration (called Gemeinde oder Gemeindehaus) they will most likely speak English.

@IrmgardWiesner 3 жыл бұрын

Swiss German is never necessary, everyone from school age who speaks Swiss German also speaks German. For Swiss officials German and French (or French and German in the French part) are mandatory, most speak also some Italian due to the big number of immigrants. You can reasonably expect also some English in cities and suburban areas and in tourist places, but not necessarily in rural places out of nowhere.

@virtualvoice9 10 ай бұрын

For official matters in Switzerland which German language is recommended? (Swiss or standard) or both?

@SwitzerlandInsider 10 ай бұрын

Official german is standard german

@virtualvoice9 10 ай бұрын

Thank you@@SwitzerlandInsider

@bryancardoso4560 Жыл бұрын

Hey, i would love to hear from you, why people from other Kantons dont like people from Zürich. Thx for sharing it.

@SwitzerlandInsider Жыл бұрын

Hey I have planned to make such a video soon. It has mainly to do with a different mentality… people from Zurich like to work and advance whereas people from other more rural cantons like a more traditional life. Also they are often seen as arrogant and that is not untrue 😊

@trudidolder6122 2 жыл бұрын

with other words, if you speak english, most Swiss speak english anyway. Or, high German will do. It is our reading language. But, I was talking to a Zuercher and I am ae Frutiger. So, I talked to the Zuercher and there was silence. After a while he asked: parlez vous francais? So, that is as different as our dialects are. Hard to understand each other. But, I would not have it any other way. We are unique and that is wonderful.

@gipsi2001 18 күн бұрын

❤️❤️❤️

@speedy0_FPV 2 жыл бұрын

you dont..just dont, nah just think about what other people might think when you speak 0.5 words per minute (Bern) or if you live in zürich (like me) people might not like you in other regions (my dad lives in thun and when i visit him, i try to speak a bit slower to locals there, so i don't feel im from the other side of the world)

@danielgrosvenor9948 Жыл бұрын

I LEARNED NORMAL GERMAN AND GREW UP SPEAKING IT… NOW I FIND PEOPLE WHO DONT SPEAK HIGH GERMAN AND I LIVE IN BASEL AND IM LEARNING SWISS GERMAN

@dbzbudeaucaille2711 3 жыл бұрын

Hallo Greg. Ich bin Francophon-Schweizer (aus Kanton Bern) und was du am Ende sagst ist ganz richtig. Wenn man Bärndütsch nicht ganz richtig spricht, oder mit einem nicht-berner Akzent, antworten die Leute fast immer auf Hochdeutsch. Es ist sicher nicht böse gemeint, aber das hilft mir gar nicht, um meinen Schwitzerdütsch zu verbessern. In der Vergangenheit bin ich häufig nach St-Gallen gefahren und dieses Phänomen habe ich dort nicht bemerkt (vielleicht weil der Dialekt und Akzent "leichter" sind). In den Zweisprachigen Kantonen (Bern, Fribourg, Valais) sind Schwitzerdütsch-Dialekten paradoxweise nicht die einfachsten und ich habe bemerkt, dass die Romands häufig Schwierigkeiten haben, Schwitzerdütsch zu lernen und bleiben lieber mit Hochdeutsch. Ich habe deinen Kanal frisch entdeckt und schon einpaar Videos gesehen. Ich bin selber Schweizer und finde deine Videos trotzdem sehr hilfreich. Keep up the good work. :)

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Hallo, danke für deinen Input und deine Erfahrungen 😄👌 da habe ich wieder was gelernt! Es freut mich, dass du unsere Videos schaust und ich möchte dafür Danke sagen 👌😊

@dbzbudeaucaille2711 3 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider Danke dir! Es freut mich auch, deine Videos zu schauen.

@TheCocolocogirl Жыл бұрын

Hello, little heads up, people from Austria are Austrians 😉

@thabangtshepe550 3 жыл бұрын

Hey. I'm a recent subscriber and I've noticed that you always say Romansch is made up. What do you mean by this? Arent all languages made up?

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Hey Thabang, thanks for subscribing! I appreciate it a lot! The Romansh is officially called Rumantsch Grischun and it‘s a common ground language for this region. So it was specifically created. The necessity came about as people started to move more inside the region. Before there were different Romansh dialects that were so different in itself that people from one valley couldnt understand the people from the neighbouring valley. So now this Rumantsch Grischun is the fourth national language and about 1% of the population speak it. The area is in Graubünden and it‘s absolutely amazing there. But in a sense you are right, all the languages are somehow made up and accepted by the people that speak it 👌😊

@thabangtshepe550 3 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider Thanks for the clarification, I get what you mean now. I'll hit the bell notification!

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

@@thabangtshepe550 I have never actually explained that, so thanks for bringing this up :-) Thanks for the bell, I will do my best to make it worth!

@user-cl4pw2sg6r 10 ай бұрын

0:01 Most Swiss thing I know: "Its not possible to learn swiss german, Dont even try"

@violetchanel438 2 жыл бұрын

and I plan to migrate here and want to learn German.... oh my gosh I am officially intimidated

@oksananevyerova3375 2 жыл бұрын

You are funny!

@youSupaflyy 5 ай бұрын

Hopp Bärndüütsch für immer

@nicolascarnot4857 2 жыл бұрын

"E bin an bündner Steinbock,,

@gipsi2001 18 күн бұрын

I wouldn't say it is made up of accents. Only when German Swiss speak high German they have a Swiss accent. Quite pronounced as the case may be 😂😂😂

@elsvenjo8603 3 жыл бұрын

Your english sound suspiciously mexican, Bro🤣 Aber so schnurred mer viellicht halt in Züri! Aber geile Humor!!👍🏻👍🏻🤣

@oscillatorstorm 11 ай бұрын

Austrialians 👽

@mariannehansen2691 4 ай бұрын

Really? So Swiss react more nicely to German-speakers than they do to Swiss-German speakers? REALLY?

@gipsi2001 18 күн бұрын

@icyjazz36 3 жыл бұрын

Basel > Züri

@SwitzerlandInsider 3 жыл бұрын

Hesch‘s krokodil uf di falsch siite gmacht 😉

@icyjazz36 3 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider 😂

@marilinebraz2832 2 жыл бұрын

So you are basically saying that is you don’t speak the dialect in a certain place you are discriminated? Sounds like racism to me. Swiss people think their dialect is so special. Like if it was another language but it is not. It is just a simplified Version of German. A lazy version of German and it also sounds as bad as German sound. I wish Swiss German could become an official language. I live in St. Gallen and the dialect sounds similar to yours. I am tired of people telling me I must learn official German when everyone speaks only the dialect and they dislike speaking German. How can I learn a language that the locals hate to speak? I am having a hard time here and I’ve been in Switzerland almost for 5 years and I am married with a Swiss. Please can you give me any advices. I really would like to learn only the dialect

@SwitzerlandInsider 2 жыл бұрын

You summed it up really well! 😄 its hard to give advice as you know you have had no problem with speaking english the last couple of years! But you want to learn. So do it 😄 forget what everyone thinks! I made this video to prevent long faces for people who dont know about the situation, but you clearly do! I wish you all the best! Du wirsch din wäg finde!

@marilinebraz2832 2 жыл бұрын

@@SwitzerlandInsider thanks 🙏🏼

@gipsi2001 18 күн бұрын

Yes our many dialects are niche languages. They are not widely understood. Even Facebook can't automatically translate them. I suggest you never talk about 'swiss German' as it can't be quantified. Whittle it down to the different regions in the different Cantons which makes more sense. If you speak high German then there is no need to learn local dialects. Incidentally Germany also has a fair number of dialects which are almost impossible to understand, so they too have to use high German. When I speak English I have a kiwi accent, slightly posh, because that's where I live. Best wishes Verena