Language and Identity

Some thoughts on Swiss identity and our use of Swiss High German

A bit of background

If you’ve been following me on Social Media you will know that there are four languages in Switzerland – Swiss German, Swiss French, Swiss Italian and Rumansh. I put “Swiss” in front of our three main languages for a reason. Swiss French and Swiss Italian can be readily understood by other speakers of French or Italian. There might be some vocabulary or grammar differences, but generally no problems. I’m not familiar enough with some of the Italian dialects that are spoken in the Swiss canton of Ticino. So, that might be an entirely different story. What I’m trying to get at is that in general French and Italian speakers in Switzerland don’t have to adapt their language at all to speak to their neighbors in France or Italy.

Swiss German is different – very different. It’s essentially a collection of dialects. Every German speaking canton has their own variety. We can all pretty much understand each other, but vocabulary differences can be interesting. You would not believe how many different Swiss German words there are for the core of an apple. And I can tell you we are all proud to point out which word we use and also eager to see if it fits geographically to where we grew up. Here’s the map.

from: https://kleinersprachatlas.ch/karte-15-apfel

Swiss German used to be only spoken. Growing up nobody would write notes or letters (this was pre-e-mail) in Swiss German and it was understood to be spoken only. Then came cell phones and text messages and things started to change. There are NO spelling rules in Swiss German so everybody writes the words the way they say them. It’s really kind of fascinating. Also, Google translate gets very confused and doesn’t recognize the language. It’s a fun game. If you’re Swiss you should try it.

High German – this is where it gets complicated

Well, I mentioned above that with Swiss French and French French there were no communication problem, but Swiss German is not really understood north of the border. There are exceptions (border regions), but I’ll generalize here for the sake of my argument. So, how do we communicate in business, in schools, at university and what language is used in our newspapers? It’s Swiss High German (Schweizer Hochdeutsch). The difference between Swiss High German and (German) High German is similar to that between British and American English. There are many lexical differences and also some grammatical differences. Plus, did you know that the Germans have a letter we don’t use? It’s the β – I had to go look for that one under “symbols”; it’s not on my keyboard. Side note: If you want to buy a keyboard there is usually a special Swiss version. We like to be different.

Back to the point I was making – whereas everybody accepts that British and American speakers don’t sound the same, we are often made fun of for our Swiss accent. I remember back in school when we were taught to speak like High German and the goal was for people not to hear that we were Swiss. Make sure your German is really good, so nobody knows you’re Swiss?! How damaging a lesson is that?! I used to think that way too. And I was not aware that there was such a thing as Swiss High German. Later at university one of my professors said that she could always tell if a paper was written by a Swiss student as opposed to a German one. Well, I should hope so. You would also be able to tell the difference between an American and a British student’s paper.

I looked at Duolingo and tried out German a while back. I was told the word “Spital” was wrong and that I was meant to use “Krankenhaus” (for hospital). Clearly Swiss High German had not made it into the App. I flagged several instances of Swiss High German words not being accepted, but I haven’t checked back since.

I know people mean no harm when they call our Swiss accent cute but be careful – we might just switch to Swiss German and that’s that. Also, could Germans please stop telling us it’s “die E-Mail”? Just look it up in Duden and leave us alone. Duden is the authority on the German languages, and it has all the Swiss variations as well. So, both die/das E-Mail are perfectly acceptable.

Does everybody understand Swiss German?

Oh, the dreaded questions at the top of any meeting or workshop! If the answer is “no” there is usually an audible groan, because that means we all have to speak Swiss High German and it’s just not the same. I mean, I’ve written academic papers, articles for company magazines, given countless presentations and it’s not really a big deal to switch to Swiss High German. Still, I don’t like it. And there is a very very noticeable difference between a group of Swiss people speaking their local dialects and a group of Swiss people having to speak Swiss High German. I very deliberately said “having to speak”. It’s the official language of school, newspapers, the government – it’s not us.

Language and identity

When I listened to a member of the Ute mountain Ute tribe talk about how English is not her native language and how not being able to speak her native language in her everyday life was difficult for her, it made me think about language and identity. I realize that her situation is entirely different, still - it made me consider Swiss identity related to language.

I have no problem switching languages. I usually write in English, because most of my friends are English speakers or are fluent in English. I can switch back to Swiss German without a problem whatsoever. Now, if I have to switch from English to Swiss High German that sometimes takes a bit more time.

In many countries speaking dialects is also linked to class. In Switzerland that’s not the case at all. It’s purely geographic. If I walk a few kilometers west, the normal greeting switches from “Grüezi” to “Grüessech” and I love that. While we might prefer certain dialects to others, some have more speakers than others and some cantons – like mine – even have sub-dialects; we’re all in this together.

I wrote this for people to understand that our dialects are part of our identity. Also, no one variety of a language is better than another. Learn to appreciate the differences and embrace them. Any Germans reading this – educated yourself before you make fun of Swiss High German and DEFINITELY educate yourselves before “correcting” our language. You’ll have an easier time living here. Trust me.

When people tell me I have a Swiss accent when speaking High German, I now ask them – “I’m Swiss what kind of an accent am I supposed to have?”. I’m done being ashamed of my accent or being shamed for it. I’m Swiss and this is how I speak High German – the Swiss way.

Sources

https://kleinersprachatlas.ch/

https://kleinersprachatlas.ch/karte-15-apfel

https://www.idiotikon.ch/

For anybody who wants to know more on the lexical differences – look up “Helvetisms”