| Walser German | |
|---|---|
| Walscher, Wallissertitsch | |
 Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects | |
| Region | upper Valais & Walser, the Alps |
| Ethnicity | Walser People |
Native speakers | 22,780 (10,000 in Switzerland) (2004)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wae |
| Glottolog | wals1238 |
| IETF | wae[2] |
 Walser German is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Walser German (German: Walserdeutsch) and Walliser German (Walliserdeutsch, locally Wallisertiitsch) are a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in parts of Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Grisons), Italy (Piedmont, Aosta Valley), Liechtenstein (Triesenberg, Planken), and Austria (Vorarlberg).[3]
Usage of the terms Walser and Walliser has come to reflect a difference of geography, rather than language. The term Walser refers to those speakers whose ancestors migrated into other Alpine valleys in medieval times, whereas Walliser refers only to a speaker from Upper Valais – that is, the upper Rhone valley. In a series of migrations during the Late Middle Ages, people migrated out of the Upper Valais, across the higher valleys of the Alps.
- ^ Walser German at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020)
- ^ "Walser". IANA language subtag registry. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ Dal Negro, Silvia (2014). "Language contact and variation patterns in Walser German subordination". STUF - Language Typology and Universals. 67 (4): 469–487. doi:10.1515/stuf-2014-0025. S2CID 146871462.
