Swiss German

This article is about the closely related languages that are mainly spoken in German speaking Switzerland. For the Swiss variety of written Standard German, see Swiss Standard German.

Swiss German
Schwiizerdütsch
Pronunciation[ˈʃʋitsərˌd̥ytʃ]
Native toSwitzerland (as German), Liechtenstein, Vorarlberg (Austria), Piedmont & Aosta Valley (Italy)
Native speakers
4.93 million in Switzerland (2013)[1]
Unknown number in Germany and Austria
Language codes
ISO 639-2gsw
ISO 639-3gsw (with Alsatian)
Glottologswis1247
wals1238
Linguasphere(45 varieties: 52-ACB-faa to -fkb) 52-ACB-f (45 varieties: 52-ACB-faa to -fkb)
IETFgsw[2]
Swiss German is classified as Potentially Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[3]
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
A Swiss German speaker

Swiss German (Standard German: Schweizerdeutsch, Alemannic German: Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,[note 1] and others) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy bordering Switzerland. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg, which are closely associated to Switzerland's.[4][5]

Linguistically, Alemannic is divided into Low, High and Highest Alemannic, varieties all of which are spoken both inside and outside Switzerland. The only exception within German-speaking Switzerland is the municipality of Samnaun, where a Bavarian dialect is spoken. The reason Swiss German dialects constitute a special group is their almost unrestricted use as a spoken language in practically all situations of daily life, whereas the use of the Alemannic dialects in other countries is restricted or even endangered.[6]

The dialects that comprise Swiss German must not be confused with Swiss Standard German, the variety of Standard German used in Switzerland. Swiss Standard German is fully understandable to all speakers of Standard German, while many people in Germany – especially in the north – do not understand Swiss German. An interview with a Swiss German speaker, when shown on television in Germany, will require subtitles.[7] Although Swiss German is the native language in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, Swiss school students are taught Swiss Standard German from the age of six. They are thus capable of understanding, writing and speaking Standard German, with varying abilities.

  1. ^ "Sprachen, Religionen – Daten, Indikatoren: Sprachen – Üblicherweise zu Hause gesprochene Sprachen" [Languages, Religions - Data, Indicators: Languages - Languages commonly spoken at home] (official site) (in German, French, and Italian). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016. Zu Hause oder mit den Angehörigen sprechen 60,1% der betrachteten Bevölkerung hauptsächlich Schweizerdeutsch [At home or with relatives, 60.1% of the population considered mainly speak Swiss German]
  2. ^ "Swiss German". IANA language subtag registry. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Central Alemannic | UNESCO WAL". Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ R.E. Asher; Christopher Moseley (19 April 2018). Atlas of the World's Languages. Taylor & Francis. pp. 309–. ISBN 978-1-317-85108-0. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. ^ D. Gorter; H. F. Marten; L. Van Mensel (13 December 2011). Minority Languages in the Linguistic Landscape. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 161–. ISBN 978-0-230-36023-5. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Family: Alemannic". Glottolog. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ^ "10vor10 – Nachrichtenmagazin von Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen" (in German). 3sat – ZDF ORF SRG ARD, the television channel collectively produced by four channels from three countries. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015. Swiss German talks and interviews on the daily night news show 10vor10 by the major German Swiss channel SRF1 is consistently subtitled in German on 3sat


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