What does it take for a mother-tongue German speaker to re-programme a language they have spoken their entire life? Some Germans who move to Switzerland are learning the dialect spoken in much of the country, in an effort to really fit in.
[…] Trying to get their heads around the intricacies of the Swiss German language is not only a linguistic challenge, it also brings up complex issues of identity – how does the language they’re learning sit with high German, when they have so much in common, but key differences? What message does it send to the Swiss when someone who already speaks German, adds another layer to their language – that of dialect? More.
See: SWI swissinfo.ch
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United States
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I lived in Germany for three years back in the 1980s and learned to speak German on a very rudimentary level. Once, I was in a meeting with some Germans and a man born in Switzerland who spoke High German very clearly. When I commented on how easy he was to understand (unlike the Germans in the meaning, although I didn't say that), he responded that it was because he had learned High German as a foreign language.
[Edited at 2016-02-24 16:59 GMT]
United Kingdom
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Getting back to the theme of the article, I suspect the perception that Swiss German sounds quite amusing to a native German is at least as big a barrier as the linguistic barrier itself. I cannot imagine many English speakers being willing to learn Highland Scots, for example - though perhaps if there were a booming economy up in the hills of the West Coast of Scotland there might be some interest. But it would still have more to do with fitting in than actually conducting business, it is safe to say.
Anyone willing to put themselves out to actually learn a dialect of their own language is showing a lot of respect to their adopted country and countrymen. The strange thing is, in the case in view they may eventually get a few smiles from visiting speakers of High German, and it would be very interesting to hear how that made them feel!
*'fair dos to' = 'give [the people in question] their due' (in Scouse)
[Edited at 2016-03-02 20:45 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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