Swiss German is characterized by the frequent use of the diminutive. This means that nouns are usually “reduced in size” by adding the suffix “li” to them. The counterpart in High German is the ending “chen/lein”. If you don’t speak
With those Swiss German words you will survive
In Switzerland we speak Swiss German. Although it comes from High German, it is a dialect of its own. A German from Stuttgart may still understand us, but a German from Hamburg has no chance. Although High German is his
Moving from the US to Switzerland
If you are planning on moving to Switzerland from the United States, you will want to be well prepared. It is very important that you take the time to learn about the area and the culture, the language, and the
Why is Swiss German a dialect and not a language of its own?
If you ask why Swiss German is not a language of its own, but rather ‘mere’ a dialect, you are also asking about the difference between what is termed a language and what is a dialect. This requires some clarification.
Lausanne – the Olympia of modern times
The most famous five rings of modern times are not Greek; they are Swiss. In 1915, the chairman of the then IOC, Pierre de Coubertin, declared Lausanne to be the home of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In 1994, the
How can I learn Swiss-German most effectively? Part one: free resources
As we are always increasing the content on this website, we would like to summarise all the ways you can learn Swiss-German on learn-swiss-german.ch. This three part blog series are designed to help you answer the question of how to learn
The city of Sion – the sunny side of Switzerland
Sion (or Sitten in German) is the capital city of Valais. It is situated in the south west of Switzerland at the confluence of the Sionne and Rhone at an elevation of approximately 500 m. The city lies in the
Swiss German for Beginners
In this article we want to focus on the fundamentals of learning Swiss German. In other words, the key topic of this article is how beginners can learn Swiss German. Everyday, we get enquiries from absolute beginner who have no