For me, it's the multilingual chatter of everyday life. The local Swiss German (Züridütsch) dominates the soundscape, but it's mixed with dozens of other languages: other Swiss German dialects (not that I can always be sure which ones), high German (quite often), Russian (more than I would have guessed), French (less often than I would have guessed), Portuguese (Brazilian and European), Italian (sometimes), and English. Once I even listened to an African man talk on his cell phone in a language I'd never heard.
But the primary sounds are the sounds of Swiss German, especially the local version. I really love its lilting rhythms, its many ü's and drawn-out, rounded a's, and of course its distinctive "ch" sound. These days I sometimes think I am catching a few words, almost understanding what people around me are saying. It's an illusion, of course, as taking this excellent online quiz proved. I did get one right, because I know that der grosse Kanton is Deustchland.
Try it yourself. Verstehen Sie Schweizerduetsch?
Story by Kathy
Posts
Hi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your insights on Switzerland's multilingual character!
It is my opinion that picking up different dialects and languages throughout the day, every day, makes living in this country unique...
What magazine do you write for, by the way? ;-)
Take care,
Dimitri
Thanks for commenting, Dimitri. Love your blog-- incredible how you keep the stories coming.
ReplyDeleteI don't write for it so much as edit it, and it's just a little volunteer magazine. When I want to sound grand, I call it a "controlled circulation" magazine, which is what the editor of Departures called his in an interview ;)