German people. Can you understand "Schweizerdeutsch" and "Ă

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Alwin E

I am Bavarian, so please read my answers with regard to this.

A.1: I understand Ă–sterreichisch very well because it's similar to Bavarian. I don't understand Swiss German, and it has little similarity to the Hochdeutsch generally spoken in Germany. The Swiss TV subtitle their programmes that are meant for a German or Austrian audience when the conferenciers speak Swiss, but use standard German on regular broadcasts or news reports.

A.2: I use Bavarian, because it's my home dialect, and the Austrians appreciate it; usually, you would use Hochdeutsch.

A.3: I would use Hochdeutsch, because I am German. Using English would make me seem arrogant and would be an insult to the Swiss person I am talking with because it would mean I treat him like a foreigner who has no clue of the German language. Even towards the people from the French-speaking part of Switzerland I would use German, because their knowledge of German is usually better than my knowledge of French.

A.4: I like them both, yes. And there is no "German" language. The language which is called "Hochdeutsch" or "standard German" never really existed, and doesn't exist. I grew up with a Bavarian dialect (or language, if you want), and everybody within the "deutsche Sprachraum" (German language zone) will have to learn how to read, write AND speak Hochdeutsch in his first years of school or kindergarten. We don't speak "German" by nature, but rather local dialects. We LEARN German. All of us.

A.5: Varies. There are many local traditions. But in families with children, there will always be a christmas tree. I remember helping my father to prepare the tree in our cellar, and him telling me "boy, you're old enough now to not believe in that stuff any more, but your li'l sister believes, will you help me?". Cheers to my old man, wherever he may be!

Simon

1)yes
2)deutsch
3)deutsch
4)i regard them as a dialect

BLAA

1: yes, we can.

2: we speak german to each other. no other language. austrians only have an accent to germans.

3: we speak german. but not all swiss people speak german. they might speak italian or french, depending what area of switzerland.

4: i dont like how they talk. (its just like an american, listens to a british, and wise versa too). its just an dialect, but not a different language.

-Nata-

1. yes we can understand them, but if they talk to fast or too strong dialect then its a bit a hard.

2. when we talk to an austrian, we talk "hochdeutsch".

3.same thing when we talk to a swiss.

4. i think these dialects are weird but okay. and i donÂ´t feel like its an seperate language because every german area has its on dialect.

5. on the 24th in the evening we go to church, eat something simple(like potatosalad&sausages), kids get presents..on the 25th & 26th we eat something special like goose. and celebrate with relatives.

merry christmas ( frohe weihnachten) !!!

Poppy_I.

I agree to most of the answers here, also to Alwin E.

But one thing I must contradict @Alwin E: We do not ALL learn German only in school. There are people who speak this during childhood at home, mainly in the Hannover area. Myself, I also spoke "Hochdeutsch" (high German) and had no problems in school. My parents were from West Prussia.

I do have problems to understand Bavarians, often. They speak very different, and when they talk fast, you can hardly follow. Same applies to Austrian. Switzerland people are more easy to understand, the difference may be compared to Spanish in Spain and Spanish in Mexico.

About Christmas: Every family has its tradition. Most families with children have an X-mas tree (real tree with real candles) set up in the evening of the 24th. At approximately 5 pm. children are allowed in the living room, to see the tree and the gifts beneath. Some families sing X-mas songs, others have a large dinner, some watch TV. But all open their presents and are full of happiness. Some families go to church in the evening. The 2 days after are holidays, where you visit your relatives or good friends, you eat and drink a lot of good things.

Thomas t

A1) Austrian german: yes we can; SchwizerdĂĽtsch: its hard to understand it, its like a different language. There is a difference between swiss people talking german with a swiss language and the "language" SchwizerdĂĽtsch.

A2) As there are very very few differences between austrian german and standardgerman, we talk to each other in standard german.

A3) Depends on where you are in Switzerland. In the italian or french speaking part, you should try english ;)
In the "german" speaking part, you can try hochdeutsch, because everybody can speak it. But sometimes they just answer you in SchwizerdĂĽtsch, just to make you mad.

A4) Austrian German is, in my opinion, the same language. Maybe like a dialect, but no problems in understanding each other (germans and austrians)
SchwizerdĂĽtsch is nearly a different language. But all people talking schwizerdĂĽtsch can also talk standardgerman (with swiss accent of course), becaus their written language is standard german.

A5) Main difference to (for example) usa: Gift giving is on 24 in the evening. The Rest is nearly the same

porky

1) austrians are understandable with their dialect, but the swiss are impossible. swiss german and high german are like spanish and italian, or worse even.

2) with austrians, usually start off with austrian german, and if understading is prooving difficult, we change to high.

3) swiss people love to talk in english, so if you cant understand the swizerdutch, they normally go to english, because high german is a second language to them too, and they would rather make mistakes while speaking english than german, becuase they are supposed to be good at german.

4)after you get usedd to them, they aren't so bad. i think austrians speak german, but the swiss, that's another language.

5) we have so many traditions, there are too many to explain. . .

Zoe Dot

1. I'm not German, but I speak German and lived in Germany for awhile. Yes, I can understand different dialects of German.

2. Yes, standard German is used.

3. Same

4. Yes, I like to hear Swiss German. It is very sing song.

5. Germans like their Christmas markets and celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve.

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German people. Can you understand "Schweizerdeutsch" and "Ă–sterreichisches Deutsch" ?