German?

Re: German?

MeInHoney - 31.10.2006, 15:43
German?
Hey all!
Just one single question...

Can you write Frida in German or not?I admit IŽm a little confused because everybodyŽs telling something different...but when she lives in Switzeland, she should speak German, eh? :shock: :wink:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxMIHxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Re: German?

Carribean - 31.10.2006, 19:12

Swiss German is very different from the so called hoch Deutsch that is taught in Swiss schools.

Re: German?

Carribean - 31.10.2006, 19:41

The pronounciation is very different. I speak German very well but I hardly understand Swiss.

There are some people who claim Frida speaks German but she has been interviewed for German tv in 2004 and very recently and did both interviews in English.

But maybe Frida is just unsure about her skills!

Re: German?

jerry@theoffice - 03.11.2006, 14:35

Sorry to get a bit off-topic now...

Actually, there is not a spoken language that's called Swiss German. Swiss German contains of dozens of different dialects that are spoken in the German speaking part of Switzerland. Sometimes it's even hard for the Swiss to understand a certain dialect. As I live in the north, it's very difficult for me to understand the people from the southwest, the part where Frida lives/used to live (wasn't it Zermatt?). The dialect from the northeast or the northwest is of course closer to the dialects that are spoken in the south of Germany. :wink:

Chris

Re: German?

jerry@theoffice - 04.11.2006, 08:12

Hi Carribean

As I said in my first post, there are dozens of dialects in Switzerland, which are, of course Swiss dialects. A language called "Swiss" does not exist, neither does "Swiss German". All the dialects together are commonly called Swiss German, because they are spoken in Switzerland. Just as the Austrian dialects are spoken in Austria and the German dialects are spoken in Germany. Some of them are closer to the language "German" and some are not. The written language, in books and newspapers, in these three countries is German. We here in Switzerland therefore learn German in school, but we never speak German with each other, only with foreigners. Our mothertongue nevertheless is called German. So, in fact, there are four different languages "spoken" in Switzerland: German (which means: all the dialects), French in the west, Italian in the south, and Rhaeto-Romanic (just a tiny bit) in the southeast.

Some hundred years ago, the Dutch dialects used to be classified as German dialects, too. But the Dutch at some point were clever enough to classify their different dialects as one language called Dutch (Algemeen beschaafd Nederlands/Standaardnederlands). Something that never happened here in Switzerland. Therefore the language that Switzerland, Germany and Austria (and Liechtenstein, of course) have in common, is German (Hochdeutsch). Dutch and the Swiss dialects have some words in common, which are different in German (e.g. room - Raam - Sahne).

Hope that helps. :)

Chris

Re: German?

Maxi-saxi - 06.11.2006, 04:07

Not sure but I did read somewhere where Frida can speak several different languages, so who know's :lol:

Maxi-saxi