Coming to Switzerland, I was told of the difference between "Swiss German" and "High German". However, I can definitely say that I did not understand at all, and the variation between these two languages has been a big part of my life here.
It's hard to explain the relationship between these two dialects, but I imagine it something like the difference between Acadian French, and France French. Technically the "same language" but neither can really understand the other. There are many different dialects of Swiss German, even between towns right next to each other. The Swiss can easily tell where someone lives based on their accent. However, the variation in these dialects is so strong that if someone from the North went to a more Southern area, they probably couldn't understand each other, and would instead speak High German, or English. High German is the more official, or formal language for Switzerland. Swiss German is derived from High German and has many shortened forms of High German words. Some words differ by merely accent, and others have an entirely different word.
For Example:
English High German Swiss German
carrots karroten ruebli
three drei drue
cupboard kuchenshrank chuchichastli
Swiss German is spoken at home and between friends, but students learn to read and write in High German, and teachers speak High German at school, as school is technically "totally in High German". But- students still talk to each other in class and on break in Swiss German. In the same way that Taiwanese is not a written language, and the Taiwanese instead use Mandarine for writing and in school, Swiss German is a mostly oral language. However, my host family explained to me that as more and more kids are getting cell phones, the formality of High German is thrown to the wind and Swiss German is used more and more through technology.
I have been told that people here don't like to speak High German. Swiss German is their first language, and English is the "cool" language. The heirarchy of languages goes: SwissGerman>English>EverythingElse>HighGerman. So I am finding that a lot of people would rather speak English to me than High German. First of all it is easier, because I actually understand it, and secondly, they like the opportunity to practise their English.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO ME: I am learning High German. At my language course, we were taught High German, as it is the "official" German language. This means that I have nothing to do with Swiss German. So when my family or schoolmates talk, they speak Swiss German. That means that I can't understand their conversation, or attempt to participate. They will either make an attempt to speak High German if I'm with them (which doesn't usually last long) or take pauses to explain to me in High German or English the general idea of conversation. So I'm stuck not understanding while everyone else involves in conversation- not to mention when they laugh at a joke and I still have no idea what is going on (I usually laugh too). It makes it difficult to learn High German when everything around me is happening in Swiss German. I guess it's part of the challenge of learning German is Switzerland!
My High German is coming along and I am now up to caveman grammer, " Me Bus Go" or " Me Play No Volleyball". However stupid I sound, I always try to speak German because I know the more I speak, the better I get. I think my host family has finally starting laughing at me when I say "Das ist Gut" (That is good) because for my first couple weeks that was pretty much the only German I knew that applied to every situation. No matter what someone said to me "Das ist gut." always seemed to fit. I guess that is a reflection of my exchange so far. Everything has been very positive, and although some days are harder than others, I haven't had a bad day yet.
Some of the sounds between English and German are really different, so my class is currently coaching me on my accent. I have had people say things to me like, "You aren't making the right sounds. You have to pretend you have something in your throat and that you're choking." Needless to say... I haven't quite got the hang of it yet.
Language Camp helped a lot, and I have been working hard on my German so I am pretty proud of how far I have come in three and a half weeks! If I keep learning this much, I think I will be a master by the end of the year!
[sorry this post was a little (or a lot) long and boring but it's important cultural exchange stuff that I just have to get out of my system. I promise to update more about life and school soon!]
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