11.3 Austria and Switzerland — three standards of one language — Epoché
What you will be able to do Explain why German is a pluricentric language with three national standards, each with its own dictionary and school norm. Recognise common Austrian words ( Jänner, Paradeiser, Erdäpfel, Sackerl, Spital, heuer ) and Swiss words ( Velo, Trottoir, parkieren ). Understand the Swiss situation: standard German for writing, Swiss German dialects for speaking, and four national languages. Know the main differences of spelling, pronunciation and grammar, and choose one standard for your own writing. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Die Spargelernte beginnt dieses Jahr früher. [1] The asparagus harvest will start earlier this year. Die reden nicht mehr miteinander. [2] They don't talk to each other anymore. Wir sind nicht miteinander verheiratet. [3] We're not married to each other. Ich habe einen Sack Kartoffeln gekauft. [4] I bought a bag of potatoes. Als ich die Tür öffnete, stand dort ein unbekannter Mann. [5] As I opened the door, there stood an unknown man. Prerequisites : 11.2 — you need the overview of the German-speaking countries in 11.1 Background , the regional and dialect vocabulary of 5.19 Vocabulary and 6.23 Conversation , and the Austrian words in Kafka's German from 7.16 Reading . In 11.1 Background you learned that German has three codified standards, not one. This lesson looks at them more closely. An English speaker will find the situation familiar from British, American and Australian English, but in German the differences reach further into everyday vocabulary, and in Switzerland they meet a second phenomenon that English hardly knows: a whole society that speaks one form of the language and writes another. Three standards, three dictionaries Linguists call German a pluricentric language: it has several centres, each with a standard of its own. Germany, Austria and Switzerland each define correct German for their schools, their authorities and their media. Austria has its own official dictionary, the Österreichisches Wörterbuch , used in its schools; Switzerland's norms are recorded in Swiss reference works; and the general German dictionaries mark national variants with labels such as Austrian or Swiss . A word that is standard in Vienna is not a dialect word just because it is unknown in Hamburg. The status of Austrian words even entered international law. When Austria joined the European Union in 1995, a protocol to its accession treaty listed Austrian food terms, among them Erdäpfel , Paradeiser , Marillen and Topfen , that must be accepted alongside the German ones in EU documents. Austria Austria Germany English der Jänner der Januar January die Erdäpfel die Kartoffeln potatoes der Paradeiser die Tomate tomato das Sackerl die Tüte (plastic or paper) bag das Spital das Krankenhaus hospital heuer dieses Jahr this year Austrian standard German is recognisable by its vocabulary, especially for food, months and administration, by its pronunciation, which is softer and often stresses words differently ( Kaffee is stressed on the last syllable), and by a few points of grammar shared with southern Germany. Verbs of position form their perfect with sein : an Austrian says ich bin gesessen where a northern German says ich habe gesessen . Austrians also use academic and professional titles in address more than Germans do, as you read in 11.1 Background . Kafka's Kasten and Verkühlung in 7.16 Reading were Austrian words in the Prague of the Habsburg empire. Switzerland Switzerland Germany English das Velo das Fahrrad bicycle das Trottoir der Bürgersteig pavement, sidewalk parkieren parken to park das Spital das Krankenhaus hospital No ß . Swiss standard German writes ss in every position. Swiss schools stopped teaching the letter in the twentieth century, and the last major newspaper to use it, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung , dropped it in 1974. A Swiss text writes Strasse and gross where a German one writes Straße and groß . French loans. Many everyday Swiss words come from French: Velo , Trottoir , and merci as the ordinary way to say thank you. Swiss German also likes verbs in -ieren where Germany uses a shorter form: parkieren for parken . Speaking one language, writing another. In German-speaking Switzerland almost everybody speaks a Swiss German dialect, Schweizerdeutsch , in every situation of daily life: at home, at work, on the radio, in the debates of many cantonal parliaments (the federal parliament debates in standard German), increasingly in text messages. Standard German is the language of writing, of school lessons and of formal news. Linguists call this division of roles diglossia. For learners, it means that you can read Swiss newspapers easily but may not understand a conversation in a Zurich tram; the Swiss, for their part, switch to standard German as soon as they notice that you do not understand dialect. Switzerland also has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Which standard should you use? For your own speaking and writing, choose one standard and use it consistently. If you live in Vienna, learn the Austrian words for food and the months, because using Tomate and Januar there marks you as a visitor from Germany. If you write for a Swiss audience, leave out the ß . Otherwise, the German standard taught in this course is understood everywhere and is what most dictionaries, courses and examinations use. What matters most is to recognise the other standards when you meet them, and not to mistake them for errors or for dialect. In real sentences German English Dieses Velo gehört meinem Bruder. [6] This bicycle belongs to my brother. Ich verstehe kein Schweizerdeutsch. [7] I don't understand Swiss German. Wollen wir Schweizerdeutsch miteinander reden? [8] Shall we speak Swiss German together? Ich spreche Rätoromanisch. [9] I speak Romansh. Es ist ein Bub. [10] It's a boy. Terms Eight national variants, each with a corpus example.