Bernese German (Standard German: Berndeutsch, Alemannic German: Bärndütsch, pronounced [ˈb̥ærnd̥ytʃ]) is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss Central Plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. It belongs to the broader continuum of Swiss German dialects and serves as the everyday vernacular for the German-speaking majority in the canton, approximately 910,000 speakers.
Classification
Bernese German is a member of the Indo-European language family, within the Germanic branch, West Germanic group, High German subgroup, Upper German division, Alemannic group, and High Alemannic subgroup. It is written in the Latin script. Glottolog code: bern1242; Linguasphere: 52-ACB-fc; IETF language tag: gsw-u-sd-chbe.
Varieties
There is considerable regional variation within Bernese German dialects. With the increasing importance of the agglomeration of Bern, the variety spoken in the city of Bern is spreading and levelling older village dialects.
Until the second half of the 20th century, four distinct sociolects existed in the city of Bern:
- Patrician Bernese German – spoken by the high society; lacks l-vocalisation and nd-velarisation, uses the French uvular trill instead of the alveolar trill, and incorporates more French loanwords.
- Native city population variety
- Countryside immigrant variety
- Mattenenglisch (Matte-English) – spoken by the generally poor inhabitants of the old town district called Matte. Despite its name, it has little relation to English but contains loanwords from Jenisch, Rotwelsch, and Yiddish.
A form of Bernese German is also spoken by the Swiss Amish affiliation of the Old Order Amish in Adams County, Indiana, United States, and other settlements primarily in Indiana.
Phonology
Bernese German is distinguished from other Swiss German dialects by several characteristic features:
- Shortening of high vowels: e.g., Zyt [tsit] 'time', Lüt [lyt] 'people', lut [lut] 'loud' — contrasting with long vowels in other Alemannic dialects such as Zurich German (Ziit [tsiːt], Lüüt [lyːt], luut [luːt]).
- L-vocalisation: e.g., Hauue [ˈhɑu̯wə] 'hall', Esu [ˈɛz̥u] 'donkey' (cf. Standard German Halle, Esel). This has expanded the repertoire of diphthongs and triphthongs.
- Velarisation of /nd/ to /ŋɡ/: e.g., angers [ˈɑŋːərs] 'different' (cf. Standard German anders).
- Diphthong pronunciation: Words such as Fleisch [v̥lɛi̯ʒ̊] 'flesh' and Oug [ɔu̯ɡ̊] 'eye' use the diphthongs /ei/ and /ou/, not /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ as in some other dialects.
Pragmatics
As in other Western Swiss German dialects and in French, the polite form of address uses the second person plural rather than the third person plural as in Standard German.
Grammar
Like other Swiss German dialects, Bernese German preserves the original grammatical gender distinction in the numerals for 'two' and 'three':
- zwe Manne (two men) – masculine
- zwo Froue (two women) – feminine
- zwöi Ching (two children) – neuter
For 'three', there are two forms: drei (masculine/feminine) and drü (neuter).
Vocabulary
Notable shibboleths of Bernese German include:
- äuä (pronounced [ˈæ̞wːæ̞ː]) – a modal particle expressing assumption or certainty, also used as a pro-sentence expressing disbelief (similar to "no way!" or "really?").
- (j)ieu – 'yes'
- geng (or ging, gäng) – 'always'
- Miuchmäuchterli – 'milk can'
- mängisch – 'sometimes' (cf. Standard German manchmal)
- gäu / gäuet – question tag meaning 'isn't it?'
Literature and Media
Although primarily a spoken language (Standard German is used for formal writing), Bernese German has a relatively extensive literary tradition dating to the early 20th century. Grammars and dictionaries exist. Notable works include translations of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, Virgil's Aeneid, the New and Old Testaments, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.
In cinema, the 2014 film Der Goalie bin ig (English: I Am the Keeper), with dialogue entirely in Bernese German, won four Swiss Film Awards including Best Feature Film.
In music, Bernese German songs have gained popularity across German-speaking Switzerland, notably those of Mani Matter. Bands singing in Bernese German include Patent Ochsner, Züri West, and Stiller Has.
