Swiss Standard German

German as used in Switzerland, mainly as written language

Swiss Standard German or Swiss High German is the written form of one of the four official languages of Switzerland. It is mainly written, and not spoken.

Swiss Standard German
Swiss High German[note 1]
Schweizer Standarddeutsch
Schweizer Hochdeutsch, Schweizerhochdeutsch
Pronunciation[ˈʃʋaɪtsərˌʃtandarddɔɪtʃ],
[ˈʃʋaɪtsərˌhoːxdɔɪtʃ]
RegionSwitzerland, Liechtenstein
EthnicitySwiss
(Liechtensteiners)
Language codes
ISO 639-3
GlottologNone
IETFde-CH

Written Swiss Standard German

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An example of Swiss Standard German used for a "no parking" sign. Fehlbare werden für Umtriebe behaftet would instead be written as Zuwiderhandelnde haften für die Kosten des entstehenden Aufwands in High German. "Fehlbare" (as used in this situation), "Umtriebe", and "behaftet" are Swiss in origin.

Swiss Standard German is the official written language. It is used in books, all official laws, in newspapers, printed notices, most advertising, and other printed writing. Authors write books mainly using Swiss Standard German.

There are differences in the spelling of Swiss Standard German and Standard German, for example replacing the German ß with ss. For example:

Swiss Standard German Non-Swiss Standard German English
Strasse Straße street
gross groß big
Fussball Fußball football
süss süß sweet
weiss, Weiss weiß, Weiß white
fliessen fließen to flow

There are some differences in vocabulary, including using a loanword from another language.

Swiss Standard German Non-Swiss Standard German English
Billett Fahrkarte ticket (for bus/tram/train etc.)
Führerausweis or Fahrausweis Führerschein driving licence
Velo Fahrrad bicycle
Handy Handy or Mobiltelefon mobile phone
parkieren parken to park
Poulet Hähnchen chicken
Jupe Rock skirt

Spoken Swiss Standard German

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Swiss Standard German is only spoken in very few specific formal situations, such as in news broadcasts, education, and in religious sermons.

Diglossia

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Swiss Standard German and Swiss German dialects has been called a typical case of Diglossia, or when a group of people have two languages or dialects that they use.

  1. High German can refer to Standard German or to the regional variety group with the same name.