Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
Swiss
By Dick Oakes
A a, Ä ä, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g,
H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö P p,
Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v,
W w, X x, Y y, Z z
The Swiss German alphabet consists of the same 26 characters as in English. There is also the addition of a diacritical mark, the "umlaut." Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family.
Swiss German words are generally accented on the first syllable.
The t is unaspirated, making it sound more like d.
Swiss German uses a guttural "r," similar to that used by French; not a growling "r" as in English.
There is no past tense of a verb; the perfect tense is used.
Letters not listed are pronounced approximately as in English.
A, a - a as in far E, e - e as in pen; e as in grey I, i - i as in machine O, o - o as in bottom; o as in north U, u - oo as in boot Y, y - ee as in free Ä, ä - a as in bear; a as in paid Ö, ö - eu as in fleur Ü, ü - eu as in fleur Ch, ch - ch as in loch d - t as in pat when in final position gg - ck as in block J, j - y as in yes K, k - ch as in loch S, s - s as in sit Sp, sp - shp at the beginning of a word St, st - sht W, w - v as in vim Z, z - ts as in bits DIPTHONGS: Æ, æ - a as in act (used often in Swiss German but not used in German) Ai, ai - i as in lie Äu, äu - oi as in oil Ee, ee - a as in grey Ei, ei - ei as in height; sometimes ee as in free Eu, eu - eu as in fleur Ie, ie - ee as in free