Swiss German: Course and provider overview

Swiss German is not a standardized language, so as a non-Swiss you should pay close attention to which Swiss German course you attend. For example, if you live in Zurich or are thinking of moving there in the near future, it is not necessarily advisable to attend a language course at a school in Basel or Bern. The dialects are very different, so you should also attend a course in the region where you will be working or living (in the future). Please also find out the regional affiliation of the teacher there to avoid the same problem.

A Swiss German language course teaches you the dialect spoken in the location where the language school is located. You will learn to understand this dialect and gradually learn to speak it yourself. This will train your oral communication and, above all, your pronunciation. The special features of grammar and vocabulary are also addressed in such a language course, so that by the end of the course you will be able to understand Swiss German better and use it in everyday situations.

Swiss German is characterized by the following:

• Melodic sound
• Not only High German - Swiss German also sounds educated
• Easier to learn than you think
• The language has an impressive variability - depending on the speaking speed
• Over 5 million people speak this language - around 1.5 million speak Züridütsch

People are interested in learning Swiss German for a variety of reasons, as a survey by Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch shows:

• 81.25 % Needs assessment - does the course meet my needs?
• 6.25 % as it is mentioned in job offers and therefore required for my jobs
• 12.5 % on the basis of a recommendation

Further aspects were submitted to us via free text:

• Naturalization
• Private matter
• Because I moved to Switzerland
• I live in Switzerland and would therefore also like to learn the dialect
• I am looking for the course for a teenager who wants to speak better

There are some language schools where it is possible for you to attend a free trial lesson so that you can be sure that the time and money you invest in a "Learn Swiss German" course will actually be worthwhile. Often, however, the schools do not state this in their description, so it's well worth asking in more detail. Simply use our contact form so that you can clarify this point and have all the necessary course materials sent to you at the same time - free of charge and without any obligation on your part, of course.

Swiss German for beginners doesn't have to be difficult. With videos and exercises as well as lively exchanges with Swiss German speakers, learning is made easier. Swiss German for Beginners also includes vocabulary and grammar learning (a kind of textbook that exists for Zurich German, Lucerne German, Basel German and Bernese German). You can also experience the wonderful and cheerful-sounding dialect in everyday situations. The Swiss Idiotikon - Dictionary of the Swiss German Language also helps with learning.

The duration of such a language course depends greatly on the language school or provider. For example, you can attend short introductory seminars in which you learn the most important words and expressions needed to find your way around Switzerland in one or two evenings. Such a Swiss German course is particularly suitable for people who are planning to settle in Switzerland or who have only been here for a very short time and do not yet understand almost anything that their superiors, colleagues, salespeople or neighbors say to them. For all those who would like to study the regional dialect in more depth and learn it like any other foreign language, courses that extend over a longer period of time are suitable. This could be a six-month Swiss German course, for example, in which you take part once a week for 1 or 2 lessons. You decide for yourself how long and how intensively you would like to learn "Schwizerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch".

Swiss German - a collective term for all Alemannic dialects spoken by all social classes in German-speaking Switzerland. Only the vocabulary is standardized, as there are no regionally uniform, more or less standardized colloquial languages. However, there is no uniform standardized spelling. There are two different spelling systems, either a purely phonological spelling system or one that is largely based on standard German spelling.

According to the survey conducted by our education portal, schools are requested for Swiss German courses for various reasons: 50 % justify this with an online assessment. 29% because of a school they already know and 21% because of a recommendation. Other voluntary answers were also given:

• I searched for it on the Internet
• just like that
• Internet
• Google

The answer to this question is a resounding yes, because Swiss German is difficult. There is no such thing as "Swiss German" - every single canton and even the smallest village has its own dialect. So if you understand Zurich German, you don't understand Bernese German - which is spoken by someone who comes from Bern.

Every region has its own dialect, its own dialect, which is of course also written down, even if there is no official orthography. If you want to learn "Schwizerdütsch", you learn one of these dialects, such as Züritüütsch or Bärndütsch, and can use the corresponding teaching materials and exercise books, which contain the basic vocabulary as well as clarifying grammatical rules and sentence structures. These teaching materials are usually more entertaining than those for other foreign languages, also because it is assumed that participants in such a language course already have a solid knowledge of German. In this way, entertaining and useful things are taught in a Swiss German language course, whether in the form of comics, exercise books, audio CDs or with the help of digital learning programs.

You can learn Swiss German in Switzerland. Or, of course, in a language school anywhere in the world that offers learning this special language. Learning Swiss German online is also possible anywhere in the world.