Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Walliser German
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Walliser German (Walliserdeutsch in German) is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland, specifically in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Wallis (in French: Valais), in the uppermost Rhône valley. (The lower part of this canton is French-speaking; see Canton Valais.)
The German-speaking immigration to the Wallis started in the 8th century from the canton of Bern. There were presumably two different immigration routes that lead to two main groups of Walliser dialects.
In the 12th or 13th century, the Walliser began to settle other parts of the alps. These new settlements are known as Walser migration. In many of these settlements, people still speak Walliser dialects, though these are often called Walser German dialects.
The Walliser dialects are difficult to understand for other Swiss German people (called Üsserschwyzer 'outer Swiss' by the Walliser). This is because in the isolated valleys of the high mountains, Walliser German has preserved many archaisms. The dialect of the Lötschental, for instance, preserved three distinct classes of weak verbs until the beginning of the 20th century. Walliser German also shows linguistic innovations, such as the plural Tannu - Tannä (fir - firs), also found in the other Highest Alemannic dialects. In addition, the pronunciation of words with 'ch' is extremely rough and sounds as though the throat is constantly being cleared.
 |
This Indo-European languages-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |