Bernese German ( Standard German : Berndeutsch , Alemannic German : Bärndütsch ) is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. A form of Bernese German is spoken by the Swiss Amish affiliation of the Old Order Amish in Adams County, Indiana , United States, as well as and other settlements in the US, primarily in Indiana.
11-611: Mattenenglisch , in Bernese German Dialect Mattenänglisch , is a name for the varieties traditionally spoken in the Matte , the old working class neighbourhood of the Swiss City of Bern . It is used in two different senses: Either for the traditional sociolect of that neighbourhood or for a special kind of Pig Latin that was used there. In the second half of the 20th century, both have fallen out of use because after
22-413: A way the police would not understand. While most Mattenenglisch words have fallen out of use, some have spread into common Bernese German usage, thus becoming shibboleths of Bernese German, for instance the words jiu 'yes', Modi 'girl' or Gieu 'boy'. Until the mid 20th century, a special variety of Pig Latin was used by the kids in the Matte neighbourhood. Unlike in other varieties of Pig Latin,
33-562: The German-speaking part of Switzerland , especially those of Mani Matter . This may have influenced the development of Bernese German rock music, which was the first Swiss German rock music to appear and continues to be one of the most important ones. Today, notable bands singing in Bernese German include Patent Ochsner , Züri West and Stiller Has . I Am the Keeper I Am
44-434: The 20th century. Bernese German grammars and dictionaries also exist. The 2014 film Der Goalie bin ig (English title: I Am the Keeper ), whose dialogue is in Bernese German, was a major winner at the 2014 Swiss Film Awards with seven nominations from which it won four trophies including Best Feature Film. The film, directed by Sabine Boss , was adapted from the novel Der Goalie bin ig by Pedro Lenz (which
55-552: The German manchmal (sometimes). An often used word at the end of a sentence is a question tag , "gäu" (2nd person singular) or "gäuet" (2nd person plural, polite form) meaning 'isn't it?', whereas other Swiss German dialects prefer "oder", like 'or what?'. Äuä (pronounced [ˈæ̞wːæ̞ː] , other possible spellings include äuää , äuuä , äuwä , ällwä ) is a typical shibboleth of Bernese German. There are two different uses: Bernese comedian Massimo Rocchi used äuä as
66-485: The city of Bern where four different groups could be distinguished: Bernese German is distinguished from other Swiss German dialects by the following characteristics: As in other Western Swiss German dialects and as in French, the polite form of address is the second person plural and not the third person plural as in German. Like other Swiss German dialects, but unlike modern standard German, Bernese German typically keeps
77-423: The first vowel of the word is completely substituted. The rules are as follows: Bernese German There is a lot of regional variation within Bernese German dialects. However, with the increasing importance of the big agglomeration of Bern , the variety of Bern is spreading out, levelling the old village dialects. Until the second half of the 20th century, there was a considerable range of sociolects in
88-529: The original grammatical gender distinction in the numerals 'two' (2) and 'three' (3): ... but only 2 words for "three" (3): A lot of the vocabulary known as typical to Bernese German comes from the Mattenenglisch , e.g. Gieu 'boy', Modi 'girl'. The best known shibboleths of Bernese German may be the words äuä 'no way' or 'probably', (j)ieu 'yes', geng (or ging , gäng ) 'always', Miuchmäuchterli 'Milk can'. Bernese typically say mängisch for
99-406: The title for one of his shows, which derives much of its comical effect from the bewilderment an outsider experiences (in this case, Italian-born Rocchi) when first confronted with the idiosyncrasies of Bernese German. Although Bernese German is mainly a spoken language (for writing, the standard German language is used), there is a relatively extensive literature which goes back to the beginnings of
110-511: The traditional social stratification has been completely changed, the Matte is no longer a working-class neighbourhood. However, there are voluntary associations that cultivate Mattenenglisch. The Mattenenglisch sociolect was the working class variety of the Bernese German dialect. It had a characteristic vocabulary that was partly influenced by varieties such as Rotwelsch , Jenisch or Yiddish , because people wanted to communicate in
121-634: Was translated into Glasgow patter by Pedro Lenz and Donal McLaughlin under the title Naw Much of a Talker ). The film played at the Locarno Film Festival in August 2014. In the 2012 Swiss film, More Than Honey , two Swiss beekeepers describe beekeeping techniques between each other about limiting bee swarms in "As we say in Bernese German: No more beekeeping with a ladder on my back". Many Bernese German songs have become popular all over
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