How to Convert Swiss German to English
Translating between languages can be a difficult task, particularly when you are working with a language that has several distinct dialects. Swiss German is one of these tongues. People in Switzerland write in High German: the flavor of German that is considered the standard. For verbal communication, however, the Swiss have several choices of dialect that can be quite dissimilar, including Bernese, Valais and Zurich. With a little time, patience and a sharp ear, it is possible to convert Swiss German into English.
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Instructions
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Understand a little bit about Swiss German. Nancy Thuleen, a scholar in linguistics, describes the interesting nature of the dialects. Instead of having a codified, standard language, Swiss German is a patchwork of regional variations on German, each influenced by the neighboring countries. Thanks to the number of speakers of French, Italian and English in the country, these dialects incorporate words and sounds contributed by the speakers.
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Solidify your knowledge of German, if you already have the language. Most Swiss German vocabulary comes from this mother tongue, but having a little background in French, Italian or even Latin will be helpful, too. (You could refer to an English-to-French or English-to-Italian dictionary if you don't have Internet access.)
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Sound out the words in the Swiss German you are converting (and look up the ones you don't know). Be aware that the gendered pronouns may change, possibly as a result of influence from the French. Thuleen points out some examples of this rule, including "der Bank." (In standard German, this cognate takes the feminine pronoun "die.") If possible, write the translation of each word above the original to help you put together the translation. You can also input the text into an Internet language translator, such as the Yahoo! Babel Fish page. This will give you a very rough translation that you can refine on your own.
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Allow yourself to recognize the slightly different pronunciations of some common words and phrases. If you are not listening somewhat liberally, you may not be able to understand when someone says "Guete Tag" instead of the very similar High German "Guten Tag." With an open mind, you will be able to easily convert this to the English equivalent: "Good afternoon." Cheryl and Durant Imboden emphasize that most Swiss locals are patient, particularly with those who give understanding their language an honest try.
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Finalize your conversion by using context clues to verify that the translation makes sense. Whenever you translate any language, there will be nuances that you simply don't understand. If you think that someone told you in Swiss German that "the hotel is next to the hamburger," it's probably safe to assume that you made a small mistake somewhere.
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Tips & Warnings
As Swiss German is a spoken dialect, it is much harder to find resources to translate printed examples of the language into English. (It's a little bit like dealing with slang in this way; someone may not have felt the need to write down the spoken word yet.) When trying to convert Swiss German into English, consult some of the sites below and others to try to figure out the meaning of specific words with which you're having trouble.
