Is Swiss German difficult to learn?

Here is a short summary of our last live stream on Tuesday at 8 pm on my You Tube channel. As usual I try to make the sessions as natural and as conversational as possible. After each live stream at 9 pm  you can  join my Speaking Workshops on Zoom.  Below there are some of the questions we tried to discuss. Thank you for taking part in it. 

Is Swiss German easy to learn?

Is Swiss German difficult for you to learn? I would like to talk about your experiences with learning and studying my mother tongue. Yes, we will try to answer the question: Isch Schwiizerdütsch schwirig zum Leere? A lot of people think that Switzerland has 4 official languages and learning French or Italian or German or Romansch will do. At least speaking one of those languages will do, right? 

Where can I learn Swiss German?

How to learn Swiss German? Where can I learn Swiss German? We will try to answer the question: Wie leersch s Schwiizerdütsch am Beschte? It might be a bit of a struggle since you can hear German or French or even Italian and other languages everywhere you go. Another problem with Swiss German is the fact that it is not officially written language. There isn't any official dictionary for Swiss German. Maybe one day we will do it in our online language school. For me personally, the best way to learn is through listening and speaking as much as possible. ​​

What's the most difficult thing in learning Swiss German?

The next question we will try to discuss is: "What is the most difficult thing in learning Swiss German? Was isch s Schwirigschte am Schwiizerdütsch? In general, people find learning languages difficult. Yet for some people, it is a piece of cake to learn another language. Let's face it, it the beginning, when you start learning a new thing you are very likely to make a lot of mistakes. It is normal, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Also, don't expect too much and just enjoy being immersed in a new language and culture. ​

Should I learn Swiss German or German?

Most of my students who want to learn Swiss German with me have to face this question: "Why do you want to learn Swiss German? Wiso wottsch du Schwiizerdütsch leere? The number one reason is that Swiss German is spoken in Switzerland. If you want to integrate with the local people and local culture you have to be able to understand the local language. The next reason you should learn Swiss German is that its grammar is much easier than German. Most of my students tell me that Swiss German is much easier than German. Speaking Swiss-German is really cool and it would make you feel more integrated in Switzerland. ​The big dilema is always if I should learn German frist or Swiss German. 

What are the typical expressions for Zurich dialect?

Some of you already know that my mother is from Zurich. I was brought up hearing that dialect all the time. In my live stream, we will try to answer the question if it is difficult for you to follow and speak with people from Zurich? Above in the short video you will also learn an interesting expression describing, busy and stressed out business people from Zurich. Also I would be curious what would be your answer to this question:  "Do you like Zurich dialect?" Gfallt der s Züri-Dütsch? ​

Tounge twisters in Swiss German

In every language, you can practice your pronunciation with tongue twisters. Basically, it is repeating some specific sounds in order to improve the way you speak. It is very challenging when you try to say the Swiss-German tongue twisters very quickly. Tongue twisters will help you improve your pronunciation and your ability to speak more fluently. They will help you to be understood better. Try to say this aloud, my favorite: De Papscht hät s Bschteck z schpot bschtellt.

If you want to watch the live stream again, join our growing community of Swiss German students. Thank you for your support. 

We are excited to see you again on Tuesday at 8 pm