Alemannic German

Alemannic, also called Alemannish, is a group of High German dialects. The name comes from an ancient Germanic tribe called the Alemanni, which means "all men." These dialects are spoken by many people in different areas, adding rich and interesting sounds to the German language.

Distribution

Alemannic is a group of High German dialects. The name comes from an old group of people called the Alemanni, which means "all men." About ten million people speak Alemannic dialects around the world.

In Europe, these dialects are spoken in several places:

• In Switzerland, in all German-speaking areas except Samnaun
• In Germany, in central and southern parts of Baden-Württemberg, Swabia, and some areas of Bavaria
• In Austria, in Vorarlberg and the Reutte District of Tyrol
• In Liechtenstein
• In France, in the Alsace region (called the Alsatian dialect) and in some villages in the Phalsbourg county of Lorraine
• In Italy, in places like Gressoney-La-Trinité, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Issime, Alagna Valsesia, Rimella, and Formazza, though in some villages it is almost not used anymore

Outside Europe, Alemannic is spoken in:

• The United States, in places like Allen and Adams County, Indiana by the Amish and in other U.S. states
• Venezuela, in Colonia Tovar (Colonia Tovar dialect)

Status

Alemannic is a group of German dialects that form a dialect continuum from the Highest Alemannic spoken in the mountainous south to Swabian in the relatively flat north. The farther north you go, the more these dialects share characteristics with Standard German.

In Germany and other European countries, there are different ways to decide if something is a language or a dialect. Some experts and organizations see Alemannic as its own language, while others classify it as a dialect of German. Standard German is used for writing and in formal situations in areas where Alemannic is spoken, except in Alsace, where French or the Alsatian dialect is used instead.

Variants

Alemannic includes several different dialects spoken in various places. One of these is Swabian, mainly spoken in parts of Germany like Württemberg and Bavarian Swabia.

Other Alemannic dialects include Low Alemannic in areas such as Baden and Alsace, Lake Constance Alemannic near lakes and forests, and High Alemannic in Switzerland and parts of Germany. The dialects in Switzerland are often called Swiss German.

Each of these dialects has its own special sounds and words.

Written Alemannic

The oldest known writings in Alemannic are short inscriptions from the sixth century, like those found on the Bülach fibula, Pforzen buckle, and Nordendorf fibula. During the Old High German period, the first full texts were written at St. Gall Abbey, including the eighth-century Paternoster prayer:

Fater unser, thu bist in himile uuihi namu dinan qhueme rihhi diⁱn uuerde uuillo diin, so in himile, sosa in erdu prooth unseer emezzihic kip uns hiutu oblaz uns sculdi unsero so uuir oblazem uns skuldikem enti ni unsih firleit in khorunka uzzer losi unsih fona ubile

Because of important monasteries like St. Gall and Reichenau Island, many Old High German writings show Alemannic features. Later, during the Middle High German time, Alemannic writings became less common, even though the famous Codex Manesse was created in Zürich. When the Old Swiss Confederacy began in the fourteenth century, Alemannic Swiss history books were written. In the 1520s, Huldrych Zwingli translated the Bible using an Alemannic version of Early Modern High German, known as the 1531 Froschauer Bible. By the seventeenth century, Standard German became more common, replacing written Alemannic, especially after Martin Luther’s Bible translation. A new version of the Froschauer Bible in 1665 used less Alemannic style and matched Luther’s language more closely. Because of this shift, Alemannic never developed a single writing rule, and today writers mix precise sounds with Standard German spelling, especially for borrowed words.

In 1803, Johann Peter Hebel published poems called Allemannische Gedichte. Swiss writers often use special Swiss words, or Helvetisms, in their Standard German works. Examples include Jeremias Gotthelf in novels set in the Emmental, Friedrich Glauser in his crime stories, and more recently Tim Krohn in his book Quatemberkinder. The poet Ida Ospelt-Amann wrote only in the dialect spoken in Vaduz.

Characteristics

Alemannic dialects often use special endings to make words smaller, like adding "-le" in the north and east, "-el" in the west, or "-li" in the south. These endings can change the vowel sound in the word. For example, "little house" might sound different depending on the dialect.

In some Alemannic dialects, certain sounds are pronounced differently based on the vowels that come before them. Most of these dialects have a special way of forming the past tense of the verb "to be."