In many regions, the Swabian dialect is spoken with a unique intonation that is also present when native speakers speak in Standard German. Similarly, there is only one alveolar fricative phoneme , which is shared with most other southern dialects. Most Swabian-speakers are unaware of the difference between and and do not attempt to make it when they speak Standard German. The voiced plosives, the post-alveolar fricative, and the frequent use of diminutives based on "l" suffixes gives the dialect a very "soft" or "mild" feel, often felt to be in sharp contrast to the harder varieties of German spoken in the North.
Characteristics
Swabian German
Swabian German | Characteristics
The voiced plosives, the post-alveolar fricative, and the frequent use of diminutives based on "l" suffixes gives the dialect a very "soft" or "mild" feel Spoken with a unique intonation where the voiced plosives, the post-alveolar fricative, and the frequent use of diminutives based on "l" suffixes gives the dialect a very "soft" or "mild" feel, often felt to be in sharp contrast to the harder varieties of German spoken in the North. It is spoken with a unique intonation that is also present when native speakers speak in Standard German. In many regions, the Swabian dialect is spoken with a unique intonation that is also present when native speakers speak in Standard German.
when did the first silesian war take place?
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1740
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where?
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Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia
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between whom?
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Prussia and Austria
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what was its prime cause?
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Brandenburg–Prussia's ruling House of Hohenzollern held dynastic claims to various duchies within the Habsburg province of Silesia
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when was this ruling house established?
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The family arose during the 11th century
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where did they live?
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The family arose in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia
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what is the geographical location of this last place?
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Southwestern Germany
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which language did they speak?
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Swabian, Swabian German
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how is this latter one classified?
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Swabian is categorized as an Alemannic dialect, which in turn is one of the two types of Upper German dialects
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can you mention one of its characteristic?
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In many regions, the Swabian dialect is spoken with a unique intonation that is also present when native speakers speak in Standard German. Similarly, there is only one alveolar fricative phoneme , which is shared with most other southern dialects. Most Swabian-speakers are unaware of the difference between and and do not attempt to make it when they speak Standard German. The voiced plosives, the post-alveolar fricative, and the frequent use of diminutives based on "l" suffixes gives the dialect a very "soft" or "mild" feel, often felt to be in sharp contrast to the harder varieties of German spoken in the North.
Swabian German | Characteristics
Swabian () is one of the dialect groups of Alemannic German that belong to the High German dialect continuum. It is mainly spoken in Swabia which is located in central and southeastern Baden-Württemberg (including its capital Stuttgart and the Swabian Jura region) and the southwest of Bavaria (Bavarian Swabia). Furthermore, Swabian German dialects are spoken by Caucasus Germans in Transcaucasia. The dialects of the Danube Swabian population of Hungary, the former Yugoslavia and Romania are only nominally Swabian and can be traced back not only to Swabian but also to Frankonian, Bavarian and Hessian German dialects, with locally varying degrees of influence of the initial dialects.
Swabian German | Introduction
Swabian is categorized as an Alemannic dialect, which in turn is one of the two types of Upper German dialects (the other being Bavarian). The ISO 639-3 language code for Swabian is swg. The Swabian dialect is composed of numerous sub-dialects, each of which has its own variations. These sub-dialects can be categorized by the difference in the formation of the past participle of 'sein' (to be) into "gwäa" and "gsei." The Gsei group is nearer to other Alemannic dialects, such as Swiss German. It can be divided into South-East Swabian, West Swabian and Central Swabian.
Swabian German | Classification and variation
The ethno-linguistic group of Swabians speak Swabian German, a branch of the Alemannic group of German dialects. Swabian is cited as "40 percent intelligible" to speakers of Standard German. As an ethno-linguistic group, Swabians are closely related to other speakers of Alemannic German, i.e. Badeners, Alsatians, and German-speaking Swiss. Swabian German is traditionally spoken in the upper Neckar basin (upstream of Heilbronn), along the upper Danube between Tuttlingen and Donauwörth, and on the left bank of the Lech, in an areal centered on the Swabian Alps roughly stretching from Stuttgart to Augsburg. SIL Ethnologue cites an estimate of 819,000 Swabian speakers as of 2006.
Swabians | Swabian German
The feature that distinguishes Low Alemannic from High Alemannic is the retention of Germanic /k/, for instance "kalt" 'cold' vs. High Alemannic "chalt". The feature that distinguishes Low Alemannic from Swabian is the retention of the Middle High German monophthongs, for instance "Huus" 'house' vs. Swabian "Hous" or "Ziit" 'time' vs. Swabian "Zejt".
Low Alemannic German | Features
Swabians (, singular "Schwabe") are Germanic people who are native to the ethnocultural and linguistic region of Swabia, which is now mostly divided between the modern states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of the German stem duchies, representing the territory of Alemannia, whose inhabitants were interchangeably called "Alemanni" or "Suebi". This territory would include all of the Alemannic German areal, but the modern concept of Swabia is more restricted, due to the collapse of the duchy of Swabia in the 13th century. Swabia as understood in modern ethnography roughly coincides with the Swabian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire as it stood during the Early Modern period.
Swabians | Introduction
Locals in the areas speak the distinct German dialect known as Swabian German, which varies even throughout the Jura and is difficult to understand for speakers of Standard German. The dialect at the top of the plateau () is markedly different from, and stronger than, even the broadest Swabian of the lowland areas. Across the whole Swabian region, many phrases and grammar are highly localized, even down to the village level; however, the Swabian dialect of the highland regions is characterised by a "sing-song" melody, and some of the verb forms are also distinct, not only from Standard German, but also from those of the rest of Swabia.
Swabian Jura | Language
Swabian or Schwabian, or "variation", may refer to:
Swabian | Introduction
SIL Ethnologue cites an estimate of 819,000 Swabian speakers as of 2006. This corresponds to roughly 10% of the total population of the Swabian region, or roughly 1% of the total population of Germany. As an ethno-linguistic group, Swabians are closely related to other speakers of Alemannic German, i.e. Badeners, Alsatians, and German-speaking Swiss. Swabian German is traditionally spoken in the upper Neckar basin (upstream of Heilbronn), along the upper Danube between Tuttlingen and Donauwörth, and on the left bank of the Lech, in an area centered on the Swabian Alps roughly stretching from Stuttgart to Augsburg.
Swabia | Language
Swabians ("Schwaben", singular "Schwabe") are the natives of Swabia and speakers of Swabian German. Their number was estimated at close to 0.8 million by SIL Ethnologue as of 2006, compared to a total population of 7.5 million in the regions of Tübingen, Stuttgart and Bavarian Swabia.
Swabia | Introduction
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of the German stem duchies, representing the territory of Alemannia, whose inhabitants interchangeably were called "Alemanni" or "Suebi". This territory would include all of the Alemannic German area, but the modern concept of Swabia is more restricted, due to the collapse of the duchy of Swabia in the thirteenth century. Swabia as understood in modern ethnography roughly coincides with the Swabian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire as it stood during the Early Modern period, now divided between the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Swabia | Introduction
The Swabian-Allemannic Fastnacht has gained a vast number of different characters. When they perform they usually appear in homogenous groups of one type of character. However, there are a few groups that consist of various characters. In most cases they interact with each other. A popular way of interaction is the tradition of the driver. Here, an animal character is chastised by a group of characters that are covered by masks and equipped with a whip. These specific types of masks are called Häs. Examples for this particular tradition are the Fastnetsbutzerössle in Weingarten, the Brieler Rößle in Rottweil and Werners Esel in Bad Waldsee.
Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht | Characters
Two dialect groups of German are spoken in Baden-Württemberg in various variants: Alemannic and Franconian dialects. In central and southern Württemberg, the Alemannic dialect of Swabian is spoken (slightly differing even within the area, e.g., between Upper Swabia, the Swabian Alb, and the central Neckar Valley of the Stuttgart region). In South Baden, the local dialects are Low Alemannic and High Alemannic (i.e., variants of what is also Swiss German). In the northern part of Baden, i.e., the area around Karlsruhe, Heilbronn and Mosbach, South Franconian dialects are predominant. In the "Kurpfalz" however, with the cities of Heidelberg and Mannheim, the idiom is Rhine Franconian (i.e., Palatinate German), while in the Northeast of Baden-Württemberg East Franconian is spoken.
Baden-Württemberg | Dialects
These terms are seldom present in Standard German or Austrian German.
South Tyrolean dialect | Characteristics
In Swabian German this is done by adding a -le suffix (the e being distinctly pronounced, but not stressed). For example, a small house would be a "Häusle" or a little girl a "Mädle". A unique feature of Swabian is that words other than nouns may be suffixed with -le, which is not the case with other German dialects (except Bernese Swiss German), High German, or other languages: "wasele" (diminutive of "was", "what") or "jetzetle" (diminutive of "jetzt", "now") or "kommele" (diminutive of "kommen", "come"). (In both Spanish and Italian, these may be formed similarly, e.g. "igualito" – diminutive of "igual", "same" and "pochino" or "pochettino" - diminutive of "poco", a little/a few).
List of diminutives by language | Swabian
In some areas there are exclusive characters, which often play a central part in the local Fastnacht tradition. Over the course of time entire character families have been developed through these special characters. The members of such families hold certain characteristics and functions. One example is the Gole in Riedlingen.
Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht | Characters
The distinctive feature of the High Alemannic dialects is the completion of the High German consonant shift, for instance "chalt" 'cold' vs. Low Alemannic and standard German 'kalt' .
High Alemannic German | Features
Over the decades and more, the German spoken by these colonists became separate from that developing in Germany, particularly after its unification. It became known as Donau-Swabian, an archaic form of the language. Those who came from French-speaking or linguistically mixed communes in Lorraine maintained the French language (labelled Banat French or "Français du Banat"), as well as a separate ethnic identity for several generations.
Banat Swabians | Origins and recruitment
Modern Swabian German, and Alemannic German more broadly, are therefore "assumed to have evolved at least in part" from Suebian. However, Bavarian, the Thuringian dialect, the Lombardic language spoken by the Lombards of Italy, and standard "High German" itself, are also at least partly derived from the dialects spoken by the Suebi. (The only non-Suebian name among the major groups of Upper Germanic dialects is High Franconian German, but this is on the transitional frontier with Central German, as is neighboring Thuringian.)
Suebi | Language
The same or similar Alemannic dialects are also spoken in the neighbouring regions, especially in Bavarian Swabia, Alsace (Alsatian), German-speaking Switzerland (Swiss German), and the Austrian Vorarlberg, while the other Franconian dialects range from the Netherlands over the Rhineland, Lorraine, and Hesse up to Franconia in northern Bavaria. Yiddish and Pleißne were spoken while Romani is still being used by some.
Baden-Württemberg | Dialects
Swabian culture, as distinct from its Alemannic neighbours, evolved in the later medieval and early modern period. After the disintegration of the Duchy of Swabia, a Swabian cultural identity and sense of cultural unity survived, expressed in the formation of the Swabian League of Cities in the 14th century, the Swabian League of 1488, and the establishment of the Swabian Circle in 1512. During this time, a division of culture and identity developed between Swabia and both the Margraviate of Baden to the west and the Swiss Confederacy to the south. Swabian culture retains many elements common to Alemannic tradition, notably the carnival traditions forming the Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht.
Swabians | Culture
The Alemannic-speaking areas of Germany were separated into Baden and Württemberg, parts of Swabia were integrated into Bavaria in 1805; the Alemannic dialects were not the only dialects in those states (e.g. in Baden and Württemberg the Northern parts speak a Rhine Franconian dialects, East Franconian German as well as South Franconian German and in Bavaria there are Bavarian dialects as well as Rhine Franconian dialects, East Franconian German as well as South Franconian German. Alemannic dialects thus began to be subjected to a process of marginalization from a non-Alemannic administration. Alemannic separatism arose in the context of the resistance of the rural population of Baden against Napoleonic rule within the Confederation of the Rhine (1806–1813).
Alemannic separatism | Introduction
Alemannic dialects are spoken in Switzerland (High Alemannic in the densely populated Swiss Plateau, in the south also Highest Alemannic, and Low Alemannic in Basel), Baden-Württemberg (Swabian and Low Alemannic, in the southwest also High Alemannic), Bavarian Swabia (Swabian, in the southwesternmost part also Low Alemannic), Vorarlberg (Low, High, and Highest Alemannic), Alsace (Low Alemannic, in the southernmost part also High Alemannic), Liechtenstein (High and Highest Alemannic), and in the Tyrolean district of Reutte (Swabian). The Alemannic dialects are considered as Alsatian in Alsace. The largest cities in the Alemannic area are Stuttgart and Zürich.
German language | Alemannic
Conjunctions and adverbs from the respective contact languages may be integrated as well. Many German words used by speakers of Danube Swabian dialects may sound archaic. To the ear of a Standard German speaker, the Danube Swabian dialect sounds like what it is: a mix of southwestern German dialects from the 18th century with many strange words from other languages. Due to relative isolation and differing proximities to nearby German speakers (Austrians and Transylvanian Saxons), the language varies considerably, with speakers able to distinguish inhabitants of neighboring villages by the words they use for such things as marmalade ("Leckwaar" and "Schleckle" being two variants), or by how many (usually Hungarian) loanwords they employ.
Danube Swabians | Language
While these dialects are considered as dialects of German in Baden-Württemberg, they are considered as dialects of Alsatian in Alsace (most Alsatian dialects are Low Alemannic, however). The largest cities in the South Franconian area are Karlsruhe and Heilbronn.
German language | High Franconian
As the national cultural consensus surrounding German unification was built during the 18th and 19th century, Germany was politically dominated by the northern Kingdom of Prussia, and Weimar Classicism in the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar became the expression of German national high culture (Christoph Martin Wieland and Friedrich Schiller, while born and raised in Swabia, moved to Weimar and became two of the "four luminaries" ("Viergestirn") of Weimar Classicism). As a consequence, southern Germany and by extension both the Swabians and the Bavarians came to be seen as marked deviations from generic Standard German, and a number of clichés or stereotypes developed.
Swabians | Culture
Sathmar Swabian is an Upper Swabian dialect of High German spoken in Romania in Satu Mare by the Sathmar Swabians, who are among the few Danube Swabians who are in fact Swabian. Many speakers now live in Germany but some remain in Transylvania, Romania.
Sathmar Swabian | Introduction
These portrayed the Swabians as stingy, overly serious or prudish petty bourgeois simpletons, as reflected in "The Seven Swabians" ("Die sieben Schwaben"), one of the "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" published by the Brothers Grimm. On the positive side, the same stereotype may be expressed in portraying the Swabians as frugal, clever, entrepreneurial and hard-working. The economic recovery of Germany after the Second World War, known as the "Wirtschaftswunder", was praised by songwriter Ralf Bendix in his 1964 "Schaffe, schaffe Häusle baue / Und net nach de Mädle schaue" ("[let's] work and work, and build a house / and not look out for girls" in Swabian dialect).
Swabians | Culture
Sailer's Swabian dialect is that of his hometown Weißenhorn (in what is now Bavarian Swabia) with influences by the hefty rural dialect of his Upper Swabian parishes.
Sebastian Sailer | Works written in dialect
Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined. However, today it is normally thought of as comprising the former Swabian Circle, or equivalently the former state of Württemberg (with the Prussian Hohenzollern Province), or the modern districts of Tübingen (excluding the former Baden regions of the Bodenseekreis district), Stuttgart, and the administrative region of Bavarian Swabia. In the Middle Ages, the term Swabia indicated a larger area, covering all the lands associated with the Frankish stem duchy of Alamannia stretching from the Vosges Mountains in the west to the broad Lech river in the east: This also included the region of Alsace and the later Margraviate of Baden on both sides of the Upper Rhine Valley, as well as modern German-speaking Switzerland, the Austrian state of Vorarlberg and the principality of Liechtenstein in the south.
Swabia | Geography
Alemannic comprises a dialect continuum, from the Highest Alemannic spoken in the mountainous south to Swabian in the relatively flat north, with more of the characteristics of standard German the farther north one goes. In Germany and other European countries, the abstand and ausbau language framework is used to decide what is a language and what a dialect. According to this framework Alemannic forms of German form a dialect continuum and are clearly dialects. Some linguists and organisations that differentiate between languages and dialects primarily on the grounds of mutual intelligibility, such as SIL International and UNESCO, describe Alemannic as one of several independent languages.
Alemannic German | Status
Swabian can be difficult to understand for speakers of Standard German due to its pronunciation and partly differing grammar and vocabulary. For example, the Standard German term for "strawberry jam" is "Erdbeermarmelade" whereas in Swabian it is called "Bräschdlingsgsälz". In 2009, the word "Muggeseggele" (a Swabian idiom), meaning the scrotum of a housefly, was voted in a readers' survey by Stuttgarter Nachrichten, the largest newspaper in Stuttgart, as "the most beautiful Swabian word", well ahead of any other term. The expression is used in an ironic way to describe a small unit of measure and is deemed appropriate to use in front of small children (compare "Bubenspitzle").
Swabian German | Description
The residents of Heidenheim and its surrounding area speak the distinct German dialect of Swabian.
Heidenheim an der Brenz | Introduction
Features typical of Viennese German include: The following Viennese German characteristics are also found in other Bavarian dialects:
Viennese German | Phonology
The Swabian-Franconian Forest (, also "Schwäbisch-Fränkischer Wald") is a mainly forested, deeply incised upland region, 1,187 km² in area and up to , in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg. It forms natural region major unit number 108 within the Swabian Keuper-Lias Land (major unit group 10 or D58). Its name is derived from the fact that, in medieval times, the border between the duchies of Franconia and Swabia ran through this forested region. In addition, the Swabian dialect in the south transitions to the East Franconian dialect in the north here.
Swabian-Franconian Forest | Introduction
Vowels: Consonants: Are as in Standard German, with the following notes:
Low Alemannic German | Orthography
Due to the distance and their language the man doesn't understand what they were saying and he asked them in the dialect of Trier: "Wat, Wat?" This causes the men to think that they have to wade through the water. As the first Swabian gets into the river he starts to sink into the mud. His hat is blown away to the opposite shore, next to a frog who croaks noises that sound like "wat, wat, wat". The six surviving Swabians think it's their friend telling them to wade across; they rush in the water and all drown.
The Seven Swabians | Plot
The Swabian Jura (, more rarely: ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of Swabia. The Swabian Jura occupies the region bounded by the Danube in the southeast and the upper Neckar in the northwest. In the southwest it rises to the higher mountains of the Black Forest. The highest mountain of the region is the Lemberg (). The area's profile resembles a high plateau, which slowly falls away to the southeast. The northwestern edge is a steep escarpment (called the Albtrauf or Albanstieg, rising up , covered with forests), while the top is flat or gently rolling.
Swabian Jura | Introduction
Several dialect regions meet one another in the Murg Valley. The area around the upper reaches, around Old Württemberg Baiersbronn, forms the westernmost tip of the Swabian dialect region. The old state border with Baden further downstream is identical with the dialect boundary with Upper Rhine Alemannic, which is strongly defined even today, and which dominates the lower part of the Murg valley. On the lower reaches of the Murg on the Rhine Plain is an Alemannic-Franconian transition dialect with numerous South Franconian dialect features.
Murg (Northern Black Forest) | Dialects
Linguistically the region is dominated by a mixed form of the Alemannic and Austro-Bavarian dialects. The regions settled by Upper Bavaria and from the Inn valley, such as the Ehrwald Basin and the tributary valleys of the Lech have similarities with the dialects of the Upper Inn Valley, whilst in the region around Reutte and in the Tannheim valley, a Swabian-Alemannic dialect dominates.
Außerfern | Linguistic unit
Germany Austria Luxembourg
Danube Swabians | Resources for genealogical research
The dough contains nothing but flour, egg and water although occasionally ingredients such as spinach or tomato puree are used for colouring.
Swabian cuisine | Spätzle and Knöpfle
The region of Upper Swabia is situated in the central south of Germany consisting of the south-east of Baden-Württemberg and the south-west bavarian Swabia region and lies on the Iller-Lech Plateau, also known as the Upper Swabian Plain, one of the natural regions of Germany. The landscape of Upper Swabia was formed by retreating glaciers after the Riss glaciation, leaving behind a large number of shallows which quickly filled up with water. This led to the large quantity of lakes in Upper Swabia. The landscape of Upper Swabia is quite hilly rising from approximately 458 metres above sea level in the valley of the river Danube to a maximum of 833 metres above sea level in the south-west of Upper Swabia only to drop again to 395 meters above sea level at Lake Constance.
Upper Swabia | Geography
The same also often holds true for witches, discussed above.
Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht | Witches
During the expulsion of Germans after World War II, many Germans from Swabian Turkey were expelled from their homes and replaced with Hungarians evicted from Czechoslovakia; the remaining Germans were often persecuted by the Communist government. After the fall of communism in 1989, the Transdanubian Germans received minority rights, organisations, schools, and local councils and maintained their own regional dialect of German. However, the Germans are gradually being assimilated.
Swabian Turkey | Post-World War II
Upper Swabia ( or "Schwäbisches Oberland") is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The name refers to the area between the Swabian Jura, Lake Constance and the Lech. Its counterpart is Lower Swabia ("Niederschwaben"), the region around Heilbronn.
Upper Swabia | Introduction
The Swabian-Hall swine ("Schwäbisch-Hällische Landschwein") is a breed of domestic pig originating from Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is a large pig, white in the centre with a black head and rear and narrow grey bands at the transition from white to black skin. They have large litters averaging more than nine piglets.
Swabian-Hall swine | Introduction
This even applied to verb conjugations. For example, the German verb "haben" was conjugated as "han" in Sankt Hubert and as "hava" In Mramorak, although both were in Banat. Herman Ruediger, a German sociologist, reports that in his trips throughout the Bačka in the 1920s, he noted that Danube Swabians from widely separated villages had to use standard high German to communicate with each other because their speech was so different. This was particularly true for towns like Esseg (Osijek) where Shwoveh were thoroughly with majority Croatians. For instance, the ethnic Germans of Esseg were so thoroughly assimilated with Croatia that their Shwovish or 'Essekerish' could only be understood by those who also spoke Croatian or Serbian.
Danube Swabians | Language
The Seven Swabians ("Die Sieben Schwaben") is a German fairy tale, collected by The Brothers Grimm in the second volume edition of their "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" (1857) under the number KHM119. The term "Swabians" refers to people from the German region Swabia, though in Switzerland it refers to Germans in general.
The Seven Swabians | Introduction
However, it came to encompass all German-speaking people who followed in migrations from across the Holy Roman Empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The term "Swabian" was not originally a self-proclaimed identity of a singular people but a term ascribed by Magyar lords to refer to German-speaking Catholic peasants, tavern keepers, and poor artisans. For the most part Swabians lived in villages, had few privileges, and no developed intellectual layer. In 1930 Hungary 55.4% of the total Swabian population were engaged in agriculture; 28.8% in industry, crafts, commerce, or transport; and 3.1% were in state administration. The rest were employed in the service sector.
Danube Swabians | Culture
The Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Commerce launched an advertising campaign with the slogan "Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch." which means "We can [do] everything. Except [speak] Standard German" to boost Swabian pride for their dialect and industrial achievements. However, it failed to impress Northern Germans and neighboring Baden. Dominik Kuhn ("Dodokay") became famous in Germany with schwäbisch fandub videos, dubbing among others Barack Obama with German dialect vocals and revised text.
Swabian German | Recognition in mass media
Hunsrückisch is a West Central German dialect and a sub-group of Moselle Franconian, which means that it did not undergo all phases of the High German consonant shift. For example:
Hunsrückisch dialect | Features
Most Swiss German dialects have rounded front vowels, unlike other High German dialects. Only in Low Alemannic dialects of northwestern Switzerland (mainly Basel) and in Walliser dialects have rounded front vowels been unrounded. In Basel, rounding is being reintroduced because of the influence of other Swiss German dialects. Like Bavarian dialects, Swiss German dialects have preserved the opening diphthongs of Middle High German: : in 'lovely' (standard German "lieb" but pronounced ); 'hat' (standard German "Hut" ); 'cool' (Standard German "kühl" ). Some diphthongs have become unrounded in several dialects. In the Zürich dialect, short pronunciations of // are realized as [].
Swiss German | Vowels
Lower Swabia (, "Unterschwaben" or "Schwäbisches Unterland") is a region in Germany in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The name, which refers to medieval Swabia, is applied to the region around Heilbronn. The exact geographical location of this area has not been strictly defined. However, most of the area is situated in the North of Baden-Württemberg, and includes some of the Neckar river valley. Its counterpart is Upper Swabia ("Oberschwaben"), which lies directly to the South by lake Constance and the Swabian Alb.
Lower Swabia | Introduction
Swabia (Schwabia, ) is a historical region in Southern Germany. Swabia, Schwabia, Suebia, Suevia, or "variation", may also refer to:
Swabia (disambiguation) | Introduction
Vowel phonemes in parentheses occur only in certain Austrian-Bavarian dialects or only appear as allophones or in diphthongs. Nasalization may also be distinguished in some dialects. Bavarian has an extensive vowel inventory, like most Germanic languages. Vowels can be grouped as back rounded, front unrounded and front rounded. They are also traditionally distinguished by length or tenseness.
Bavarian language | Vowels
A characteristic of Central Bavarian is the vocalization of "l" and "r" after "e" or "i". E.g. the standard German "viel" becomes either "vui" (in Western Central Bavarian) or "vüü" (in Eastern Central Bavarian). The border between the western and eastern subgroups roughly coincides with the border between Bavaria and Austria. In all subgroups, hard consonants such as "p, t, k" are softened to become "b, d, g".
Central Bavarian | Characteristics
The Danube Swabians () is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in various countries of southeastern Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in greater numbers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Most were descended from late 18th-century settlers recruited by Austria-Hungary to repopulate the area and restore agriculture after the expulsion of the Ottoman Empire. They were able to keep their language and religion and initially developed strongly German communities in the region. The Danube Swabians are considered the most recent group of ethnic German people to emerge in Europe.
Danube Swabians | Introduction
The first line of his song has since become a common summary of Swabian stereotypes known throughout Germany. In a widely noted publicity campaign on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Baden-Württemberg, economically the most successful state in modern Germany, the Swabians famously embraced their stereotyping, "We can do everything—except speak Standard German" ("Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch").
Swabians | Culture
Schwabenhass (German for "hatred against Swabians") is a neologism referring to aversion to the approximately 300,000-strong Swabian diaspora in Berlin and elsewhere in Germany outside of Swabia. In 2013, the so-called "Spätzle-streit" gained nationwide attention.
Schwabenhass | Introduction
In comparison with the more French-influenced Baden cuisine, Swabian cuisine is rather simple and rustic. It is native to Swabia, which comprises great parts of Wurttemberg and the Bavarian part of Swabia, as well as the Allgäu which has parts lying in Austria. Of very essential importance are egg noodle products in many variations, e.g. Spätzle or Maultaschen. Also typical are substantial soups and stews.
Swabian cuisine | Introduction
The Austrian part of the Lech valley is remarkable in that it is home to three very different dialect regions. The municipalities in the upper reaches of the valley, up to and including Steeg and Kaisers, belong to the Highest Alemannic German dialect region. The central Lechtal valley from Holzgau to Stanzach is part of the Bavarian language region. The lowest part of the valley from Forchach, in the east as far as the Lähn (municipality of Bichlbach) is predominantly a Swabian speaking area. The Highest Alemannic and Swabian areas are part of the Alemannic German dialect region.
Lechtal | Dialects
The area settled by the Alemanni corresponds roughly to the area where Alemannic German dialects remain spoken, including German Swabia and Baden, French Alsace, German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg.
Alemanni | Introduction
ISO 639-3 distinguishes four languages: "gsw" (Swiss German), "swg" (Swabian German), "wae" (Walser German) and "gct" (Alemán Coloniero, spoken since 1843 in Venezuela). Standard German is used in writing, and orally in formal contexts, throughout the Alemannic-speaking regions (with the exception of Alsace, where French or the Alsatian dialect of Alemannic is used).
Alemannic German | Status
South Franconian is mainly spoken in northern Baden-Württemberg in Germany, but also in the northeasternmost part of the region of Alsace in France. While these dialects are considered as dialects of German in Baden-Württemberg, they are considered as dialects of Alsatian in Alsace (the other Alsatian dialects are either Alemannic or Rhine Franconian). The South Franconian dialects are colloquially referred to by their speakers as "Badian" in the Badian parts, and as "Unterländisch" (the Unterland being the region around Heilbronn) or "Swabian" (because of strong influences from the capital Stuttgart, where Swabian dialects are spoken) in the Württembergian parts of Baden-Württemberg.
Franconian languages | South Franconian
Wolfgang Wulz, president of the "Verein Schwäbische Mundart" (Association of the Swabian Tongue), has praised "Muggeseggele" and "Lällebäbbel" as prominent examples of distinctive and admirable Swabian expressions. Both foreign and German immigrants to Baden-Württemberg tend to include some of the specific dialect expressions in the course of speaking. They often do not adapt to the dialect, but show their desire to integrate into the local community by adopting key regional vocabulary. "Muggeseggele" is one of the words deemed funny and distinctive and used in that way as part of a cultural code. A cookery book honoring the relationship between the twinned cities of Karlsruhe and Halle contains a small glossary of Saxon and Alemannic words, including "Muggeseggele".
Muggeseggele | Cultural importance and particular instances of usage
In the 21st century, they are made up of ethnic Germans from many former and present-day countries: Germans of Hungary; Satu Mare Swabians; the Banat Swabians; and the Vojvodina Germans of Serbia's Vojvodina and Croatia's Slavonia, especially those in the Osijek region. They called themselves "Schwowe" in a Germanized spelling, or "Shvoveh" in an English spelling; in the singular first person, a Danube Swabian identified as a "Schwob" or a "Shwobe". In Serbo-Croatian, Danube Swabians, alongside the local populace would refer to them as Švabo, or Njemci, referring to their ethnic origin. However, the Carpathian Germans and Transylvanian Saxons are not included within the Danube Swabian group.
Danube Swabians | Introduction
Many variants of Swabian also have a plural diminutive suffix: -la. E.g.: "oi Mädle, zwoi Mädla."
List of diminutives by language | Swabian
The Satu Mare Swabians or Sathmar Swabians (German: Sathmarer Schwaben) are a German ethnic group in the Satu Mare () region of Romania. They are one of the few Danube Swabian () subgroups that are actually Swabian, and their dialect, Sathmar Swabian, is similar to the other varieties of the Swabian German dialect. Most were originally farmers in Upper Swabia who migrated to Partium (at the time Hungary, now Romania) in the 18th century, as part of a widespread eastward movement of German workers and settlers. Their principal settlements were Satu Mare, Carei, Petrești, and Foieni () and they also settled in Urziceni (), Căpleni (), Tiream (), Beltiug (), Ciumești (), and Ardud ().
Satu Mare Swabians | Introduction
Tritt nun hervor aus Deiner Jahresbleibe. Und erfülle mit Freude die Großen und die Kleinen. Dir sei geweiht die Fasnet im Jahre des Heils 20..“. (Greetings to the noble jester's robe. Come forth from where you have stayed all year. Bring joy to the old and the young. We dedicate this year's Fasnet to you.) The most important role on and around January 6 takes the jester's friendly gatherings.
Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht | Start: January 6th
The dialects of German that are or were spoken primarily in colonies or communities founded by German-speakers resemble the dialects of the regions of the founders. For example, Pennsylvania German and Volga German resemble dialects of the Baden-Württemberg, Hutterite German resembles dialects of Carinthia and Venezuelan "Alemán Coloniero" is a Low Alemannic variant.
German dialects | Overseas dialects
The Gäu is a plateau, about 250 to 500 metres above sea level, comprising rocks of the muschelkalk and Lettenkeuper which has been deeply incised in places by the rivers Neckar, Ammer, Würm, Glems, Enz, Metter and Zaber. In the north the Swabian Gäu landscapes transition into the uplands of Bauland and Tauberland, in the west they are bounded by the Black Forest, in the east by the Swabian Jura and by the Keuper Upland regions of Schönbuch, Glemswald and the Swabian Forest. The Gäue are intensively farmed regions, whose soils mainly consist of brown earths ("Parabraunerden") on loess. In the so-called Poor Gäue ("Arme Gäue") there is no covering of loess: on the karstified limestones of the Upper Muschelkalk, generally only shallow and less fertile rendzinas have developed.
Gäu (Baden-Württemberg) | Natural regional characteristics
It is perhaps for this reason that "Schwäbische Alb" has sometimes been translated into English as 'Swabian Alps', thus avoiding the lesser-known name "Jura". However, the area is not part of the Alps (despite its proximity), nor is it ever referred to as such in German, the Alps being "die Alpen" in German (plural).
Swabian Jura | Note on terminology in English and German
Some Low German/Low Saxon varieties in the vicinity of Hamburg and some Moselle Franconian and Ripuarian Franconian varieties do, too.
Length (phonetics) | Introduction
This is most common in the syllable coda, as in non-rhotic English, but often occurs before an underlying schwa, too. Vocalization of "r" is rare only in Alemannic and Swabian German.
Guttural R | Standard German
Its remains can be seen as "Fossa Carolina" or "Karlsgraben" near Treuchtlingen.
Swabian Rezat | Introduction
Swabia (, ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.
Swabia (Bavaria) | Introduction
The dialect spoken in Bukovina, Gründlerisch in origin, was characterized by the shift of original (Middle High German) /v/ to /b/ and of original /b/ to /p/. The dialect of Hopgarten distinctively shifts Middle High German /l/, in all positions, to 'u'.
Zipser German | Dialectal differences
South Franconian () is an Upper German dialect which is spoken in the northernmost part of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, around Karlsruhe, Mosbach and Heilbronn. Like closely related East Franconian it is a transitional dialect, which unites elements of Central German and Upper German. The language area is located in the transient zone between Rhine Franconian dialects (Hessian and Palatinate German) in the north and Alemannic German (Low Alemannic and Swabian German) in the south. South Franconian is one of the High German dialects with the lowest number of speakers. South Franconian is not considered a separate dialect by some observers.
South Franconian German | Introduction
Today, "Alemannic" is a linguistic term, referring to Alemannic German, encompassing the dialects of the southern two thirds of Baden-Württemberg (German State), in western Bavaria (German State), in Vorarlberg (Austrian State), Swiss German in Switzerland and the Alsatian language of the Alsace (France).
Alemanni | Language
They were allowed to keep their own religion, language and culture, and many German villages were founded in the Banat. The descendants of the ethnic Germans became known as Danube Swabians ("Donauschwaben") and spoke a distinct form of German that became different from what evolved in the principal states. This is one reason for the high proportion of ethnic Germans in the town before World War II. After the war, many left the area to escape Soviet dominance; others were expelled because of anti-German sentiment throughout eastern Europe. The town was a district center in Torontál County during Habsburg rule.
Sânnicolau Mare | History
South Marchian (High German: "Südmärkisch") is an East German dialect of Lusatian-New Marchian German. The Berlin dialect is affected by this dialect. The peculiarity of this dialect is the fact that it combines Low German and High German characteristics in a large area. This can be explained by the transformation of the Middle Low German dialect, which was also spoken in Frankfurt (Oder), by the High German influence into an East Central German dialect.
South Marchian dialect | Introduction
Alemannic Separatism is a historical movement of separatism of the Alemannic-German-speaking areas of Germany, France and Austria (viz., South Baden, Swabia (viz. most of Württemberg and all of Bavarian Swabia), Alsace and Vorarlberg), aiming at a unification with the Swiss Confederacy (later Switzerland). The historic origins of the movement lay in the Napoleonic era (ca. 1805–1815) and it was briefly revived both after the end of World War I (1919) and after the end of World War II (1946–1952). The term "Alemannic" for the group of High German dialects was introduced by Johann Peter Hebel in 1803, who named them for the Alamanni tribes of the Migration period.
Alemannic separatism | Introduction
High German (in the broader sense) is distinguished from other West Germanic varieties in that it took part in the High German consonant shift (c. AD 500). To see this, compare English/Low German (Low Saxon) "pan/Pann" with Standard German "Pfanne" ( to ), English/Low German "two/twee" with Standard German "zwei" ( to ), English/Low German "make/maken" with Standard German "machen" ( to ). In the southernmost High Alemannic dialects, there is a further shift; "Sack" (like English/Low German "sack/Sack") is pronounced ( to ).
High German languages | Classification
Orthography between plain angle brackets follows Wiesemann's orthography and between italic angle brackets follows Altenhofen et al.'s orthography. The contrast between plosives is not of voice, but of articulatory force, a phenomenon observed in some other dialects of German.
Hunsrik | Consonants
Subgroups according to German dialectology: Further variants:
Thuringian dialect | Classification
Alemannic, or rarely Alemannish ("Alemannisch", ), is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. The name derives from the ancient Germanic tribal confederation known as the Alemanni.
Alemannic German | Introduction
A characteristic is the commixture of grammatical and sociolinguistic aspects, as well as of linguistic and political-ideological convictions. Battisti and Salvioni's research was influenced by sympathies for the Italian irredentism, leading to the demand that speakers of Romansh should accept Italian as a "Dachsprache" because of their "Italianity", and subsequently to linguistically justified political claims that the Romansh-speaking Graubünden should become part of Italy. On the other hand, Swiss linguists regarded mere grammatical features as subordinated to sociolinguistic and historic considerations, and they strongly supported the idea of a separate "language".
Questione Ladina | Aspects
Like other High Alemannic varieties, Bernese German shows monosyllabic lengthening in comparison to Middle High German, in words such as ('bath'), ('speech'). However, there is normally no open syllable lengthening, so the corresponding disyllabic words have a short vowel, such as ('to bathe'), ('to speak'). Open syllable lengthening occurs only in a few cases, mainly before and , for example ('to drive') or ('valleys'). A distinctive trait of Bernese German that sets it apart from other High Alemannic varieties is the occurrence of vowel shortening in comparison to Middle High German. This shortening applies most generally before [t] in words such as ('time') or ('loud').
Bernese German phonology | Vowel lengthening and shortening
Either pan-fried or only cooked they are commonly eaten with melted butter, cinnamon sugar, apple sauce or fruit preserves.
Swabian cuisine | Schupfnudeln
The distinctive feature of the Highest Alemannic dialects is the lack of hiatus diphthongization, for instance 'to snow', 'to build' vs. High Alemannic , . Many High Alemannic dialects have different verbal plural endings for all three persons, for instance "wir singe(n)" 'we sing', "ir singet" 'you (plural) sing', "si singent" 'they sing'. Almost all other German dialects use the same ending for the first and third persons in the plural. There are High Alemannic dialects that have preserved the ending -n which has been dropped in most Upper German dialects.
Highest Alemannic German | Features
Bernese German is distinguished from other Swiss German dialects by the following characteristics:
Bernese German | Phonology
Weak Declension Strong Declension Comparative Superlative Irregular
Low Alemannic German | Adjectives
Prior to the First World War, the Swabians were the largest ethnic group to assimilate into Hungarian society, seconded by the Galician Jews and the Slovaks. They were first and foremost Catholics, peasants thereafter, and thirdly loyal subjects to Kaiser Franz Joseph. But a distinct Hungarian Swabian ethno-national consciousness didn't develop until the spread of Romantic Nationalism in the late nineteenth century. For the greater portion of their history, the Danube Swabian did not share a cultural identity. The term Swabian has its roots in the first wave a German-speaking immigrants from Swabia to re-settle southern Hungary after the expulsion of the Ottomans in 1689.
Danube Swabians | Culture
Stuttgart, often nicknamed the ""Schwabenmetropole"" () in reference to its location in the centre of Swabia and the local dialect spoken by the native Swabians, has its etymological roots in the Old High German word "Stuotgarten", or "stud farm", because the city was founded in 950 AD by Duke Liudolf of Swabia to breed warhorses. In the local dialects of Alemannic German it can be "Schtuegert", and in Swabian German "Stuagart"; with similar variant spellings, usually dropping the central T sound.
Stuttgart | Etymology
In the 1919 elections it won six seats in the Chamber of Deputies. However, it did not contest any further elections.
Swabian Group | History
The fools' calls are unique and different depending on the places and guilds which they are from.
Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht | Fools' calls
Anti-Swabian sentiment occurs in different ethnic groups in Germany. The people of Baden, who live immediately west of Swabia and share with them the state of Baden-Württemberg, have a tradition of rivalry with their eastern neighbors. According to the notion, "we have nothing against Swabians, at least nothing with sustainable remedy effect". Theodor Fontane states in his 1895 novel "Effi Briest" that Swabians were a reason to move away from certain neighborhoods in Berlin. The terms "Schwob" and "Szwab" have been used by German Swiss and Poles respectively as an ethnic slur for all Germans. Similar prejudices applied to the Donauschwaben in Hungary despising everything German.
Schwabenhass | Historical background
The European watershed also passes through the region, with some rivers emptying into the Danube (ultimately flowing into the Black Sea) and others emptying into Lake Constance (ultimately ending in the North Sea). Due to Upper Swabia's altitude and hilly terrain, agriculture consists mainly of dairy farming, the exception being the basin of the river Schussen, where the predominant produce is hops and fruits. Upper Swabia is still a very rural area dominated by villages. The urban population is concentrated in the cities of Friedrichshafen, Ravensburg & Weingarten and Biberach an der Riß as well as Memmingen and Günzburg. The eastern border of Upper Swabia has been disputed for some time.
Upper Swabia | Geography
The Danube Swabian language is only nominally Swabian ("Schwowisch", as it was referred to locally). In reality, it contains elements or many dialects of the original German settlers, mainly Swabian, Franconian, Bavarian, Pfälzisch, Alsatian, and Alemannic, as well as Austro-Hungarian administrative and military jargon. Loanwords from Hungarian, Serbian, or Romanian are especially common regionally regarding cuisine and agriculture, but also regarding dress, politics, place names, and sports. Other cultures of influence include Serbian and Croatian, Russian (for communist concepts), Romanian, Turkish (Hambar), English (for football), and general Balkan and South Slavic loanwords like "Kukuruts" (corn). The plural of loanwords is in most cases formed in the Shwovish way.
Danube Swabians | Language