Dieth spelling

The Dieth spelling is a guideline for the writing of Swiss German dialects . It was written by its chairman, Eugen Dieth , following the resolutions of the writing commission of the New Helvetic Society (Zurich Group) and in 1938 under the title Schwyzertütschi Dialäktschrift. Guide to a uniform notation for all dialects published.

In contrast to the uniform written Swiss German language required by Emil Baer and Schwyzer Schproch-Biwegig, the Dieth spelling was created with the aim of reproducing the different Swiss German dialects as faithfully as possible and thus contributing to their preservation. On the one hand, relying too heavily on the High German spelling did not make sense, as this only partially reproduces the pronunciation (e.g. one spells dream, dreams in order to stay graphically close to the singular with the umlaut ä of the plural; however / tʁaʊm tʁɔɪmə /). Such a spelling is only suitable if the writer and reader speak the same dialect and the pronunciation is therefore clear to everyone. On the other hand, due to legibility, it was decided against too strong a sound proximity, in which pronunciation adjustments are also taken into account (e.g. Si hexeit är sigschläch zwäxi. )

The main feature of Dieth's spelling is the consistent distinction between short and long vowels , which are exclusively characterized by double writing , as well as between short, gentle ( Lenes ) and long, strong consonants ( Fortes ). The Dieth spelling stands out from the Bärndütsche Schrybwys , which has a long tradition among authors who write in Bern German, is more based on the High German typeface and has been codified by Werner Marti .

regulate

The following rules refer to the second edition, edited by Christian Schmid-Cadalbert and published in 1986. Deviations from the first edition are listed separately.

Vowels

Vowel quality

The open variants of a vowel are marked with a grave accent compared to the closed ones .

	bright (front)	medium (central)	dark (rear)
closed	i (y) - ü		u
	ì (i) - ǜ		ù
medium	e - ö	e	O
	è - ö̀		O
open	Ä	a

Bernd. schribe ('to write'), gschrìbe ('to write'); zurichd. stele, bernd. stèuue (‹to place›); zurichd. / bernd. stale ('steal'); bernd. Lüt (‹people›), for (‹for›); zurichd. Apples, bernd. Ö̀pfu (‹apple›); bernd. ueche (‹upwards›), ùsser (‹ ausser ›); baseld. Ooschtere ('Easter'), Òschtere ('East'); bernd. Load (<Load>)

Depending on the dialect, the a-sound can be lighter (i.e. articulated further forward in the mouth) or darker (articulated further back). However, this distinction is not reflected in the Scriptures.

The unstressed vowel ( Schwa ) is written as e, unless it is specially colored. ä is only written if it is a clear ä sound, which is the case in many Alpine dialects.

Baseld., Bernd., Luzernd., Zurichd. do, but Schwyzerd. , urnerd. machä, bundnerd. macha, valaisd . machu ('make')

variants

Comes in a dialect only the open version of a vowel before, so the Accent as may on its label using grave to dispense (eg. Amber. Lege instead lège or offe instead Offe, since the closed e and o-sounds in Bern Germans exist). Alternatively, the designation of the open vowels can be omitted completely, unless there is a risk of confusion (as with bernd. Züüg (‹Sachen›), Zǜǜg (‹trains›)) or when open and closed vowels meet directly (as with bernd. Pùut ( ‹Pult›) or zurichd. Mèèe (‹to mow›)). In both cases where the grave accent is not used, it is no longer possible to draw conclusions about the exact pronunciation, which is actually not in the sense of the Dieth spelling.

The letter y can also be used for the closed i . In this case you write the open i without the accent grave.

Bernd. schrybe, gschribe (instead of schribe, gschrìbe )

First edition

Dieth used the character ë (instead of è ) for the open e-sound . In addition, he used y for the closed i-sound y (for length, for example zurichd. Zyt ‹time›) or i (for secondary shortening of old length, for example Zürichd. Side ‹Seide›) and for the open i-sound i (see also below under vowel quantity ).

Vowel quantity

Short vowels are written once, long vowels are written twice.

Bernd. afe ('already'), aafaa ('to begin'); ùùraut (‹ uralt ›), lut (‹laut›)

The length of a vowel must not be marked with stretch-h or stretch-e , as is usual in High German . Even the simple spelling of a long vowel is not in the sense of the Dieth spelling.

Faarplaan (not timetable ); Paradise (not paradise ); bernd. ììn (not ìhn )

variant

If y is used for the closed i-sound and i for the open i-sound, the long closed i-sound can also be written y (compare the spelling in place names such as “Schwyz” or in family names such as “Wyss”). In dialects that use long and short closed i-sounds, however, a distinction must be made between y (short) and yy (long).

Zurichd. Zyt (‹Zeit›, with a long closed i-sound; also possible: Zyyt )

Baseld. Zyt (‹time›, with a short closed i-sound), but myyde (‹ meiden ›, with a long closed i-sound)

First edition

After the first edition, the closed short i-sound can be written either y or i , the long one only y. The open i-sounds are written i (short) resp. ii (long). The following table provides an overview of the i-sounds including variants of the first and second edition:

	1st edition = 2nd edition V. 2	1st edition variant	2nd ed.	2nd edition variant 1
closed i	y - y	i - y	i - ii	y - yy
open i	i - ii	i - ii	ì - ìì	i - ii

Nasal vowels

Nasal vowels can be marked with a tilde .

Bernd. Bassä̃ (‹Bassin›), Appenzellerd. Fẽẽschter ('Window'), Valais. Sũ (‹son›)

First edition

The first edition uses the superscript n instead of the tilde to mark the preceding vowel as nasalized (e.g. bernd. Bassäⁿ ).

Diphthongs and triphthongs

Doubts and triples are basically written as they are pronounced. If the first vowel is pronounced long, it is written twice.

Bernd. Gluet (‹Glut›), lieb (‹lieb›), lòuffe (‹ lauf ›), äuuä (‹wohl›, ‹probably hardly›), Wiudsòu (‹ wildschwein ›); Gfüeu ('feeling'), Schueu ('school'), ieu ('yes'), ghèie ('falling')

Consonants

Plosives

short / weak	b	d	G
long / strong	p / pp	t / tt	gg

Bernd. Bass (‹Bass›), Pass (‹Pass›); aube ('each', 'earlier'), Aupe ('Alps'); thank you ('think'), soak ('thought'); rède (‹reden›), rètte (‹retten›); Gang (‹Gang›), ggange (‹goed›); plaage (‹ plagen ›), schnaagge (‹ criechen ›)

Based on the high German typeface, p and t are doubled after a short vowel. In the wording and after a long vowel, diphthong or consonant, however, p and t are simply written.

Bernd. Ròupe (‹caterpillar›), black horse (‹ rappen›); Mueter ('mother'), father ('father'); raate (‹rate›), rat (‹rat›); hùrti ('quick'); Chèmpe (‹large stones›)

A breathy p or t is initially written as ph or th.

Bernd. phaute ('to keep'), Thèè ('tea')

If the ending t meets a d in a verb form , you write dt. In addition, certain words from High German keep the ending dt.

rède (‹reden›), grèdt (‹ geredet ›); City, related

variant

In addition to p and t , the spelling with bb and dd can also be used in the past participle in order to stay graphically close to the basic form.

Bernd. bblaase / plaase (from blaase; ‹ geblasen ›), bbräätlet / vorätlet (from bräätle; ‹ gegrillt ›); ddanks / tanks (from thanks; ‹thought›), showered / tuscht (from shower; ‹geduscht›)

First edition

Dieth distinguished between strong but short p and t and strong, long pp and tt.

Bernd. rède or zurichd. rede (‹reden›), zurichd. rete ('save'), bernd. rètte ('save'); zurichd. Father, mother; bernd. Father, mother

Fricatives

short / weak	f (v)	s	sch	ch
long / sharp	ff	ss

Bernd. afe ('already'), monkey ('monkeys'); use (‹raus›), ùsse (‹ draussen ›); nùùsche (‹rummaging around›), pfùsche (not pfùschsche; ‹botch»); ache ('down', 'down'), laugh (not laugh; ' laugh')

Words with the f-sound that are written with v in Standard German keep the v. However, the v cannot stand for the w-sound.

Bernd. Vògu ('bird'), Waase (not Vaase; ' vase')

Sch + p and sch + t become sp and st. This also applies to compound words.

Bernd. spuele (‹spulen›), zrüggspuele (‹rewind›); stògle (‹stumble›), gstòglet (‹ stolpert ›); but Fäischter ('Window'), Pfòscht ('Post')

variant

The palatalized ch sound (as in high German ich ) can be written ĉh .

Walliserd. ĉhennu (‹can›)

First edition

In the first edition Dieth suggested the special character ʃ for the weak sch sound. For the sharp sch sound he used ʃʃ, for the sharp ch sound cch and for the sharp s sound besides ss also ß . Due to the special character ʃ , ʃ + p and ʃ + t remain in the wording ʃp and ʃt.

short / weak	f (v)	s	ʃ	ch
long / sharp	ff	ss / ß	ʃʃ	cch

Bernd. use, ùsse / ùße; nùùʃe, pfùʃʃe; ache, lacche; ʃpuele, ʃtògle

Clasp fricatives

pf

z / tz

ch

k / ck

Bernd. pfuuse (‹to sleep›), Ö̀pfu (‹apple›); Zittig ('newspaper'), Bèiz ('restaurant'); tschègge ('to understand'), soaking wet ('dripping wet'); kö̀merle (‹shopping›), hèiku (‹ heikel ›)

After a short vowel there is tz or ck (instead of z or k ), unless the corresponding High German word is written with z or k .

Bernd. Stùtz ('Franconia', 'steep street'), Batze ('coin'), but Chrüz (because of 'cross'); sèckle ('race')

In some cases it is advisable to write ts instead of z or gch instead of k , so that the word stem or the word structure is graphically preserved.

Bernd. zmìtts (not zmìtz, because of Mitti; ‹ inmitten ›), säutsaam (because of säute; ‹strange›); gchlemmt (not stuck, because of chlemme; ' stuck'), gchòuft ('bought'); but kènnt (because of kènne; ​​' known')

The breathed gg of certain dialects, such as Basel and Bündner German, is written kh (instead of ggh ).

Churerd. Khur ('Chur'), Khua ('Cow'), kho ('Coming')

First edition

Dieth used tʃ instead of ch.

Very loud

H

Bernd. aahaute ('to stop'), Hìmu ('heaven'), abverhèit (' fail' )

Vocal sounds

short / weak	m	n	ng	l	r
long / strong	mm	nn		ll	rr

Bernd. ö̀mu (‹anyway›), äne (‹ over there ›), äng (‹eng›), Lö̀ö̀u (‹ stupid head ›), gränne (‹weeping›); zurichd. Hamer, Bernd. Hammer (‹hammer›); zurichd. Sune, bernd. Sùnne (‹Sonne›)

ng + k is written nk, ng + g becomes nng and ng + gg becomes ngg.

Bernd. Anke ('butter'), masculine ('sometimes'), Schìngge ('ham')

Before t, sch, scht and p , long m, n, l and r are usually written simply.

Bernd. dù chùnsch (not dù chùnnsch; ‹you are coming›), är chùnt (not är chùnnt; ‹he is coming›); Lämpe (not Lämpe; ‹anger›); but that is true (because of the voice; ' that is true')

variants

A (vocalized) l that has become u inside the word can be written next to u as well as ḷ ( l with a squat) or w . But only u can be written at the end of a word .

Bernd. gfauue / gfaḷḷe / gfawwe ('fallen'), Fäud / Fäḷd / Fäwd ('field'); but only Näbu ('fog')

First edition

An l that has become u is always written l, ḷ or w , also at the end of the word . The spelling with u is not intended.

Half vowels

j

w

Bernd. Jaar ('year'), trääje ('turning'), nö̀iji ('new'); was (‹was›), wisawii (‹vis-à-vis›), wääje (‹wehen›)

k + w is written qu.

Bernd. Quèuue, but baseld. Gwèlle ('source')

Spelling at the end of the word

Consonants at the end of a word with a preceding short vowel are doubled, unless the corresponding High German word is only written with a final consonant.

Bernd. Tö̀ff ('motorcycle'), Flùss ('river'), lùgg ('lose'), wènn ('when'), nätt ('nice'); but Bö̀s (‹Bus›), mìt (‹with›), on (‹am›, ‹um›)

First edition

After the first edition, consonants are always written simply at the end of a word, including:

Bernd. Tö̀f, Flùs, lùg, wèn, nät

Adjustments

Phonetic adjustments between several words or within a compound word are usually not reproduced in writing in order not to impair legibility.

Bernd. d Hǜng (not t Hǜng; ‹the dogs›), är het gseit (not är he gseit; ‹he said›), zurichd. nöd vil (not nöpfil; ‹not much›); bernd. Schiudchròtt (not Schiukròtt; ‹turtle›), Bettgschtu (not Beggschtu; ‹bed frame›); however, Gròsvatter (too big; ' grandfather'), Häntsche (on hand; ' glove')

Minor phonetic deviations from Standard German, in inflected or derived words, as well as in the prefix ab- written, are also not adjusted if the pronunciation is a matter of course (since the non-adjusted sequence of sounds is never pronounced).

Bernd. Hèrbscht (not Hèrpscht; ' Autumn'); you läbsch, är läbt, gläpt (not you läpsch, är läpt, gläpt; ‹you live, he lives, lived›); bèläbt (not bèläpt; ‹ bèläbt ›); am blötscht (not am blötscht; ' most stupid'); abhèie (not apghèie; ‹to fall away ›)

However, alignment must be carried out if failure to align would lead to incorrect pronunciation.

Bernd. äntlech (in spite of Ami; ‹finally›), frǜntlech (in spite of Frǜnd; ‹ friendly›); however frìdlech ('peaceful')

In contrast to the prefix ab- , the High German prefix is adjusted where p is spoken instead of b .

Bernd. psueche (‹visit›), Pschǜtti (‹ yes ›); But thank (<thank>)

For better legibility, the e should be written in the prefixes verb and der- (High German da- ) and in mer (‹wir›, ‹man›, ‹mir›), although it is often not pronounced. In the article of the, however , the e can be omitted.

Bernd. vernùùsche (‹embarrassed›); derbii (not drbii; 'at the same time'); är hèt mer gschrìbe (not är hèt mr gschrìbe; ‹he wrote to me›), zurichd. more tired (not mr tired; ‹we have to›); bernd. the anger (‹the other›), the / dr Wääg (‹the path›)

First edition

After the first edition, the prefix is always written with b , unless there is no longer any reference to Standard German (and spelling with b would thus lead to incorrect pronunciation).

Bernd. bsueche, Bschǜtti; however phaute (‹retained›), prìchte (‹report›)

Compilation

pronoun

The pronoun s or sch (High German es / she) is added to the preceding word.

Bernd. wènns gèit ('if it works'), wènn sìs sèit ('when she says it'), är hèts gwǜsst ('he knew it'), wos gsèè hèi ('when you saw it'), Valaisan. what hènsch gsèit? (‹What did you say?›)

Is the pronoun mer (<we>, <to>, <I>) with the preceding verb merged , we write together.

Zurichd. muemer ('we have to'), müemer ('we have to'), hämer ('we have'); but sawn (‹tell me›), my hands (‹we have›)

items

Articles can merge with the preceding preposition . It is written together when the preposition ends with a vowel and the article no longer has the original form d, de, der or ds .

Bernd. ir Schachtle (<in the box>), i (ne) re Schachtle (<in a box>) näbä (ne) re Schachtle (<next to a box>); however, Näbä dr Schachtle (‹next to the box›)

If the preposition ends with a consonant, it can be written together and separately. The article s (das) is always written together.

Bernd. ùger em / ù longer Bètt (‹under the bed›), uf em / ufem Bètt (‹on the bed›); ufs Bètt (‹on the bed›)

First edition

After the first edition, a preposition that ends with a consonant may not be written together with the following article (except s ).

Bernd. ùger em Bètt, uf em Bètt; but ufs Bètt

Connection n

The connection-n is added to the preceding word.

Bernd. at a closer place (‹at another place›)

apostrophe

The apostrophe should not be used to highlight omissions or individual parts of a summary.

Bernd. z Òute (not z'Ôute; ‹in Olten›), är hèts gsèè (not är hèt's gsèè; ‹he saw it›), gueten Aabe (not guete'n Aabe; ‹good evening›)

Upper / lower case

The upper and lower case follows the High German.

First edition

Dieth prescribed the moderate lower case in the first edition . In addition to proper names and forms of politeness, only the first word of a sentence should be capitalized.

Foreign words and proper names

Foreign words and proper names ‹can› be spelled accurately.

Bernd. Biljèè (‹Billett›), Bischu ( fr. Bijou; ‹piece of jewelery›), Disggò (‹Disco›), Gguaffö̀ö̀r (‹Coiffeur›), Kòmpjuuter (‹Computer›), Mèèr (fr. Mère; ‹Mutter›), Naziòn (‹Nation›), tschòge (‹joggen›); Buume ('Baumann'), Mǜuuer ('Müller'), Pèsche ('Peter'); Bieu (‹Biel›), Brèitsch (‹ Breitrain ›), Bùrtlef (‹Burgdorf›), Mǜnchebùchsi (‹Münchenbuchsee›)

Text sample

In Bern German, after the second edition:

Dr Nòrdwìnd ud Sùnne hèi èinìsch mìtenang gchìflet, would be vò ìne bèide äch dr Stèrcher sig, from e Wanderer, wò ìmene warm Mantu iighǜut gsii ìsch, derhäär chòò ìsch. Sì si six èinig would that dää vò ìne for e Stèrcher so much what the wanderer compels, si mantu off. Dr Nòrdwìnd hèt with aùùer Chraft plaase, abr jè mèè är plaase hèt, deschtò mèè hèt six dr Wanderer ì si Mantu iighǜut. Schlièsslech hèt dr Nòrdwìnd dr Kampf ufggää. Now the sun of the air has warmed up with the other frntleche Straale, and after a few glimpses of the walk, the hiker has withdrawn from the mantu. Since hèt dr Nòrdwìnd must admit that the Son of Stèrcheri vò ìne bèide ìsch.

After the first edition:

Dr nòrdwind ud sùnne hëy ëynisch mitenang gchiflet, wäär vò ine bëyde äch dr ʃtërcher syg, from e wanderer, wò imene warm mantu yghǜut gsy isch, derhäär chòò iʃ. Si sy six ëynyg would, dää vò ine for e ʃtërcher söu, wò dr wanderer forces to sy mantu abznää. Dr nòrdwind hët with aùùer chraft plaase, abr jë mëë är plaase hët, deʃtò mëë hët six dr wanderer i sy mantu yghǜut. Ʃlyësslech hët dr nòrdwind dr kampf ufggää. Now the sùnne d airs with irere frǜntleche ʃtraale ërwarms, u ʃò to wënyge òglicke has the wanderer sy mantu deducted. Since dr nòrdwind must zuegää, the d sùnne dy ʃtërchery vò ine bëyde iʃ.

Phonetic transcription :

/ tr nɔrtʋɪnt u t͡sʊnːə hɛi ɛinɪʃ mɪtːənaŋ k͡xɪflətː | ʋæːr fɔ ɪnə pɛitə æx tr ʃtːɛrxər sik | from ə ʋantərər | ʋɔ ɪmənə ʋarmə manːtu iːkʰʏutː ksiː ɪʃ | trhæːr xɔː ɪʃ ‖ sɪ si səx ɛinik ʋɔrtə | tas tæː fɔ ɪnə fʏrə ʃtɛrxər sœu kæutə | ʋɔ tr ʋantərər t͡sʋɪŋtː | si manːtu apt͡snæː ‖ tr nɔrtʋɪnt hɛtː mɪtː auːər xraftː pːlaːsə | apr jɛ mɛː ær pːlaːsə hɛtː | dɛʃtɔ mɛː hɛtː səx tr ʋantərər ɪ si manːtu iːkʰʏutː ‖ ʃliəsːləx hɛtː tr nɔrtʋɪnt tr k͡xamp͡f ufkːæː ‖ jɛt͡stː hɛtː t͡sʊnʏ tlʊ rrælmtnt | u ʃɔ nax ʋɛnikə ʊukəplɪk͡xːə hɛtː tr ʋantərər si manːtːu apt͡sɔkæ ‖ ta hɛtː tr nɔrtʋɪnt myəsːə t͡suəkæː | tas t͡sʊnːə ti ʃtɛrxəri fɔ ɪnə pɛitə ɪʃ /

Standard German translation:

Once upon a time, the north wind and the sun argued over which of the two would be stronger than a hiker wrapped in a warm coat who came along the way. They agreed that whoever would force the wanderer to take off his coat should apply to the stronger. The north wind blew with all its might, but the more it blew, the tighter the wanderer wrapped himself in his cloak. At last the north wind gave up the fight. Now the sun warmed the air with its friendly rays, and after a few moments the wanderer took off his coat. The north wind had to admit that the sun was the stronger of the two.

application

The Dieth spelling is used in all volumes of the series Grammars and Dictionaries of Swiss German in a generally understandable representation, which were supported by the Bund Schwyzertütsch and the Swiss German Association. These include:

• Hans Bossard: Zug dialect book. Schweizer Spiegel Verlag, Zurich 1962 (grammars and dictionaries of Swiss German. Vol. 4).
• Armin Bratschi, Rudolf Trüb : Simmental vocabulary. Dictionary of the dialect of the Simmental (Bernese Oberland). Ott Verlag, Thun 1991 (grammars and dictionaries of Swiss German. Vol. 12).
• Ludwig Fischer : Lucerne German grammar. New edition. Swiss Spiegel Verlag. Zurich 1960 (grammars and dictionaries of Swiss German. Vol. 2).
• Heinz Gallmann: Zurich German Dictionary. 3rd edition. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2015.
• Rudolf Suter : Basel German grammar. 3rd edition Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 1992 (grammars and dictionaries of Swiss German. Vol. 6, Ed. 3).
• Rudolf Suter : Basel German Dictionary. 2nd edition Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 1995 (grammars and dictionaries of Swiss German. Vol. 9, Ed. 2).
• Albert Weber : Zurich German grammar. Verlag Rohr, Zurich 1987 (grammars and dictionaries of Swiss German. Vol. 1, Ed. 3).

The publications of the phonogram archive of the University of Zurich , of which Dieth was president for over twenty years, are also based on Dieth's spelling .

Other publications are also based on Dieth, for example:

• Karl Imfeld : Obwalden dialect dictionary. Brunner Verlag, Kriens (2000).
• Christian Schmutz , Walter Haas : Sensler German dictionary. 3rd ed. Paulusverlag, Freiburg 2013 (German-Freiburg contributions to local history. Vol. 65, Ed. 3).
• Viktor Schobinger : Zurich German in a nutshell. Schobinger-Verlag, Zurich 2006.
• Otto Uehlinger: Schafuuser dialect. Schaffhauser Kantonalbank, Schaffhausen 1982.

It is used much less frequently in dialect literature; one example is Barbara Egli from Zurich Oberland. Bern-German authors usually follow the Bärndütsche Schrybwys, others have their own spelling, but these are often based on the Dieth spelling.

Since the Dieth spelling requires an exact procedure, it has never actually become popular. Accordingly, it is hardly ever used in casual and spontaneous dialect writing.

literature

• Eugen Dieth : Schwyzertütschi Dialäktschrift. Guide to a uniform spelling for all dialects. According to the resolutions of the Writing Commission of the New Helvetic Society (Zurich Group). Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1938.
• Eugen Dieth: Schwyzertütschi Dialäktschrift. Dieth spelling. 2nd ed., Edit. and ed. by Christian Schmid-Cadalbert . Verlag Sauerländer, Aarau 1986 (=  lively dialect. Vol. 1).

Remarks

1. ↑ The Ʃ used here is only an approximation of the capital letters of ʃ proposed by Dieth . However, this is not available in the Unicode standard.

1. ↑ Werner Marti: Bärndütschi Schrybwys. A guide to writing down in the Bernese German language. Francke, Bern 1972; 2nd edition 1985, ISBN 3-305-00074-0 . A short version that can be viewed online can be found in the journal SchweizerDeutsch 1, 2009, pp. 17–20 .