Thusner German
Thusnerdeutsch (vernacular Thusnertütsch) is a German-speaking Grisons dialect that is spoken in Thusis in Domleschg .
Origin of the dialect
The origin of this strange dialect is still unclear today. Until well into the 18th century, the area around Thusis, d. H. in Domleschg, on the lower Heinzenberg, in the Albula valley and in Schams, spoken exclusively in Romansh , except in Thusis, where - apparently since the beginning of the 13th century, after a group of newcomers from the German-speaking area who were there in a toboggan bridge from that time (the Jura de Ponte Renasca) documented "Colonia Alamannorum ze Tusens", settled - German was spoken.
Almost completely enclosed by the Romansh-speaking surrounding area, this small German colony and its descendants subsequently adopted numerous Romansh expressions and otherwise retained the characteristic sounds from their traditional dialect, or perhaps strengthened them over the centuries: A long light a ( as in German state), an equally long ä, which is closer to the a than the e, and above all the peculiar endings on -an, with a long a (gan = to go), -ann, with a short a as in German can ( i can = I can; i hann = I have), -in, with a long, bright i (durin = inward), and -in, with a short i as in German sense (gsin = been).
These and other peculiar sound formations (e.g. the closed long u, similar to whirring in German (major = over; also the u in Thusis is often pronounced that way)) and which exist in this multitude like no other German-speaking dialect Words derived from Romansh make up the peculiarity of this dialect.
About the origin of the Colonia Alamannorum, which at the beginning of its presence in Tosana (that was the name of Thusis at that time, which at that time consisted of little more than a farm located between the present-day villages Thusis and Masein ), possibly on behalf of the bishop , operated the bridge from Thusis over the Rhine to Sils, apart from the fact that it came from the German-speaking area, nothing is known. Possibly it came from the area of today's Vorarlberg , where a dialect similar to that in Thusis is still spoken in the rural areas around Feldkirch . But this is just a theory that has not yet been confirmed.
Language examples
- gan and stan and blibalan, if you can't do that, you can't go Thusis gan
- chatter ungschiniert aaaa, saw as wide as possible äääää, so that everyone notices, who knows about Thusis
- äpa (approximately, approximately)
- jucca (hop)
- pucca (stoop)
- Puccaraia (cockchafer)
- Furca (pitchfork)
- Tschiifara (large basket carried on the back)
- Faschiina (bundles of firewood with dry branches or logs, tied together with hemp strings, later with wire or metal bands)
- Pälca (shutters)
- Gälla (loud, mostly youthful or female voice)
- Pitta (bread-shaped sweet pastries)
- Faschöla (beans)
- Paloga (plum)
- Koga (e.g. bad person, or cunning guy)
- gschenta (squint)
- arventa (return)
- Tattoo (beatings for naughty children)
- Schnarz (rant)
- Pomaranza (oranges)
- Schcarnutz (paper bag)
- Shpusa (bride)
- Gschtelaschi (disorder)
- paschga (bellows)
- curaschi (courage)
- Spiina (faucet)
- Spälla (hairpin)
- able (missing)
- strähla (combing)
- Clutscha (hen with young)
- Botsch (Mutschkopf)
- Totsch (clumsy)
- Zicca (goat)
- Micca (bread roll)
- Brütschi (bread slice with butter and jam)
- Puschcatin ( Weggli )
- Fazzalet (scarf)
- Schtrucha (runny nose)
- Schnuddargälla (Schnudernase)
- Roscha Puttla (group of children)
- Schluanza (bitch)
- Nocc (stubborn man)
- Nocca (stubborn woman)
- nossa (agree)
- Kinetta (ditch)
- Caretta (wheelbarrow)
- Shtuba (living room)
- Bäsma (broom)
- Schwättara (slap)
- kräppla (climbing)
- Laundry henca (hanging laundry)
- klenca (long)
- Schpensa (pantry)
- mora Morgat (tomorrow morning)
- Fugaschipitta (lard pastries)
- Guatali (cookies, biscuits)
With a few exceptions, the language examples above come from a dialect poem by the late Thusner dialect poet Alma Marguth - Gyger (1908–1999).
Thusner German today
Today (2006) Thusner German is spoken more or less unadulterated by older people. For boys, at least for those whose parents spoke or speak Thusner German, apart from a few of the expressions mentioned, at least the characteristic endings of -an, -ann, the light long a (e.g. aab = downward ; aanlegga = put on clothes; aanfanga = begin; etc.), the long ä (här = her), the long i in iin (in) and in the ending -in (e.g. siin = to be) and the short i in -in (i am = I am; gsin = been).
literature
- Kurt Danuser: Thusner German . Self-published, Thusis 1982.