Language

A medieval dialect
The official languages in Valais are French (from Sierre down the Rhone river to St-Gingloph and German (from Sierre up the Rhone to Gletsch). English is very common in the major tourist centres such as Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Crans-Montana and Verbier.

Through contact with their many international guests, the Valaisans generally have a good ear for foreign languages. The approximately 80,000 German-speaking people of Upper Valais, however, are particularly proud of their local dialect, “Walliserdeutsch”, or Walliser German. Older than most of the other Swiss dialects, Walliser German is a form of Highest Alemannic and features a number of French loan words due to its proximity to Francophone regions. This can all lead to comprehension problems outside the canton. However, the most successful dialect singer in Switzerland, Sina, sings in Walliser German. The dialect’s difficulty may well be precisely what makes it so fascinating.

German courses in Valais / www.integration-ow.ch
Language immersion / www.valais-immersion.ch
Dialect in Valais / www.walliserdialekt.ch
Dialect singer Sina / www.sina.ch

 

"Wallissertitschi Weerter" für den Alltag

"Wallisertiitsch"

German

English
iisch / iinsch

uns

us
summi

einige/manche

some
sienta / hienta

manchmal

from time to time
embrüüf / obschi(g) 

hinauf

up
emapcha / embricha / embri / nitschi(g)

hinunter

down
hüerugüet

fantastisch

fantastic
flät / fleet

sauber

clean
tullu / brillu / flännu / griinu

weinen

to cry
hirme / liwwuu

ausruhen

to rest
chorru

probieren

to try
antru

imitieren

imitate sb./sth. 
di Pfyfolttra / di Pfyfolttru

der Schmetterling

the butterfly
där Hopschl / Hopschil

der Frosch

the frog
ds Schwingi / ds Gaschi

das Schwein

the pig
d Wägschta 

die Schönste

the most beautiful
där Botsch

der Junge

the boy
ds Mämmi

das Baby

the baby
ds Gotti / di Gotta

die Patin

the godmother
där Getti

der Pate

the godfather
där Etro

der Onkel

the uncle
där Frigor

der Kühlschrank

the refrigerator
di Guttra

die Flasche

the bottle
di Pusset

der Kinderwagenthe 

the pram
di Poort / di Poorta / ds Tiri 

die Tür

the door
d’Haba

die Klinke

the handle
där Schaft

der Schrank

cupboard
där Tschuggu

der Fels

the rock
di Tschiffra / di Tschiffru

die Traghutte

wooden back pack
Frontag

Donnerstag

Thursday
Üstag

Frühling

spring