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The Coffee Shop

  • Thread starter The Fallen Angel
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"This 'Schwyzerdütsch' is not really German; this must once have been a collective illness of the throat or the larynx of the Swiss!"
Of course there's not just one of that, they are quite different by canton.
Apart from the throaty aspect, however there's also an entirely different melody - in words that are shared between High German and a Swiss dialect the Swiss will often stress different vowels/syllables. For German speakers unfamiliar with it once they lose track which sound belongs to which word they suddenly find themselves understanding nothing...

It's always funny to see people react to my daughter switching from Spanish to Züridütsch, they really don't know what to make of it ;)
 
For German speakers unfamiliar with it once they lose track which sound belongs to which word they suddenly find themselves understanding nothing...
Been there, done that. I recall being able to get along quite well in Germany, right until I crossed the frontier and stopped in Zurich. I went into a small cafe for something to eat and started by speaking German (my German was not as "rusty" back then). The waiter very cheerfully said something completely unintelligible back (he had clearly understood me). I just stared back at him, with him looking at me with a look of amused patience (he was about my age - which would make him a middle-aged merchant banker now, I suppose). Then I said, "can we do this in English?" He said, "sure, no problem."
:confused: :doh::D
 
Been there, done that. I recall being able to get along quite well in Germany, right until I crossed the frontier and stopped in Zurich. I went into a small cafe for something to eat and started by speaking German (my German was not as "rusty" back then). The waiter very cheerfully said something completely unintelligible back (he had clearly understood me). I just stared back at him, with him looking at me with a look of amused patience (he was about my age - which would make him a middle-aged merchant banker now, I suppose). Then I said, "can we do this in English?" He said, "sure, no problem."
:confused: :doh::D
He was probably messing with you, practically all Swiss-German people can switch to talking in a 'German-compatible' way ... but sometimes they don't want to...
One of the best songs of BAP:
That really was one of their great ones, memorable lyrics also. BAP got on my nerves a bit back in the day (this would be when I was in my early teens) because the radio stations would totally shove absolutely everything they released down our throats 24/7 but this one has stood the test of time.
 
"Been there, done that." Mhm, by the way, was that not this song of Christopher Cross? And why do my Shazam and SoundHound apps never find this song?



And for those native English speakers who want to know how Swiss-German sounds for a German-Turkish comedian in Germany, listen to this example from minute 4:05 on.
The German-Turkish (or Turkish-German?) comedian Kaya Yanar explains that it sounds for him like someone riding a horse whilst speaking German referring to himself as a "Turko-Germane" on holiday in Switzerland:



And here some more examples of Alien-sounding German and other dialects:

 
‘Squirrel’ only came into English with the Normans, esquirel - modern French écureuil, which most English speakers, and Germans probably too, would have problems with, rolling that velar ‘r’ – but it sounds much sexier than ‘squirrel’ or ‘Eichhörnchen’.
That reminded me of something, my favourite version of La Marseillaise:


I’ve wondered where she had gotten that accent. She practically purrs every time she pronounces ‘r’, like “Marrrrrrrrrchongs, marrrrrrchons, qu’un sang impurrrrrrrrr!”

It certainly sounds sensual for me (I love cats! :p), but I haven’t heard other French people speaking - or purring - like that. Could it be a dialect of a kind?
 
That reminded me of something, my favourite version of La Marseillaise:


I’ve wondered where she had gotten that accent. She practically purrs every time she pronounces ‘r’, like “Marrrrrrrrrchongs, marrrrrrchons, qu’un sang impurrrrrrrrr!”

It certainly sounds sensual for me (I love cats! :p), but I haven’t heard other French people speaking - or purring - like that. Could it be a dialect of a kind?
I think it's Parisienne - I love rolling the 'rs' in 'Marrrrrrrchons' when I'm singing La Marseillaise! Of course I sound 'rs' forcefully in my Scots, I don't drop them like the English - but they're palatal, not the Parisian velar. Mireille Mathieu is the true successor to Edith Piaf, qui ne rrrrregrrrrette rrrrien!

 
It certainly sounds sensual for me (I love cats! :p), but I haven’t heard other French people speaking - or purring - like that. Could it be a dialect of a kind?

Yes, I really think so, because Mireille Mathieu was born and raised in Avignon in the South of France and there the people really speak a "r" which is more similar to a Spanish "r" than to a French "r". I had a German teacher for French, who also said, she once had a French girl in her class who spoke a French like a Spaniard would do and she was from a département in France not so far away from Avignon.

In France, Mireille Mathieu is also called La Demoiselle d’Avignon , in Germany she was sometimes called "der Spatz von Avignon" , because she is so very small (1,50 m or so) like a little bird with a great voice.
 
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I think it's Parisienne.
Yes, I really think so, because she was born and raised in Avignon in the South of France and there the people really speak a "r" which is more similar to a Spanish "r" than to a French "r".
Isn't the dialect spoken by Parisiennes considered to be the standard French? I know I can't really assume that because there can be exceptions (e.g. the Cockney) but I've learned French briefly in school, and the natives in those lesson videos always pronounced it as a guttural sound, closer to "h" in English, so I assumed it was the standard pronumciation.

Ah, I've forgotten about Edith Piaf! Yes, I can hear the similarity. But I know that she is a Parisienne indeed, and now I'm as confused as ever :)
 
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As far as I know, it is in Paris similar like in other capitals of the world, because there are different classes of people in such a great city and yes, there is high-class French spoken in Paris but it is spoken by the "elite of the state" who came from special national schools like the ENA in Strassbourg. They are said to speak the highest French and they are diplomats and very high ranking civil servants, but they are very much critized during the last 10 years because they are also said to be no more in touch with the normal population.

By the way:
There is also another version of 1988 of the Marseillaise from Mireille Mathieu on YouTube and there seems to have been a quarrel in the comments between several French fans of her and others who are discussing if this version is not too exaggerating some French words in her way of singing it because of her origin from Avignon.
 
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Moreover, I just had a look at the French Wikipedia-sites. Edth Piaf as well as Mireille Mathieu were both born in extremely poor worker's families and Piafs mother was of Italian origin.
So, probably both did never really speak the "highest French" from the beginning of their lives, they both learned it later and I cannot judge if they were ever perfect in "high French".
 
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"Baumratten"?

:eek: Nooooooo!!!

These are totally different species for German biologists - according to Wikipedia! This is a "Baumratte" which lives on Caribbean islands:

View attachment 869513 :(

And this is a sweet, beautiful "'German' rotes Eichhörnchen" (!!!) :

View attachment 869514 :)

Note: I said the American slang term. Where I live, it's common to call squirrels by the pejorative term "tree rats."
It was a joke.
 
Heh some of us watch anime and there all the aliens speak Japanese (also supposedly English characters who should speak in received pronunciation really, really don't).
I assume this is because the aliens can be quite fuzzy about the concept of our geography or nationality:

NDDce.jpg

(Image hosted on an external website)

I'll translate the subtitle in English:

"From this moment, you shall follow the orders of Neo-Atlantis,"
"And you will be only allowed to live as slaves of us."
"I want you to surrender us a small country called the United Kingdom."
"As a sign of your compliance, you shall, in 24 hours,"
"raise a white flag on that Effiel Tower."
"In case you refuse, London will be destroyed by my divine light as a punishment."
"It's about time, Gargoyle sir."
"What humans are doing?"
"Silly creatures,"
"willing to die for their petty pride."
"Prepare the Light of Babel!"
"Target London!"
"Regret in hell, you stupid humans!"
 
As far as I know, it is in Paris similar like in other capitals of the world, because there are different classes of people in such a great city and yes, there is high-class French spoken in Paris but it is spoken by the "elite of the state" who came from special national schools like the ENA in Strassbourg. They are said to speak the highest French and they are diplomats and very high ranking civil servants, but they are very much critized during the last 10 years because they are also said to be no more in touch with the normal population.

By the way:
There is also another version of 1988 of the Marseillaise from Mireille Mathieu on YouTube and there seems to have been a quarrel in the comments between several French fans of her and others who are discussing if this version is not too exaggerating some French words in her way of singing it because of her origin from Avignon.
Yes, some leading cities pride themselves in "correct" pronunciation.
 
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