Ancient farmers’ dialect gets new lease of life in Valais
An ancient dialect is experiencing a renaissance in the canton of Valais. Patois, once principally spoken among farmers, used to be considered uncultivated and was even banned in some regions. But now it’s being taught in the village of Evolène. (SF/swissinfo.ch)
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Time takes its toll on old Swiss language
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They used dialects of the language group now known as Franco-Provençal, which today have all but disappeared. Scholars are working against the clock to gather information about them, while enthusiasts are doing their best to keep the flame alive. Traditionally there has been something of the idea that these dialects, commonly referred to as patois,…
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At the moment, one third of teaching is supposed to be in dialect, one third in “high German”, the standard language of Germany, and the other third at the discretion of the teachers, according to the situation. Supporters of the “Yes to dialect in the kindergarten” campaign suspected that the aim of the education authorities…
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The prolific American inventor achieved this feat in 1877. More than 30 years later the Phonogram Archive of Zurich University joined the technical revolution. To mark its centenary this year, the archive is publishing a new CD edition of the legendary Voices of the Homeland, a collection of audio recordings of Swiss dialects, first produced…
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But despite its name, it is a work of immense scholarship. The title derives from the Greek word for “peculiar”: the Idiotikon is a comprehensive dictionary of spoken and written German in the form peculiar to Switzerland. Switzerland has four national languages – German, French, Italian and Romansh – each of which has its own…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.