Continuum Between Standard German and German Dialects
In most regions, the speakers use a continuum of mixtures from more dialectical varieties to more standard varieties according to situation. However, there are two exceptions:
- In Northern Germany, there is no such continuum between the local indigenous languages and dialects of Low German varieties and standard German. Low German speakers only constitute a small minority.
- In German-speaking Switzerland, there is no such continuum between the Swiss German varieties and Swiss Standard German, and the use of standard German is almost entirely restricted to the written language. Therefore, this situation has been called a medial diglossia. Standard German is rarely spoken, and even then the accent and vocabulary is very much Swiss, except for instance when speaking with people who do not understand the Swiss German dialects at all, and it is expected to be used in school. Standard German has, however, left a clear imprint on the contemporary variants of Swiss German, regional expressions and vocabulary having been replaced with material assimilated from the standard language. Of all the German-speaking countries Switzerland has however retained its ability to use dialect in everyday situations, also a commonplace phenomenon in southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Alsace, and South Tyrol. The fairly common aspect of dialect use in Swiss media (both radio, internet, and television), which ranges from uncommon to rare in the media of Austria, Germany, East Belgium, South Tyrol and Liechtenstein, makes Switzerland a special case.
Although Luxembourgish is no longer considered a German dialect today but a language, the situation can be compared to that of Switzerland. Standard German is also taught in schools in Luxembourg and close to 90% of the population can speak it.
Read more about this topic: Standard German
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