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| It is clear that Swiss German is a statement of identity for Swiss people. But, for example, what should a foreigner do when he enters Switzerland? Should s/he learn German, English or the Swiss German variety of the places where s/he decides to settle down? | |
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I guess the best is to learn High German before you come to settle in Switzerland and then just pick all the possible pieces of the Swiss German in the region you settle in. HG helps to understand SG (do not know how others see it but it helps me
). I do learn it in the way of comparisons. Its quite helpful, although I do plan to learn the dialect of SG properly only when I really reach the point of moving to CH.
And BTW, there are few books that help to learn basic SG - one of them is HOI, YOUR SWISS GERMAN GUIDE (published by Bergli Books, Basel - avialable almost in every book shop in Switzerland). I think it was mentioned even here at English forum as I bought it upon the suggestion of a member of this forum.