My husband and I have been living in Switzerland for the past 5 years (small town of Basel). We are non-german speaking and constantly have problems finding answers to some very basic questions - the forum has been a good source for answers.... Thank you

Welcome to the forum Ninjambu.

I agree that this is a valuable resource for English speaking people in Switzerland.

But five years in Switzerland and you don't speak any German?

Thank you Flashman...we speak enough to get by. However, work does not require it and with a toddler, who also joined our lives durig the last 3 years, somehow, formal lessons never materialized. And overall, I am short on paitence when it comes to differentiating between hoch deutsch and schweizerdeutsch...No excuses - simply the way things are. B-rgds, Ninjambu

Hi Ninjambu,

I have also found this forum invaluable.

Don't get hung up on the differences in the dialects. Just learn High German and tell everyone you speak High German. I find most Swiss people are willing to change over when they know that one can't manage Swiss German. I also find that as I learn more High I can understand more Dialect.

Welcome
Blaze

Even if you manage to understand swiss german, people will automatically switch to high german as soon as they notice your accent no matter how many times you tell them that you understand swiss german

In my case that does not apply. I look like I could be Swiss and so many people assume that I am and walk up to me and start yacking away. Sometimes even when I ask to talk High German they carry on in Swiss or talk such heavily accented High German that I still don't understand!

But anyway, off topic.

I find (in Basel) that if you try to speak High German with an obvious (British) accent, they (people you meet casually) invariably answer back in French. I think it's because the French border is so close, most of the people they hear murdering their language are French. (that, and a lot of the people you meet, in shops and supermarkets, are actually French cross-border workers.)