That may be true, but not if the native language is non-Alemannic German and you try to speak Swiss German. That usually sounds like you want to make fun of the Swiss and their language.

Germans are well advised not to try that unless they are absolutely fluent and have only a slight accent, which, of course, is difficult to achieve without talking with the Swiss in their caricature of German. Using seemingly Swiss German diminutives, especially "Fränkli" and "Räppli," can make you sound like a complete jerk. There is only ONE instance where "Fränkli" is allowed, and that occurs pretty rare.

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I'm so old, I own stuff made in the USA

Yep, sorry I meant local language as in Standard German not Swiss German (I was trying not to be German/French/Italian/Romansch area specific). Me trying to speak Swiss German definitely sounds like I am trying to take the p*ss (or I have been on the local schnapps), so it's best avoided...

Conversing with neighbours, teachers, kids' friends' parents, workmen, officials, doctors, policemen. Negotiating the purcahse of our flat, negotiating the mortgage, understanding the purchase contract, understanding what's happening at residents meetings. Making myself more attractive on the job market, understanding ice hockey commentary ad nauseum...

Yes, the Americans really know how to produce Porn.

Some Swiss German words got into my daily language and regularly earn me weird stares when I am back in Germany.

Not so much other than hellos and good-byes and brief chats which I could only half understand. Still, I started to appreciate Swiss-German as a language in its own right (and 'Swissnesses') even though I couldn't speak more than two words of it.

Having a puppy with you, on the other hand, suddenly brought out ALL the neighbours you'd never met before, and children would pop out of nowhere wanting to be your friend (read: pup's friend).

I am a total beginner, and am doing a very low level hoch Deutsch course. I can't speak yet (bar some VERY basic stuff), but I carry around a Wörterbuch and rifle through it.

I make a point when communicating with people that I'm learning, and I ask them things, like "is it Wir war, or Wir waren?" and they have been, in 100% of cases, very helpful. They see me trying, and are wiling to help.

I read in here yesterday about some old grizzly bloke who called someone worthless for not knowng the language. He'd receive a Wörterbuch tonk on the head from me.

For a beginner, it is a VERY difficult language to learn. "Ich rufen mein Freund an".. chopping words up? jezus give me a break!!

I hear you. For me what helps is to try and think of a situation where we do the same thing in English. (e.g. "take on", "trade in", "look around")

What's really weird though is that in some grammatical circumstances you then put the two halves back together!
Ich rufe ihn an / "I ring him up"
Ich rief ihn an / "I rang him up"
but Ich habe ihn schon angerufen - "I have already uprung him"?!

'Uprung him' sounds like what KangarooBen wanted to do with that kranky old guy - besides thonking him with his Worterbuch.

What was that story about a team doing simultaneous translations from German? The 'listeners' could see that the German chap was talking on and on but no translation was forthcoming. "For goodness sake, why have you stopped? What on earth is he saying?" The poor translator replied "I don't know, he hasn't got to the verb yet!"

My exposure to Swiss German has still only been cursory..but I am in Bavaria with equally interesting language stylings. I have to ask my non-Bavarian friends to keep my German in check, so I know when a local phrase slipped into the Hochdeutsch.

I still have to remind myself to be careful saying "ein bissl" or "es passt schon" outside of Bavaria. Those phrases combined with my lederhosen and Filzhut would give me away as living in the South.

My native language isn't non-Alemannic German, but I've still discerned that sometimes an attempt to invoke a Swiss-German word or phrase can be misunderstood that way. It hasn't happened in a long time, but there were a few instances where the reaction was awkward at best. Lately, especially among (Swiss) friends and relatives, there seems to be a (sometimes pleasantly surprised) appreciation of my efforts at linguistic assimilation (though I remain domiciled in Texas for the time being).

At a dinner in Winterthur last October, our host identified a particularly tasty dessert cheese as having come from Graubünden, and I won a round of chuckles with "Aso, es Bündnerchaas, oder?"

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—Tim
"After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were..." — Oscar Wilde

on my first arrival , i spoke swiss german already , but obviously with some kind of accent , because when someone met me who i'd previously only spoken to on the phone said something like , oh , you are english ...i thought you had a speech defect...however , the locals were are and hopefully will remain friendly

When I first arrived here I thought everyone was angry! Anyway with time, 11 hour shifts totally immersed in the language and a very determined attitude (if others can learn a second language so can I) not to mention reading the Blick and the desire to earn more money. I got there.

In the days when one was paid a percentage as a waitress, my Swiss/German combined with Liverpudlian down to earth attitude guarantied my tables were full every night. Me own business and no risk.

I was stand up/serve up comedy long before Guy graced us with his bounty.

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.....expat I aint.

Anybody who's learned a language will empathise with this. It can be a hell of a slog and you have to be a self starter because nobody can do it for you. The great thing it isn't all or nothing. Every little step forward makes life a little easier. For me that's it's own reward. You might not earn any more but you'll save a lot of hassle!

I think it makes a difference where you start out Nev. If you are in a well paid job where English is the working language then every little step forward is a bonus. If your condemned to "skivvydom" then it's the only way up and beyond.