Hi stepher10,

Do you know the town or at least the Kanton where your dad came from? That would help to know which dialect he or your ancestors spoke. Your last name will tell where the name originated.

Also, I think what you first wrote was very touching and I think wanting to connect with your roots by having it written in the dialect is very cool.

Nothing against the suggestions that people have given you but this is such a personal thing. It really can only come from you.

You are wise to take your time.

Whatever you do, just don't get it in Züridütsch.... because that's just yuck..

you might give us a joke or saying of him and we all will give you some translations into dialect and standard language

You might have better luck getting an answer by going into 'Language Corner' and starting a new thread!

Thanks for understanding! It is most definitely a very personal decision and it will mean a lot to me if I end up getting it done. A few people seemed concerned about the tattoo aspect in general, but I have two nice ones already so it's not too far out on that limb. I do understand that they are for life though, so thank you all for your concern!

I unfortunately do not know the town where it orginated. As I mentioned before, he never actually lived in Switzerland, but I have traced the roots of our last name back this far. I'm just learning along the way about the very unique and indepth characteristics of the Swiss German language. It's quite intriging! If it will help, my last name is Etter. It's hard to find specific information online. It's fairly uncommon here in Canada, so maybe it is uncommon in Switzerland as well.

Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Thx!!

He loved to tease me, and being an only child I got a lot of it. I am a small girl but always had a big appetite and he used to call me Garbage Guts all the time. I'm not sure how that would translate lol, but it's all I can think of right now.