English

Noun

Swiss German ‎(plural Swiss Germans)

1. Any of a group of related Alemannic languages spoken in certain parts of South Germany, Switzerland and Austria, especially considered as the main spoken language of Switzerland.
   • 1990, Stephen Barbour, Patrick Stevenson, Variation in German: A Critical Approach to German Sociolinguistics, page 213:

     Today, it is probably true to say that both varieties have positive prestige but for different reasons and to differing extents: attitudes to Swiss German, as the unifying vernacular that gives the German-Swiss their identity, are positive in every respect, while Swiss standard German enjoys widespread prestige only as a written form that enables them to be part of the international German-speaking community […].

   • 2004, Harald Fuchs, ‎Paul G. Schreier, Züritüütsch isch aifach schön, page xi:

     We do not intend this book to serve as a complete course in Swiss German; rather, it serves as a supplement to those studying the language in a more formal way.

2. (loosely) Any local form of the German language used in Switzerland; Swiss Standard German.
   • 2014, Philip Oltermann, The Guardian, 14 Feb 2014:

     Two years ago, there was an uproar in the local media after Coop ran an advertising campaign that used the High German word for "to barbecue", grillen, rather than the Swiss German grillieren.

Translations

Adjective

Swiss German ‎(comparative more Swiss German, superlative most Swiss German)

1. Pertaining to the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
2. Of or relating to one or all of the languages.

See also

• Swiss German on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Alemannic
• Swiss Standard German

References

• Ethnologue entry for Swiss German, gsw