Learning Swiss German?

Question

Does anyone have any great resources where I could help myself learn this dialect? I know it wouldn't really be the best way, and that the Swiss would rather not have their dialect to be butchered and what not, but it's something I would love to know. =] If you have any resources, or any methods that you would or have used I'd love to hear them! I'm using Pimsleur's Swiss German but I know that won't be enough.

Also, the region does not matter if you have anything!

Thanks in advanced. =D

Answer 1

As the others have implied, it is difficult to learn Swiss German outside of Switzerland, because it is not a written language. It is best to learn it by hearing it. But having said that there are a few good online resources you can look at such as:

http://wikitravel.org/en/Swiss-German_ph...

http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/pjoyce/dialec...

http://europeforvisitors.com/switzaustri...

AND if you decide to spend a little money and do it right, there is a book you can buy from Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-German-Under...

If you decide to come to Switzerland and learn it here, consider some of these Swiss destinations:

http://www.travelswise.com/switzerland.h...

Answer 2

Since Swiss German is different from town to town, the

best way to learn it is to live there and start speaking it

with friends.  I lived in Zurich for 1.5 years, only spoke

high German and English, got along fine that way.  But

friends of mine who dated and married Swiss guys learned

Swiss German from their boyfriends who became their

husbands.

Answer 3

I would  learn standard German first. (If you plan to live in Switzerland you need standard German because it is the language for written communication.)

Then you could take a Swiss-German course in Switzerland:

http://www.klubschule.ch

Answer 4

You can make your holliday in a little village in a farm, so you can lear swissgerman without problems.