| Highest Alemannic German | |
|---|---|
| Höchstalemannisch | |
| Region | theAlps |
Native speakers | 4,500,000 Swiss German (2012)[1] 10,000 Walser (2004)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:gsw – Swiss German (partial)wae – Walser German |
| Glottolog | None |
 Areas where Highest Alemannic dialects are spoken are marked in red. | |
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Highest Alemannic is a branch ofAlemannic German and is often considered to be part of theGerman language, even thoughmutual intelligibility withStandard German and other non-Alemannic German dialects is very limited.
Highest Alemannic dialects are spoken inalpine regions ofSwitzerland: theBernese Oberland, in the German-speaking parts of theCanton of Fribourg andValais, and in theWalser settlements (mostly in Switzerland, but also inItaly and inAustria; seeWalser German). In the West, the South and the South-East, they are surrounded byRomance languages; in the North, byHigh Alemannic dialects. In the Swiss canton ofGraubünden (Grisons) only the Walser exclaves in theRomansh part and thePrättigau,Schanfigg andDavos are Highest Alemannic; theRhine Valley withChur andEngadin are High Alemannic.
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The distinctive feature of the Highest Alemannic dialects is the lack ofhiatusdiphthongization, for instance[ˈʃniː.ə(n)] 'to snow',[ˈb̥uː.ə(n)] 'to build' vs. High Alemannic[ˈʃnei̯jə],[ˈb̥ou̯wə].[2]
Many High Alemannic dialects have differentverbal plural endings for all three persons, for instancewir singe(n) 'we sing',ir singet 'you (plural) sing',si singent 'they sing'. Almost all other German dialects use the same ending for the first and third persons in the plural.[3]
There are High Alemannic dialects that have preserved the ending -n which has been dropped in mostUpper German dialects.
The Highest Alemannic dialects are considered to be the most conservative dialects of German. The dialect of theLötschental, for instance, preserved the three distinct classes ofweak verbs (as inOld High German) until the beginning of the 20th century.
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