| Walser German | |
|---|---|
| Walscher, Wallissertitsch | |
| Native to | Switzerland,Italy,Austria,Liechtenstein |
| Region | upperValais &Walser, theAlps |
| Ethnicity | Walser people |
Native speakers | 22,780 (10,000 in Switzerland) (2004)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wae |
| Glottolog | wals1238 |
| IETF | wae[2] |
 Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects | |
 Walser German is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
Walser German (German:Walserdeutsch) andWalliser German (Walliserdeutsch, locallyWallisertiitsch) are a group ofHighest Alemannicdialects spoken in parts of Switzerland (Valais,Ticino,Grisons), Italy (Piedmont,Aosta Valley),Liechtenstein (Triesenberg,Planken), and Austria (Vorarlberg).[3]
Usage of the termsWalser andWalliser has come to reflect a difference of geography, rather than language. The termWalser refers to those speakers whose ancestors migrated into other Alpine valleys in medieval times, whereasWalliser refers only to a speaker fromUpper Valais – that is, the upperRhone valley.In a series of migrations during theLate Middle Ages, people migrated out of the Upper Valais, across the highervalleys of the Alps.
TheAlemannic immigration to the Rhone valley started in the 8th century. There were presumably two different immigration routes, from what is now theBernese Oberland, that led to two main groups of Walliser dialects. In the 12th or 13th century, the Walliser began to settle other parts of theAlps.[4] These new settlements are known asWalser migration. In many of these settlements, people still speak Walser.
Because the people who speak Walser German live in the isolated valleys of the high mountains, Walser German has preserved certain archaisms retained fromOld High German which were lost in other variants of German.[4] The dialect of theLötschental, for instance, preserved three distinct classes of weak verbs until the beginning of the 20th century.[clarification needed]
Walser German dialects are considered endangered, and language shift to the majority language (French,Italian,Standard German) has taken place in the course of the later 20th century.[3]
Walser German is part of theHighest Alemannic group, most closely related to dialects spoken in theBernese Oberland and inCentral Switzerland (Uri,Schwyz,Unterwalden,Glarus).[citation needed]
There is limited mutual intelligibility withHigh Alemannic forms ofSwiss German (whose speakers are calledÜsserschwyzer "outer Swiss" by the Walliser), and barely any mutual intelligibility withStandard German.[citation needed]
In Italy, Walser German is almost never spoken among children ofWalser people and is rarely spoken by their parents and most commonly by the grandparents. Often, older people will speak to younger people in Walser German, with the younger people responding in Italian. Walser German is most commonly but not exclusively used in private and familial settings when no non-speakers are present.[5]
The total number of speakers in the world estimated at 22,000 speakers (as of 2004), of whom about 10,000 are in Switzerland.[6]Because the dialect group is quite spread out, there is rarely any contact between the dialects. Therefore, the dialects that compose Walser German are very different from each other as well.[3] Specific Walser dialects can be traced to eastern or western dialects of the Upper Valais. Conservative Walser dialects are more similar to the respective groups of Wallis dialects than to neighboring Walser dialects.
Because the dialects of Walser German are different from each other, it is difficult to make generalizations about the language that apply to all the dialects. This section will be about the Walser German dialect ofFormazza, or Pomattertitsch. Pomattertitsch is part of theHighest Alemannic German (höchstalemannisch) dialect group, which is made up of dialects that share similar features. The Highest Alemannic German group contains German dialects ofValais; Walser German dialects in Italy and Ticino; and eastern Walser German dialects in Grisons, Vorarlberg, and Liechtenstein. The first feature that is shared by this group is the palatalization ofMiddle High German (MHG)-s- to-sch-. This is very typical of Walser German dialects in general. For Pomattertitsch, however, this does not apply to every word that contains -s-:su 'son',sunna 'sun', andsi 'to be'. The second feature is a change from-nk- to-ch- or-h-: Germandenken to Pomattertitschteche 'think', Germantrinken to Pomattertitschtriche 'drink'. The final feature is the lack of diphthongs where they are present in German words: Germanbauen to Pomattertitschbüwe 'build', Germanschneien to Pomattertitschschnie 'snow'.[4]
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Stop | p b | t d | k ɡ | |||
| Affricate | p͡f | t͡s | t͡ʃ (d͡ʒ) | k͡x | ||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ (ʒ) | (ç) | x | h |
| Approximant | ʋ | l | j | |||
| Rhotic | r |
| Front | Central | Back | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | rounded | |||||||
| short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | i | iː | y | yː | u | uː | ||
| Near-close | ɪ | ɪː | ʏ | ʏː | ʊ | ʊː | ||
| Close-mid | e | eː | ø | øː | ə | o | oː | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɛː | ɔ | ɔː | ||||
| Open | æ | æː | a | aː | ɑ ~ɒ | ɑː ~ɒː | ||
Again, this section will be about the Walser German dialect Pomattertitsch.
Pomattertitsch marksnumber (singular and plural) andgender (masculine, feminine, neuter) onnouns, like most dialects of German. It also markscase (nominative/accusative, genitive, dative) on nouns, although it has been reduced over time. It also distinguishes between strong and weak nouns.
Table 1 Nouns:[4]
| Masc. Strong | Masc. Weak | Neuter | Fem. Strong | Fem. Weak | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom./Acc. sg. | tag | attu | jar | hand | matta |
| Gen. sg. | tagsch | atte | jarsch | hand | mattu |
| Dat. sg. | tag | atte | jar | hand | mattu |
| Nom./Acc. pl. | taga | atte | jar | hend | matte |
| Gen. pl. | tagu (tago) | attu | jaru (jaro) | hendu (hendo) | mattu |
| Dat. pl. | tagu | attu | jaru | hendu | mattu |
Pomattertitsch has definite (English 'the') and indefinite (English 'a')articles that agree in case, number, and gender with the noun:
Table 2 Definite Articles:[4]
| Masc. | Neuter | Fem. | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | der | ds | d(i) | d(i) |
| Acc. | der/de | ds | d(i) | d(i) |
| Gen. | tsch/ds | tsch/ds | der | de |
| Dat. | dem | dem | der | de |
Table 3 Indefinite Articles:[4]
| Masc. | Neuter | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | e(n) | es | e(n) |
| Acc. | e(n) | es | e(n) |
| Gen. | es | es | er(e)(n) |
| Dat. | em/eme | em/eme | er(e)(n)/ener(e)(n) |
Adjectives also agree in number, and gender with the noun it is modifying in Pomattertitsch. For adjectives in the attributive position, there is also agreement in strong versus weak nouns, and in case.
Table 4 Strong Attributive 'tired':[4]
| Masc. | Neuter | Fem. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Nom./Acc. | midä | mids | midi |
| Dat. | mide | mide | midu | |
| Plural | Nom./Acc. | mid | midi | mid |
| Dat. | mide | mide | mide |
Table 5 Weak Attributive 'tired':[4]
| Masc. | Neuter | Fem. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Nom./Acc. | mid | mid | mid |
| Dat. | mide | mide | midu | |
| Plural | Nom./Acc. | midu | midu | midu |
| Dat. | mide | mide | mide |
Table 6 Predicative 'tired':[4]
| Masc. | Neuter | Fem. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | midä | mids | midi |
| Plural | mid | midi | midu |
In Pomattertitsch, there is a distinction between impersonal and personalpronouns. The impersonal pronoun ismu, which is third person singular. The personal pronouns agree in number and case, with third person agreeing in gender as well for singular pronouns only.
Table 7 Personal Pronouns:[4]
| First Person | Second Person | Third Person | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Nom. | ich/-i | dü | Masc:är/-er Neuter:äs/-s Fem:schi/-sch |
| Acc. | mich/-mi | dich/-di | Masc:är/-ne Neuter:äs/-s Fem:schi/-scha | |
| Dat. | mir/-mer | dir/-der | Masc:imu/-mu Neuter:imu/-mu Fem:iru/-ru | |
| Plural | Nom. | wir/-wer | ir/-er | schi/-tsch/-schi |
| Acc. | intsch/-isch | eich (ewch) | schi/-schu | |
| Dat. | intsch | eich (ewch) | ine/-ne |
Theverbs in Pomattertitsch can be categorized into one of four classes depending on their past participle and infinitive endings:[4]
The two classes that are most productive are three and four. The third class is most productive in deriving verbs from nouns, and the fourth class is most productive in derivingloan-words from Italian.[4]
Table 8 Verb Conjugations in Present Indicative of 'Normal Verbs':[4]
| Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich 'I' | wärfä | zellä | machu |
| dü 'you' | wirfsch(t) | zellsch(t) | machuscht |
| är/äs/schi 'he, it, she' | wirft | zellt | machut |
| wiər 'we' | wärfä | zellä | machu |
| ir 'you all' | wärfät | zellät | machut |
| schi 'they' | wärfän | zellän | machun |
Table 9 Verb Conjugations in Present Indicative of 'Special Verbs':[4]
| 'to be' | 'to do' | 'to go' | 'to know' | 'can' | 'must' | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich 'I' | bi | tö | ga | weis | cha | mös |
| dü 'you' | bisch(t) | tösch(t) | ge(i)scht | weischt | chantsch | möscht |
| är/äs/schi 'he, it, she' | isch(t) | töt | ge(i)t | weis | chan | mös |
| wiər 'we' | si | tiə | gänge | wissu | chunnu | mössu |
| ir 'you all' | sit | tit | gänget | wist | chunt | mössut |
| schi 'they' | sin | tin | gängen | wissun | chunnum | mössun |
In Pomattertitsch, a 'dummy' auxiliarytö 'do' followed by the infinitive form of a verb is common for the present indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. This insertion has the same meaning as if the verb was to be conjugated normally:ich tö zellä 'I do speak/I speak'.[4]
There is not a preterite form in Pomattertitsch. Instead, past tense is expressed using the present perfect, which is formed with auxiliaries 'to be' and 'to have' followed by the past participle. On the other hand, the future tense is expressed morphologically by adding the particlede at the end of an inflected verb and after enclitic pronouns, if there are any in the sentence.[4]
The passive is expressed in Pomattertitsch by using the auxiliarycho 'come' followed by the past participle of the verb, which agrees in gender and number with the subject of the sentence:der salam chun röwä gässä 'salami is eaten raw'. The causative is expressed usingtö 'do' followed by the agent of the caused event, then the prepositionz (separate word, not morpheme), and then the infinitive:und töt ds metjie z ässä 'and he makes the girl eat'. The imperative is expressed most commonly by usingtö 'do' plus the infinitive, as stated above:tö frägä! 'do ask, ask!'. Another way is the bare indicative stem for the singular form, and the same present indicative form for the plural:zel titsch, dü! 'speak German, you!' andchomet hier! 'come (pl) here!'.[4]
There are two different subjunctive forms used in Pomattertitsch. The first form is used mainly in reported speech and in subordinate clauses that follow 'say' or 'think'. It also occurs in complement clauses that followdas 'that'. The second form is used for the conditional mood, where the conjunctionwenn 'if' can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence.[4]
Table 10 Subjunctive 1:[4]
| 'to be' | 'to do' | 'to go' | 'can' | 'to eat' | 'to work' | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich 'I' | sigi | tiji | gänge | chenne | ässe | wärche |
| dü 'you' | sigischt | tijischt | gängischt | chennischt | ässischt | wärchischt |
| är/äs/schi 'he, it, she' | sigi | tiji | gänge | chenne | ässe | wärche |
| wir 'we' | sigi | tiji | gänge | chenne | ässe | wärche |
| ir 'you all' | sigit | tijit | gänget | chennet | ässet | wärchet |
| schi 'they' | sigi | tiji | gänge | chenne | ässe | wärche |
Table 11 Subjunctive 2:[4]
| 'to be' | 'to do' | 'to go' | 'can' | 'to eat' | 'to work' | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich 'I' | wetti (wei) | täti | gängti | chenti | ästi (issti) | wärchuti |
| dü 'you' | wettisch(t) | tätisch(t) | gängtisch(t) | chentisch(t) | ästisch(t) | wärchutisch(t) |
| är/äs/schi 'he, it, she' | wetti (wei) | täti | gängti | chenti | ästi | wärchuti |
| wir 'we' | wetti | täti | gängti | chenti | ästi | wärchuti |
| ir 'you all' | wettit | tätit | gängtit | chentit | ästit | wärchutit |
| schi 'they' | wetti | täti | gängti | chenti | ästi | wärchuti |
The Walser German dialect group has the sameword order as German, for the most part. For some dialects, however, there is a change occurring in the word order of verbal brace constructions. In German, the finite verb occurs in the second position, and the non-finite verb occurs in the final position:[11]
Peterhat vorhin den Ball ins Torgeworfen
Peter has just now the ball into the goal thrown
'Peter threw the ball into the goal just now'
In some dialects, specifically Gressoney, Formazza, andRimella, the finite and non-finite verbs occur right next to each other, with the complements and adverbials at the end of the sentence. An example of this in Rimella is given below:[11]
de pappa òn d mammaheingmacht ds chriz dem chénn
the father and the mother have made the cross to the child
'The father and mother made a cross for the child'
This is a change from SOV (subject, object, verb) to SVO word order. This change is due to the increasing influence of Italian on Walser German. However, the SOV word order is still used when there is negation and when there is an inverted subject.[11]
Some southern dialects of Walser German are starting to omit the subject pronoun of sentences, just having the inflection on the verb to indicate what the subject is. This phenomenon is known as pro-dropping, and is common among languages. Italian is apro-drop language, and German is not,[12] which means that Italian is influencing some southern dialects of Walser German.[11]
Comparison between the varietiestitsch variant fromGressoney Saint-Jean andtöitschu variant fromIssime:
| titsch | töitschu | German | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| d'verwantò | z'gschlecht | die Verwandten | the relatives |
| der atto, der pappa | dar attu, dar pappa | der Vater | the father |
| bés z'néchschta | unz widergsien | auf Wiedersehen | goodbye |
| guetnacht | gut nacht | gute Nacht | good night |
| guetetag | guten tag | guten Tag | good day |
| gueten oabe | guten oaben | guten Abend | good evening |
| jener | dar gruass moanut | Januar | January |
| ougschte | augschte | August | August |
| de hònn | dar hunn | der Hund | the dog |
| d'chatzò | d'chatzu | die Katze | the cat |
| gä, kä | geen, kee | geben | to give |
| géeld | z'geeld | Geld | money |
Below are some examples of texts, with corresponding translations, in some of the variants of the Walser found in different localities.
| A text in the Walser language (Laindertitzschu variant) fromAlagna Valsesia: | English translation |
|---|---|
| «Aford an olti piri häd g'chauft à schworzi hennju van ainem ljikke hennjumandj, dos ra häd g'said: "Haira woul sourg, di bringtne glick". Dan nouchre tog häd d'hennja g'laid as guldis ai. Si hädra woul g'ge z'asse: und dà zwende tog häd's g'laid as anders guldis ai. "Di häd dan buch volle gold", hädra g'sinnud d'olt piri, und oni mei sy virirrd, mid ainem messer tuad uf dan buch der hennju. Wa am platz ds golds, findt si nua ds g'derem und d' hennja ïst g'chleckt» | «Once, an old peasant woman bought a black hen from a young poultry seller, who told her: 'Take good care of it—it will bring you good luck.' The next day, the hen laid a golden egg. She fed it well, and on the second day, it laid another golden egg. 'Its belly must be full of gold,' thought the old woman, and without thinking any further, she cut open the hen’s belly with a knife. But instead of gold, she found only the entrails—and the hen died» |
| A text in the Walser language ofRimella: | English translation |
|---|---|
| «''Er haje(n)-entacht d asschu under ts chime, und hawwer noch gvunnut e vljeschpu.Esch hétschech àrkit, und nu schinetsch wié (n) e schtérnu.Wé làng? En ts hüüsch isch mì ljeksch wett...» | «We stirred the ashes of the hearth, and we still found some embers there.It came back to life and now shines like a star.For how much longer? There is little wood left in the house...» |
| A text in the Walser (Töitschu variant) ofIssime | English translation |
|---|---|
| «Méin oalten atte ischt gsinh van in z'Überlann, un d'oaltun mamma ischt van Éischeme, ischt gsing héi van im Proa. Stévenin ischt gsinh dar pappa, la nonna ischt gsinh des Chamonal. [...] D'alpu ischt gsinh aschua van méin oalten pappa. Ich wiss nöit ol z'is heji... Ischt gsinh aschuan d'oaltu, un d'ketschu, gmachut a schian ketschu in z'Überlann. Méin pappa ischt gsinh la déscendance, dschéin pappa, aschuan méin oalten atte, ischt gsinh aschuan doa. Vitor van z'Überlann. Un té hedder kheen a su, hets amun gleit das méin pappa hetti kheisse amun Vitor. Eer het dschi gwéibut das s'het kheen sekschuvöfzg joar un het kheen zwia wetti das. zwienu sén gsinh gmannutu un zwianu sén nöit gsinh gmannutu. Dsch'hen génh gweerhut middim un dschi pheebe middim. Un darnoa ischt mu gcheen a wénghjen eina discher wettu» | «My grandfather came fromGaby, my grandmother from Issime, from hamlet Praz. Stévenin was the father, the grandmother came from the Chémonal family. [...] The pasture [in the Bourines Valley] probably belonged to my grandfather. I don't know whether he was from my father's side. It belonged to my family, they had a beautiful house in Gaby. Victor, my father, was from his lineage, his father, my grandfather, came from over there... Victor le gabençois. Later he had a son, to whom he gave his name, so that my father's name was Victor too. He then got married when he was 56, and he had four sisters, two of them got married and two did not. They always worked and lived with him. Later one of them died.» |
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