976:(Basler Fasnacht)—and normal spoken language. Some speakers prefer to use the more traditional variety in written form. The traditional variety is normally associated with the upper classes and with Fasnacht. Like other Swiss German dialects, Basel German has (at least in Basel) more prestige than Standard German, and it is now even used in churches.
411:
Lenis plosives are however all voiceless; whereas fortis plosives are long or geminated. They are (like other lenis or short consonants) always preceded by long vowels, with the possible exception of unstressed vowels. According to Pilch, vowel length is not distinctive; however, vowel length is not
677:. Another reason may be the fact that those are the only vowels that exist as such only as long vowels, i.e. whereas can be shortened to , it is never possible to shorten to because * as such does not exist in Basel German. Some speakers, however, use short open vowels in a number of words, e.g.
346:
according to Basel German phonology. Not surprisingly, French influence was for a long time dominant in Basel, with well-to-do families speaking French even at home. At least in clusters, the distinction between
1076:
for the fortis, unaspirated consonant is used also in other varieties of Swiss German, but sometimes abandoned in favour of spellings more closely resembling
Standard German spellings. Examples:
568:
Unrounding was also typical, but now it has been abandoned by many speakers. Lengthening of vowels is also found, linking it more closely to
Standard German than all other Swiss German dialects.
330:
as is also used in Basel German, although many younger speakers—especially those with foreign parents—also use a tapped which is more common in other Swiss German dialects. Traditionally,
1139:
leads to confusion, even among native speakers, since the dialect is not taught in schools. Aspirates are normally spelled as in
Standard German, namely with
102:, used in all other Swiss German dialects, with the exception of the dialect of Chur. Thus, Basel German did not complete the second Germanic sound shift (
500:
in other dialects. This is probably because in stressed words, short vowels only appear before double or geminated/long consonants. Hence, a word like
972:
Unlike other
Alemannic dialects, Basel German features a rather strong dichotomy between the traditional form—Baseldytsch, used especially for the
504:
is not possible in Basel German. As in other dialects, the difference between fortis and lenis is in length. Pilch (180) however interprets
1249:
369:('day'). This lenition is now often absent due to influence from other dialects, for example, the name of Santa Claus,
103:
1264:
1217:
Muster, Hans Peter and
Beatrice Bürkli Flaig. 2001. Baselbieter Wörterbuch. Basel: Christoph Merian Verlag.
770:
are always long, with the exception of loan words such as 'sorry', 'curry' as well as unstressed vowels.
1195:
1185:
1152:
1125:
1117:
1113:
997:
993:
989:
904:
900:
896:
892:
888:
884:
880:
876:
872:
868:
864:
860:
856:
852:
848:
844:
820:
816:
812:
808:
804:
800:
793:
790:
767:
760:
750:
743:
735:
726:
722:
715:
707:
703:
699:
696:
693:
690:
686:
682:
678:
674:
670:
666:
662:
658:
654:
650:
634:
552:
548:
517:
513:
509:
505:
501:
497:
479:
475:
471:
467:
458:
443:
434:
425:
413:
400:
396:
380:
376:
352:
348:
343:
335:
331:
327:
319:
266:
262:
145:
111:
107:
99:
71:
627:('we'). Shortening, on the other hand, always occurs before long or fortis consonants, for example in
1259:
45:
903:
are , , , whereas traditional pronunciation has , etc. Suter (1992: 11) posits only one diphthong
110:(or , to be more exact), however. There are nevertheless still words that are never pronounced with
1226:
41:
1230:
490:
Fortis or long consonants in general are more stable than in other dialects—'to swim' is always
973:
342:
seems to derive from French (originally
Parisian), and was probably re-interpreted as a lenis
1223:. 1977. "Baseldeutsche Phonologie. Auf Grundlage der Intonation" In: Phonetica 34: 165-190.
1254:
355:
is neutralised, as is the distinction between lenis and fortis consonants in clusters.
49:
1243:
1220:
609:
Lengthening always occurs before lenis (short) consonants, for example in words like
669:), however, are usually not shortened, probably because of the shift from earlier
685:('hook'). Those speakers who use this pronunciation lack one minimal pair, since
74:
which are absent or at least less common in other dialects. Compare Basel German
984:
There is a lot of confusion especially when it comes to the use of the grapheme
144:). Typically, words from Standard German or Latin are pronounced with aspirated
363:
Basel German also has more lenis sounds in word-initial position—for example,
299:
1236:
Suter, Rudolf. 1992. Baseldeutsch-Wörterbuch. 3rd edition. Basel: Merian.
1151:. However, words where the aspirates derive from a lenis consonant plus
148:, too, which is not or only to a lesser extent done in other dialects.
37:
907:, pronounced . In exclamations and few other words, also exist.
508:
as alveolar, not long. Fortis consonants may also be transcribed
416:'to guess' has both a long vowel and a long/geminated consonant.
261:
Like other dialects and forms of the standard, Basel German has
759:('ear') has the allophone , not . Both and only occur before
633:, the name of the dialect: whereas other dialects have long
334:
is voiceless , and it may sometimes be described as a lenis
749:
Typically (but not exclusively) open vowels occur before
689:
also translates as 'crouch'. However, this shortening of
1189:
1179:
1166:
1160:
1107:
1101:
1095:
1089:
1083:
1077:
1055:
1037:
1031:
1025:
959:
953:
947:
941:
935:
929:
923:
917:
911:
830:
824:
780:
774:
754:
730:
644:
638:
628:
622:
616:
610:
596:
590:
584:
578:
572:
542:
536:
530:
524:
491:
462:
453:
447:
438:
429:
420:
384:
370:
364:
305:
297:
291:
285:
279:
273:
248:
242:
236:
230:
224:
218:
212:
206:
200:
194:
188:
182:
176:
170:
164:
158:
152:
133:
127:
115:
93:
81:
75:
23:
395:), which traditionally has a lenis sound, now also
1000:traditionally. Typically, lenis stops are spelled
706:exists mainly in words of foreign origin such as
649:('German') in it, Basel German always has short
988:, which is often used for rounded sounds, i.e.
86:), pronounced more or less as Standard German
496:, whereas it is pronounced with only a short
474:may also be (more traditionally) transcribed
8:
1199:
390:
139:
121:
87:
31:
807:traditionally are front, yet distinct from
70:Basel German is characterised by aspirates
1131:Obviously, especially the typical use of
106:). Nowadays, many speakers pronounce the
16:Dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland
1184:reflects traditional pronunciation with
589:('hell', now rounded form more common),
1229:. 1976. Baseldeutsch-Grammatik. Basel:
583:in other dialects, still more common),
1112:('bag', traditional word). The fortis
520:. However, voicing is always absent.
996:, whereas it is exclusively used for
296:('stupid person', traditional word),
7:
605:Lengthening and shortening of vowels
1194:reflects modern pronunciation with
1155:are usually written as lenis plus
1064:, rarely and mainly in loan-words
875:; traditional pronunciation lacks
702:is not general. Note however that
14:
815:. Nowadays, a back pronunciation
1088:(typical sweet cookie; but also
470:('gas'). Phonemically speaking,
326:A French-style pronunciation of
44:. The dialect of Basel forms a
1208:may be used in other dialects.
375:, is now often pronounced with
310:('to understand', from English
304:"jacket" (a traditional word),
1:
1204:is the Standard German form.
1116:is always spelled like lenis
725:was velarised and appears as
766:Additionally, vowels before
547:('to guess' — note the long
199:('tea' and name of letter),
1100:('bag'; but sometimes also
1012:, fortis stops are spelled
104:High German consonant shift
1281:
887:. In modern pronunciation
823:is more common. Examples:
595:('biggest, greatest'; now
48:linguistic exclave in the
843:Modern pronunciation has
516:are often transcribed as
229:(name of letter; 'had'),
1190:
1180:
1167:
1161:
1124:. The same is true for
1108:
1102:
1096:
1090:
1084:
1078:
1056:
1038:
1032:
1026:
960:
954:
948:
942:
936:
930:
924:
918:
912:
831:
825:
781:
775:
755:
731:
645:
643:or any other word with
639:
629:
623:
617:
611:
597:
591:
585:
579:
573:
543:
537:
531:
525:
492:
463:
454:
448:
439:
430:
421:
385:
371:
365:
306:
298:
292:
286:
280:
274:
249:
243:
237:
231:
225:
219:
213:
207:
201:
195:
189:
183:
177:
171:
165:
159:
153:
134:
128:
116:
94:
82:
76:
56:Phonetics and phonology
24:
1200:
391:
359:Lenition of consonants
140:
122:
88:
32:
1250:Swiss German language
714:Velarisation of MHG
564:Unrounding of vowels
412:always predictable:
338:. The pronunciation
253:('to fall, throw').
1072:, etc. This use of
721:Middle High German
551:followed by fortis
1137:⟨gg⟩
1122:⟨ch⟩
1074:⟨gg⟩
1070:⟨ck⟩
1062:⟨gg⟩
1052:⟨dd⟩
1048:⟨tt⟩
1022:⟨bb⟩
1018:⟨pp⟩
211:('great, swell');
163:(name of letter),
66:Aspirated plosives
42:Basel, Switzerland
30:(Standard German:
1157:⟨h⟩
1149:⟨k⟩
1145:⟨t⟩
1141:⟨p⟩
1133:⟨y⟩
1066:⟨k⟩
1044:⟨t⟩
1014:⟨p⟩
1010:⟨g⟩
1006:⟨d⟩
1002:⟨b⟩
986:⟨y⟩
974:Carnival of Basel
964:('traditional').
789:Pronunciation of
763:in native words.
486:Fortis consonants
478:, or as unvoiced
389:(Standard German
383:, as is the word
318:Pronunciation of
138:(Standard German
120:(Standard German
80:(usually spelled
1272:
1203:
1197:
1193:
1187:
1183:
1170:
1164:
1158:
1154:
1150:
1146:
1142:
1138:
1134:
1127:
1123:
1119:
1115:
1111:
1105:
1099:
1093:
1087:
1081:
1075:
1071:
1067:
1063:
1059:
1053:
1049:
1045:
1041:
1035:
1029:
1023:
1019:
1015:
1011:
1007:
1003:
999:
995:
991:
987:
968:Sociolinguistics
963:
957:
951:
945:
939:
933:
927:
921:
915:
906:
902:
898:
894:
890:
886:
882:
879:which is partly
878:
874:
870:
866:
862:
858:
854:
850:
846:
834:
828:
822:
818:
814:
810:
806:
802:
795:
792:
784:
778:
769:
762:
758:
752:
745:
737:
734:
728:
724:
717:
709:
705:
701:
698:
695:
692:
688:
684:
680:
676:
672:
668:
664:
660:
656:
652:
648:
642:
636:
632:
626:
620:
614:
600:
594:
588:
582:
576:
554:
550:
546:
541:('to squeeze'),
540:
534:
528:
519:
515:
511:
507:
503:
499:
495:
481:
477:
473:
469:
466:
460:
457:
451:
445:
442:
436:
433:
427:
424:
415:
402:
398:
394:
388:
382:
378:
374:
368:
354:
350:
345:
337:
333:
329:
321:
309:
303:
295:
289:
283:
277:
268:
264:
252:
246:
240:
234:
228:
222:
216:
210:
204:
198:
192:
186:
180:
174:
168:
162:
156:
147:
143:
137:
131:
126:, 'to know') or
125:
119:
113:
109:
101:
97:
91:
85:
79:
73:
35:
29:
1280:
1279:
1275:
1274:
1273:
1271:
1270:
1269:
1265:German dialects
1240:
1239:
1214:
1177:
1156:
1148:
1144:
1140:
1136:
1132:
1121:
1073:
1069:
1065:
1061:
1051:
1047:
1043:
1021:
1017:
1013:
1009:
1005:
1001:
985:
982:
970:
841:
797:
753:; for example,
747:
729:. For example,
719:
607:
566:
561:
488:
409:
361:
324:
259:
68:
63:
58:
40:of the city of
17:
12:
11:
5:
1278:
1276:
1268:
1267:
1262:
1257:
1252:
1242:
1241:
1238:
1237:
1234:
1224:
1221:Pilch, Herbert
1218:
1213:
1210:
1176:
1173:
981:
978:
969:
966:
934:('to build'),
840:
837:
796:
787:
746:
742:Vowels before
740:
718:
712:
606:
603:
601:more common).
565:
562:
560:
557:
512:, since lenis
487:
484:
408:
407:Lenis plosives
405:
360:
357:
323:
316:
258:
255:
241:('cupboard'),
114:, for example
67:
64:
62:
59:
57:
54:
50:High Alemannic
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1277:
1266:
1263:
1261:
1258:
1256:
1253:
1251:
1248:
1247:
1245:
1235:
1232:
1228:
1227:Suter, Rudolf
1225:
1222:
1219:
1216:
1215:
1211:
1209:
1207:
1206:Baslerdüütsch
1202:
1192:
1182:
1174:
1172:
1169:
1163:
1129:
1110:
1104:
1098:
1092:
1086:
1082:('to push'),
1080:
1058:
1040:
1034:
1028:
979:
977:
975:
967:
965:
962:
956:
950:
944:
938:
932:
926:
922:('to turn'),
920:
914:
908:
838:
836:
833:
827:
788:
786:
783:
777:
771:
764:
757:
741:
739:
733:
713:
711:
647:
641:
631:
625:
619:
613:
604:
602:
599:
593:
587:
581:
577:('good day';
575:
569:
563:
558:
556:
545:
539:
535:('to pack'),
533:
529:('to swim'),
527:
521:
494:
485:
483:
465:
456:
450:
441:
432:
423:
417:
406:
404:
393:
387:
373:
367:
358:
356:
341:
317:
315:
313:
308:
302:
301:
294:
288:
282:
276:
270:
256:
254:
251:
245:
239:
233:
227:
221:
215:
209:
203:
197:
191:
185:
179:
175:('to keep'),
173:
167:
161:
155:
149:
142:
136:
130:
124:
118:
105:
98:with initial
96:
90:
84:
78:
65:
60:
55:
53:
51:
47:
46:Low Alemannic
43:
39:
34:
28:
27:
21:
1212:Bibliography
1205:
1201:Baseldeutsch
1178:
1130:
1050:, sometimes
1042:'someone');
1020:, sometimes
983:
971:
909:
842:
798:
772:
765:
748:
720:
665:(as well as
621:('listen'),
608:
570:
567:
522:
489:
461:('listen'),
437:('around'),
418:
410:
362:
339:
325:
311:
290:('German'),
271:
260:
150:
69:
33:Baseldeutsch
25:
20:Basel German
19:
18:
1260:Basel-Stadt
1191:Baseldütsch
1181:Baseldytsch
1175:Terminology
1171:'to fall'.
1165:'to keep',
1060:'middle');
928:('three'),
916:('alone'),
835:('Basel').
799:The vowels
681:instead of
640:Baseldütsch
630:Baseldytsch
446:('there'),
284:('tooth'),
265:as well as
26:Baseldytsch
1244:Categories
1198:, whereas
952:('shut'),
946:('four'),
940:('blue'),
910:Examples:
839:Diphthongs
785:'honour'.
773:Examples:
738:'street'.
708:/sa'la:tt/
571:Examples:
523:Examples:
419:Examples:
372:Santiglaus
272:Examples:
257:Affricates
187:('park');
151:Examples:
146:/kʰ,pʰ,tʰ/
72:/kʰ,tʰ,pʰ/
61:Consonants
1120:, namely
958:('new');
883:, partly
829:('bag'),
736:/ʃtroːss/
615:('day'),
428:('day'),
278:('pan'),
36:) is the
1159:, e.g.,
1091:Läckerli
1085:Läggerli
980:Spelling
683:/ho:kkə/
598:grööscht
592:greescht
526:schwimme
510:/bbddɡɡ/
502:/ˈʃvʏmə/
493:schwimme
414:/roːttə/
312:to check
307:tschegge
300:Tschoope
293:Tschooli
238:Khaschte
52:region.
779:'ear',
732:Strooss
687:/hɔkkə/
679:/hɔkkə/
646:-dütsch
459:/loːsə/
322:phoneme
263:/pf,ts/
232:Kaschte
178:Phaargg
92:, with
38:dialect
1231:Merian
1162:bhalte
1079:drugge
919:draaie
832:Baasel
580:grüezi
574:griezi
559:Vowels
538:drugge
532:phagge
468:/kɑːs/
444:/ɑːnə/
426:/tɑːk/
340:per se
287:dütsch
275:Pfanne
172:phalte
166:bhalte
129:Keenig
123:kennen
1255:Basel
1168:gheie
1109:Gugge
1057:Middi
1039:ebber
1033:öbber
1027:öpper
937:blaau
901:/aːw/
893:/aːj/
861:/aːw/
849:/aːj/
618:loose
544:roott
518:/bdɡ/
514:/ptk/
480:/bdɡ/
476:/bdɡ/
472:/ptk/
455:lohse
449:loose
435:/ʊmə/
392:Kraft
386:Graft
250:kheje
244:gheie
226:gghaa
214:ka(a)
202:tholl
184:Pargg
141:König
135:König
117:kenne
95:Chind
77:Khind
1135:and
1126:/ʃʃ/
1114:/xx/
1103:Sack
1097:Sagg
943:vier
931:baue
925:drei
913:eläi
905:/au/
897:/aw/
889:/aj/
885:/ej/
881:/aj/
877:/œj/
873:/œj/
871:and
869:/uə/
865:/iə/
857:/aw/
853:/ej/
845:/aj/
826:Sagg
821:/ɑː/
819:and
813:/æː/
811:and
805:/aː/
803:and
794:/a:/
727:/oː/
723:/aː/
716:/a:/
704:/a:/
700:/æ:/
697:/a:/
694:/ø:/
691:/o:/
675:/o:/
671:/a:/
667:/ø:/
663:/o:/
661:and
659:/a:/
635:/yː/
624:miir
612:Daag
586:Hell
553:/tt/
549:/oː/
506:/tt/
464:Gaas
431:umme
399:and
397:/kʰ/
377:/kʰ/
351:and
281:Zaan
267:/tʃ/
220:khaa
208:toll
190:Thee
154:phee
112:/x-/
108:/x-/
100:/x-/
89:Kind
83:Kind
1196:/y/
1186:/i/
1153:/h/
1118:/x/
1106:),
1094:),
998:/i/
994:/y/
992:or
990:/ʏ/
961:nei
955:nöi
949:zue
817:/ɑ/
809:/æ/
801:/a/
791:/a/
782:Eer
776:Oor
768:/r/
761:/r/
756:Oor
751:/r/
744:/r/
673:to
655:/y/
653:or
651:/i/
637:in
498:/m/
452:or
440:ane
422:Dag
401:/x/
381:/x/
379:or
366:Dag
353:/r/
349:/x/
344:/x/
336:/x/
332:/r/
328:/r/
320:/r/
314:).
247:or
205:or
196:Tee
193:or
181:or
169:or
160:pee
157:or
22:or
1246::
1188:,
1147:,
1143:,
1128:.
1068:,
1046:,
1036:,
1030:,
1016:,
1008:,
1004:,
899:,
895:,
891:,
867:,
863:,
859:,
855:,
851:,
847:,
710:.
657:.
555:)
482:.
403:.
269:.
223:,
1233:.
1054:(
1024:(
235:/
217:/
132:/
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