Swiss German Compact |
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About The Swiss LanguageGerman is notorious for its multiple and distinctive regional dialects; at the colloquial level, German speakers from Bavaria speak quite a different flavor of German than the residents of Stuttgart. As a result, virtually all educated German speakers learn High German (Hochdeutch), which as an official language can be used throughout the German-speaking world and is the standard for use by the media as well as in educational and government institutions. Likewise, High German is the official form of spoken and written German in Switzerland, a country that, incidentally, lets the French and Italian languages share official status with German. The Swiss German spoken on a familiar everyday level (Schweizerdeutch in High German or Schwyzerdüütsch among the Swiss), however, sounds strikingly different from anything spoken in Germany. Moreover, Swiss German has no formal written language, since government, educational institutions, the media, and business all use High German as a writing standard. There are newspapers, magazines, and novels written in Swiss German, not to mention personal correspondence, but there are no rules or standards for spelling, which can and do change from writer to writer. Dialectical pronunciations of Swiss German can vary even between regions within Switzerland, but the spoken language of Zurich is recognized by a majority of speakers, and it is this dialect that is represented on the Pimsleur tapes. If you wish to maximize your functional German speaking ability, it is recommended that you complete the full Pimsleur German Program (which will give you Intermediate-High functionality in the official High German), and then follow up with the Pimsleur Compact Swiss German tapes, which will supplement your established functional ability with local conventions and pronunciation. Why The Pimsleur System WorksThe late Dr. Paul Pimsleur was much more than a language teacher. He did research on how both children and multi-lingual adults learn languages and discovered key principles that unlocked the mystery of how we learn languages. The Pimsleur programs provide a method of self-practice with an expert teacher and native speakers in lessons specially designed to work with the way the mind naturally acquires language information. The various components of language -- vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar -- are all learned together without rote memorization and drills. Using a unique method of memory recall developed by renowned linguist, Dr. Paul Pimsleur, the programs teach listeners to combine words and phrases to express themselves the way native speakers do. By listening and responding to thirty minute recorded lessons, students easily and effectively achieve spoken proficiency. » The Pimsleur Method « |
