Basel German

Template:Short description Template:Inline Basel German or Template:Lang (Standard German: Template:Lang) is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. The dialect of Basel forms a Low Alemannic linguistic exclave in the High Alemannic region.

Phonetics and phonology

Consonants

Aspirated plosives

Basel German is characterised by aspirates Template:IPA which are absent or at least less common in other dialects. Compare Basel German Template:Lang (usually spelled Template:Lang), pronounced more or less as Standard German Template:Lang, with Template:Lang with initial Template:IPA, 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 (High German consonant shift). Nowadays, many speakers pronounce the Template:IPA (or [χ], to be more exact), however. There are nevertheless still words that are never pronounced with Template:IPA, for example Template:Lang (Standard German Template:Lang, 'to know') or Template:Lang/Template:Lang (Standard German Template:Lang). Typically, words from Standard German or Latin are pronounced with aspirated Template:IPA, too, which is not or only to a lesser extent done in other dialects.

Examples: Template:Lang or Template:Lang (name of letter), Template:Lang or Template:Lang ('to keep'), Template:Lang or Template:Lang ('park'); Template:Lang or Template:Lang ('tea' and name of letter), Template:Lang or Template:Lang ('great, swell'); Template:Lang/Template:Lang, Template:Lang (name of letter; 'had'), Template:Lang/Template:Lang ('cupboard'), Template:Lang or Template:Lang ('to fall, throw').

Affricates

Like other dialects and forms of the standard, Basel German has Template:IPA as well as Template:IPA.

Examples: Template:Lang ('pan'), Template:Lang ('tooth'), Template:Lang ('German'), Template:Lang ('stupid person', traditional word), Template:Lang "jacket" (a traditional word), Template:Lang ('to understand', from English to check).

Pronunciation of Template:IPA phoneme

A French-style pronunciation of Template:IPA as Template:IPA is also used in Basel German, although many younger speakers—especially those with foreign parents—also use a tapped Template:IPA which is more common in other Swiss German dialects. Traditionally, Template:IPA is voiceless Template:IPA, and it may sometimes be described as a lenis Template:IPA. The pronunciation per se seems to derive from French (originally Parisian), and was probably re-interpreted as a lenis Template:IPA 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 Template:IPA and Template:IPA is neutralised, as is the distinction between lenis and fortis consonants in clusters.

Lenition of consonants

Basel German also has more lenis sounds in word-initial position—for example, Template:Lang ('day'). This lenition is now often absent due to influence from other dialects, for example, the name of Santa Claus, Template:Lang, is now often pronounced with Template:IPA or Template:IPA, as is the word Template:Lang (Standard German Template:Lang), which traditionally has a lenis sound, now also Template:IPA and Template:IPA.

Lenis plosives

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 always predictable: Template:IPA 'to guess' has both a long vowel and a long/geminated consonant.

Examples: Template:Lang Template:IPA ('day'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('around'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('there'), Template:Lang or Template:Lang Template:IPA ('listen'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('gas'). Phonemically speaking, Template:IPA may also be (more traditionally) transcribed Template:IPA, or as unvoiced Template:IPA.

Fortis consonants

Fortis or long consonants in general are more stable than in other dialects—'to swim' is always Template:Lang, whereas it is pronounced with only a short Template:IPA in other dialects. This is probably because in stressed words, short vowels only appear before double or geminated/long consonants. Hence, a word like Template:IPA is not possible in Basel German. As in other dialects, the difference between fortis and lenis is in length. Pilch (180) however interprets Template:IPA as alveolar, not long. Fortis consonants may also be transcribed Template:IPA, since lenis Template:IPA are often transcribed as Template:IPA. However, voicing is always absent.

Examples: Template:Lang ('to swim'), Template:Lang ('to pack'), Template:Lang ('to squeeze'), Template:Lang ('to guess' — note the long Template:IPA followed by fortis Template:IPA)

Vowels

Unrounding of vowels

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.

Examples: Template:Lang ('good day'; Template:Lang in other dialects, still more common), Template:Lang ('hell', now rounded form more common), Template:Lang ('biggest, greatest'; now Template:Lang more common).

Lengthening and shortening of vowels

Lengthening always occurs before lenis (short) consonants, for example in words like Template:Lang ('day'), Template:Lang ('listen'), Template:Lang ('we'). Shortening, on the other hand, always occurs before long or fortis consonants, for example in Template:Lang, the name of the dialect: whereas other dialects have long Template:IPA in Template:Lang or any other word with Template:Lang ('German') in it, Basel German always has short Template:IPA or Template:IPA. Template:IPA and Template:IPA (as well as Template:IPA), however, are usually not shortened, probably because of the shift from earlier Template:IPA to Template:IPA. Another reason may be the fact that those are the only vowels that exist as such only as long vowels, i.e. whereas Template:IPA can be shortened to Template:IPA, it is never possible to shorten Template:IPA to Template:IPA because *Template:IPA as such does not exist in Basel German. Some speakers, however, use short open vowels in a number of words, e.g. Template:IPA instead of Template:IPA ('hook'). Those speakers who use this pronunciation lack one minimal pair, since Template:IPA also translates as 'crouch'. However, this shortening of Template:IPA Template:IPA Template:IPA Template:IPA is not general. Note however that Template:IPA exists mainly in words of foreign origin such as Template:IPA.

Velarisation of MHG Template:IPA

Middle High German Template:IPA was velarised and appears as Template:IPA. For example, Template:Lang Template:IPA 'street'.

Vowels before Template:IPA

Typically (but not exclusively) open vowels occur before Template:IPA; for example, Template:Lang ('ear') has the allophone Template:IPA, not Template:IPA. Both Template:IPA and Template:IPA only occur before Template:IPA in native words.

Additionally, vowels before Template:IPA are always long, with the exception of loan words such as Template:IPA 'sorry', Template:IPA 'curry' as well as unstressed vowels.

Examples: Template:Lang Template:IPA 'ear', Template:Lang Template:IPA 'honour'.

Pronunciation of Template:IPA Template:IPA

The vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA traditionally are front, yet distinct from Template:IPA and Template:IPA. Nowadays, a back pronunciation Template:IPA and Template:IPA is more common. Examples: Template:Lang ('bag'), Template:Lang ('Basel').

Diphthongs

Modern pronunciation has Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA [ɛj], Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA; traditional pronunciation lacks Template:IPA which is partly Template:IPA, partly Template:IPA. In modern pronunciation Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA are Template:IPA, Template:IPA Template:IPA, Template:IPA, whereas traditional pronunciation has Template:IPA, Template:IPA etc. Suter (1992: 11) posits only one diphthong Template:IPA, pronounced Template:IPA. In exclamations and few other words, Template:IPA also exist.

Examples: Template:Lang ('alone'), Template:Lang ('to turn'), Template:Lang ('three'), Template:Lang ('to build'), Template:Lang ('blue'), Template:Lang ('four'), Template:Lang ('shut'), Template:Lang ('new'); Template:Lang ('traditional').

Sociolinguistics

Unlike other Alemannic dialects, Basel German features a rather strong dichotomy between the traditional form—Baseldytsch, used especially for the Carnival of Basel (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.

Spelling

There is a lot of confusion especially when it comes to the use of the grapheme Template:Grapheme, which is often used for rounded sounds, i.e. Template:IPA or Template:IPA, whereas it is exclusively used for Template:IPA traditionally. Typically, lenis stops are spelled Template:Grapheme, Template:Grapheme, Template:Grapheme, fortis stops are spelled Template:Grapheme, Template:Grapheme, sometimes Template:Grapheme (Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang 'someone'); Template:Grapheme, Template:Grapheme, sometimes Template:Grapheme (Template:Lang 'middle'); Template:Grapheme, rarely and mainly in loan-words Template:Grapheme, Template:Grapheme, etc. This use of Template:Grapheme 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: Template:Lang ('to push'), Template:Lang (typical sweet cookie; but also Template:Lang), Template:Lang ('bag'; but sometimes also Template:Lang), Template:Lang ('bag', traditional word). The fortis Template:IPA is always spelled like lenis Template:IPA, namely Template:Angbr. The same is true for Template:IPA.

Obviously, especially the typical use of Template:Grapheme and Template:Grapheme 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 Template:Grapheme, Template:Grapheme, Template:Grapheme. However, words where the aspirates derive from a lenis consonant plus Template:IPA are usually written as lenis plus Template:Angbr, e.g., Template:Lang 'to keep', Template:Lang 'to fall'.

Terminology

Template:Lang reflects traditional pronunciation with Template:IPA, Template:Lang reflects modern pronunciation with Template:IPA, whereas Template:Lang is the Standard German form. Baslerdüütsch may be used in other dialects.

Further reading

• Muster, Hans Peter and Beatrice Bürkli Flaig. 2001. Baselbieter Wörterbuch. Basel: Christoph Merian Verlag.
• Pilch, Herbert. 1977. "Baseldeutsche Phonologie. Auf Grundlage der Intonation" In: Phonetica 34: 165-190.
• Suter, Rudolf. 1976. Baseldeutsch-Grammatik. Basel: Merian.
• Suter, Rudolf. 1992. Baseldeutsch-Wörterbuch. 3rd edition. Basel: Merian.