Low Alemannic German

{{Short description|Northern branch of Alemannic in western Germany}} {{more citations needed|date=May 2012}} {{Infobox language |name = Low Alemannic German |nativename = Niederalemannisch |states = Germany<ref name="ethnologue">[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=swg Ethnologue entry: Swabian ''(swg)'']</ref> |speakers=? |familycolor = Indo-European |fam2 = Germanic |fam3 = West Germanic |fam4 = Elbe Germanic |fam5 = Upper German |fam6 = Alemannic<ref name="ethnologue" /> |script = Latin (German alphabet) |map = Alemannic-Dialects-Map-English.svg |mapcaption=Areas where Alemannic German dialects are spoken {{legend|lightblue|Low Alemannic}} |isoexception=dialect |glotto=lowa1241 |glottorefname=Low Alemannic }}

'''Low Alemannic German''' ({{langx|de|Niederalemannisch}}) is a branch of Alemannic German, which is part of Upper German. Its varieties are only partly intelligible to non-Alemannic speakers.

==Subdivisions== *Lake Constance Alemannic (de) **Northern Vorarlberg (de) **Allgäu dialect (de) **Baar dialect **Southern Württemberg *Upper Rhenish Alemannic (de) **Basel German **Baden dialects north of Markgräflerland **Alsatian, spoken in Alsace, in some villages of the Phalsbourg county in Lorraine and by some Amish in Indiana **Low Alemannic dialects in the Black Forest<ref>Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). ''Modern German dialects'' New York [u.a.], Lang, p. 67/68</ref> **Colonia Tovar dialect, Venezuela

==Features== The feature that distinguishes Low Alemannic from High Alemannic is the retention of Germanic /k/, for instance ''kalt'' 'cold' vs. High Alemannic ''chalt''.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

The feature that distinguishes Low Alemannic from Swabian is the retention of the Middle High German monophthongs, for instance ''Huus'' 'house' vs. Swabian ''Hous'' or ''Ziit'' 'time' vs. Swabian ''Zejt''.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants === Voiced obstruents do not occur, as is typical for Upper German dialects. {| class="wikitable" |+ !labial !alveolar !postalveolar !palatal !velar !uvular !glottal |- |m |n | | |ŋ | | |- |b̥ (pʰ)³ |d̥ (tʰ)³ | | |g̊ kʰ | | |- |f |s |ʃ |(ç)¹ |x¹ |(ʁ)² |h |- |p͡f |t͡s | | | | | |- |ʋ |r² | |j | | | |} ¹/x/ is palatalized as [ç] after front vowels in the northern varieties (like in Standard German) but kept as [x] in southern varieties. Diverging from Standard German /x/ is not palatalized after /r/, a feature shared with other alemannic varieties.

²/r/ is most commonly pronounced as [ʁ].

³ /pʰ/ and /tʰ/ don't occur in autochthonous vocabulary but are used by speakers in differing frequency when using words from Standard German or speaking in more formal registers.

=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" |+ !Middle High German !Low Alemannic !Standard German !English Translation |- |hûs |Huus /hu:s/ or Hüüs /hy:s/ |Haus /haʊs/ |house |- |brûchen |bruuche /b̥ru:xə/, bruche /b̥ruxə/ or brüche /b̥ryxə/ |brauchen /braʊxən/ |to need |- |zît |Ziit /tsi:d̥/ or Zit /tsid̥/ |Zeit /tsaɪt/ |time |- |wîn |Wii /ʋi:/ |Wein /vaɪn/ |wine |- |liute |Liit /li:d̥/ or Lit /lid̥/ |Leute /lɔɪtə/ |people |- |miuse |Miis /mi:s/ |Mäuse /mɔɪzə/ |mice |- |frî |frei /frɛi/ |frei /fraɪ/ |free |- |bûwen |boie /b̥oiə/ or boue /b̥ouə/ |bauen /baʊən/ |to build |- |niu |nei /nɛi/ |neu /nɔɪ/ |new |- |buoch |Buech /b̥uəx/ or Böech /b̥øəx/ |Buch /bu:x/ |book |- |tief |dief /d̥iəf/ |tief /ti:f/ |deep |- |büecher |Biecher /b̥iəxər/ |Bücher /by:çər/ |books |- |gibrâcht |broocht /b̥ro:xd̥/ or bròòcht /brɔ:xd̥/ |gebracht /gəbraxt/ |brought |- |schlâfen |schloofe /ʃlo:fə/ or schlòòfe /ʃlɔ:fə/ |schlafen /ʃla:fən/ |to sleep |- |brôt |Broot /b̥ro:d̥/ |Brot /bro:t/ |bread |- |schnê |Schnee /ʃne:/ |Schnee /ʃne:/ |snow |- |kæse |Kääs /kʰæ:s/ or Kèès /kʰɛ:s/ |Käse /kɛ:zə/ or /ke:zə/ |cheese |- |sunne |Sunne /sunə/ |Sonne /zɔnə/ |sun |- |sun |Sùùn /sʊ:n/ or Suun /su:n/ |Sohn /zo:n/ |son |- |böcke |Begg /b̥eg̊/ |Böcke /bœkə/ |billy goats |- |ast |Aschd /ɑʃd̥/ or /aʃd̥/ |Ast /ast/ |branch |- |züge |Zììg /tsɪːg̊/ |Züge /tsy:gə/ |trains |- |ist |ìsch /ɪʃ/ |ist /ɪst/ |is |- |wetter |Wädder /ʋæd̥ər/ or Wèdder /ʋɛd̥ər/ |Wetter /vɛtər/ |weather |- |boum |Baum /b̥æum/, Baüm /b̥ɔɪm/ |Baum /baʊm/ |tree |- |böume |Baim /b̥æim/ |Bäume /bɔɪmə/ |trees |- |bein |Bai /b̥æi/ |Bein /baɪn/ |leg |}

==Orthography== There exists no official orthography and authors use different kinds of orthographies for their work.

(All of the below is specific to the dialects spoken near Freiburg im Breisgau)

'''Vowels:''' {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! colspan=2| Short ! colspan=2| Long |- ! Orthography ! Pronunciation ! Orthography ! Pronunciation |- | a | {{IPA|[a]}} or [ɑ] | aa | {{IPA|[aː]}} or [ɑ:] |- | ä | {{IPA|[æ]}} | ää | {{IPA|[æː]}} |- | è | {{IPA|[ɛ]}} | èè | {{IPA|[ɛː]}} |- | e | {{IPA|[e, ə]}} | ee | {{IPA|[eː]}} |- | i or y | [i] | ii or yy | {{IPA|[iː]}} |- |ì or i |{{IPA|[ɪ]}} |ìì or ii |[ɪ:] |- | o | {{IPA|[o]}} | oo | {{IPA|[oː]}} |- | ù | {{IPA|[ʊ]}} | ùù | {{IPA|[ʊː]}} |- | u | [u] | uu | [u:] |- | ü | [y] | üü | [y:] |}

'''Consonants:'''

Are as in Standard German, with the following notes: * kh is an aspirated {{IPA|[kʰ]}} * ng is a velar nasal {{IPA|[ŋ]}} * ngg is a velar nasal followed by a velar plosive {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}} * ph is an aspirated {{IPA|[pʰ]}} * th is an aspirated {{IPA|[tʰ]}} * s is always voiceless [s] or [z̥] * b, d and g are voiceless [b̥], [d̥] and [g̊].

== Articles == Definite Article {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Case ! Masculine ! Feminine ! Neuter |- | Nom/Acc Sg | der Man | d Frau | s Kind |- | Dat Sg | im Man | (in) der Frau | im Kind |- | Nom/Acc Pl | d Mane | d Fraue | d Kinder |- | Dat Pl | (in) der Mane | (in) der Fraue | (in) der Kinder |}

Indefinite Article {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Case ! Masculine ! Feminine ! Neuter |- | Nom/Acc Sg | e Man | e Frau | e Kind |- | Dat Sg | im e Man | in ere Frau | im e Kind |}

== Substantives ==

Plurals *Class I: Plural = Singular (e.g. ''Ääber'' → ''Ääber'') *Class II: Plural = Singular + Umlaut (e.g. ''Baum'' → ''Baim''; ''Vader'' → ''Väder'') *Class IIIa: Plural = Singular + ''-e'' (e.g. ''Man'' → ''Mane''; ''Ags'' → ''Agse'') *Class IIIb: Plural = Singular + ''-̈e'' (e.g. ''Frosch'' → ''Fresche'') *Class IVa: Plural = Singular + ''-er'' (e.g. ''Lyyb'' → ''Lyyber''; ''Schùg'' → ''Schùger'') *Class IVb: Plural = Singular + ''-̈er'' (e.g. ''Wald'' → ''Wälder''; ''Blad'' → ''Bleder'') *Class V: No Plural (e.g. ''Chees''; ''Zemänd'') *Class VI: No Singular (Plural Only) (e.g. ''Bilger''; ''Fèèrine'')

Diminutives *Standard ending is ''-li'' (e.g. ''Aimer'' → ''Aimerli'') *If the word ends in ''-l'', then the ending is ''-eli'' (e.g. ''Dääl'' → ''Dääleli'') *If the word ends in ''-el'', then the ending is ''-i'' (e.g. ''Degel'' → ''Degeli'') *If the word ends in ''-e'', remove the ''-e'' and add ''-li'' (e.g. ''Bèère'' → ''Bèèrli'') *The rules for this can be quite complex and depend on the region. Sometimes diminutives require umlaut, other times not.

== Adjectives ==

Weak Declension {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Case ! Masculine ! Feminine ! Neuter |- | Nom/Acc Sg | der groos Man | di göed Frau | s klai Kind |- | Dat Sg | im (e) groose Man | in der / in ere göede Frau | im (e) klaine Kind |- | Nom/Acc Pl | di groose Mane | di göede Fraue | di klaine Kinder |- | Dat Pl | in der groose Mane | in der göede Fraue | in der klaine Kinder |}

Strong Declension {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Case ! Masculine ! Feminine ! Neuter |- | Nom/Acc Sg | göede Man | göedi Frau | göed Brood |- | Dat Sg | göedem Man | göeder Frau | göedem Brood |- | Nom/Acc Pl | groosi Mane | groosi Fraue | klaini Kinder |- | Dat Pl | in groose Mane | in groose Fraue | in klaine Kinder |}

Comparative * Standard ending -er (e.g. fèin → fèiner)

Superlative * Standard ending -(e)schd (e.g. fèin → fèinschd)

Irregular {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Positive ! Comparative ! Superlative |- | vyyl | mee | maischd |- | göed | beser | beschd |}

== Pronouns == Personal Pronouns {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! English ! Hochdeutsch ! Alemmanisch Nom ! Dative ! Accusative |- | I | ich | ich, ii, i | miir, mir, mer | mii, mi |- | you | du | duu, du, de | diir, dir, der | dii, di |- | he | er | äär, är, er | iim, im, em | iin, in, en, e |- | she | sie | sii, si | iire, ire, ere | sii, si |- | it | es | ääs, äs, es, s | iim, im, em | ääs, äs, es, s |- | we | wir | miir, mir, mer | ùns, is | ùns, is |- | you | ihr | iir, ir, er | èich, ich | èich, ich |- | they | sie | sii, si | iine, ine, ene | sii, si |}

== Verbs ==

1. Infinitive

Infinitive ends in -e *Some monosyllabic verbs do not have this ending (e.g. chùù, döe, goo, gschää, haa, loo, nee, sää, schdoo, schlaa, syy, zie, etc.)

2. Participle

2.1 Prefix *The prefix for g- or ge- *Before b, d, g, bf, dsch, and z is merged into the word and not visible (e.g. broochd, glaubd, etc.) 2.2 Suffix *Strong Verbs end in -e (e.g. gäse, glofe) *Weak Verbs end in -d or -ed (e.g. bùzd, gchaufd)

2.3 Types

2.3.1 Infinitive and Present Sg y/èi/ai - Participle i 2.3.1.1 y > i (e.g. abwyyse > abgwiise) 2.3.1.2 èi > i (e.g. verzèie > verziie) 2.3.1.3 ai > i (e.g. schaide > gschiide) 2.3.2 Infinitive and Present Sg ie/u/au/èi/i - Participle o/öu/öe 2.3.2.1 ie > o (e.g. biede > bode) 2.3.2.2 u > o (e.g. sufe > gsofe) 2.3.2.3 au > o (e.g. laufe > glofe) 2.3.2.4 èi > öu (e.g. rèie > gröue) 2.3.2.5 ie > öe (e.g. riefe > gröefe) 2.3.2.5 i > o (e.g. wiige > gwooge) 2.3.3 Infinitive and Present Sg i - Participle ù 2.3.3.1 i > u (e.g. binde > bùnde) 2.3.4 Infinitive ä/e - Present i - Participle o/u 2.3.4.1 ä - i - o (e.g. bräche > broche) 2.3.4.2 ä - i - u (e.g. hälfe > ghùlfe) 2.3.4.3 e/è - i - o (e.g. verdèèrbe > verdoorbe) 2.3.4.4 e - i - ù (e.g. schmelze > gschmùlze) 2.3.5 Infinitive ä/i - Present i - Participle ä 2.3.5.1 ä - i - ä (e.g. äse > gäse) 2.3.5.2 i - i - ä (e.g. bide > bäde) 2.3.6 Infinitive Vowel is the same as the Participle 2.3.5.1 (e.g. bache > bache; fale > gfale) 3. Conjugation 3.1 Present Tense 3.1.1 Regular Verb {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Person ! Ending ! Example |- ! 1st Sg | -Ø | ich mach |- ! 2nd Sg | -sch | duu machsch |- ! 3rd Sg | -d | är machd |- ! Plural | -e | mir mache |}

== Numbers ==

{| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! ! Cardinal ! Ordinal ! Multiplicative I ! Multiplicative II |- | 1 | ais | èèrschd | aifach | aimool |- | 2 | zwai | zwaid | zwaifach | zwaimool |- | 3 | drèi | drid | drèifach | drèimool |- | 4 | vier | vierd | vierfach | viermool |- | 5 | fimf | fimfd | fimffach | fimfmool |- | 6 | segs | segsd | segsfach | segsmool |- | 7 | siibe | sibd | siibefach | siibemool |- | 8 | aachd | aachd | aachdfach | aachdmool |- | 9 | nyyn | nyynd | nyynfach | nyynmool |- | 10 | zee | zeend | zeefach | zeemool |- | 11 | elf | elfd | elffach | elfmool |- | 12 | zwelf | zwelfd | zwelffach | zwelfmool |- | 13 | dryzee | dryzeend | dryzeefach | dryzeemool |- | 14 | vierzee | vierzeend | vierzeefach | vierzeemool |- | 15 | fùfzee | fùfzeend | fùfzeefach | fùfzeemool |- | 16 | sächzee | sächzeend | sächzeefach | sächzeemool |- | 17 | sibzee | sibzeend | sibzeefach | sibzeemool |- | 18 | aachdzee | aachdzeend | aachdzeefach | aachdzeemool |- | 19 | nyynzee | nyynzeend | nyynzeefach | nyynzeemool |- | 20 | zwanzg | zwanzigschd | zwanzgfach | zwanzgmool |- | 21 | ainezwanzg | ainezwanzigschd | ainezwanzgfach | ainezwanzgmool |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Swiss German language Category:Languages of Austria Category:Languages of Germany Category:German-language dialects