Die Schweizermacher E-Book

Paul G. Schreier

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Deutsch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Seitenzahl: 241

Beschreibung

Learning Swiss German finally made fun! - based on Switzerland's must succesful feature film, the romantic comedy: "Die Schweizmacher" - Word-by-word transcription of the Swiss German dialog - Complete translation into both Hochdeutsch and English - Plentiful footnotes explaining unsual words phrases - Explanations of all the "inside" jokes in thus satire, which takes a critical look at Swiss society - Includes Grammar Notes on each section, explaining special aspects of the dialog you've just heard. It also has exercrises to help you master the concepts. - Includes a Quick Grammar that details the grammatical structure and fundamentals of the language. This is a complete text for leraning Schweizderdeutsch suitable for all levels. We've taken the most succesful feature firlm ever made in Switzerland and turned it into a course in Schweizerdeutsch. You'll not only gain a much better understanding of the language, you'll have a great time in the process. Die Schweizermacher is the story of two officers in the Swiss Office of Immigration and Naturalization. It's their job to check into the backgrounds of people who have applied for Swiss citizenship - except in this satire, the director takes a closer look at the Swiss and their customs than he does at the candidates. You'll lough out loud many, many times as the director, Rolf Lussy, pokes fun at this fellow countrymen and woman. And this is real dialg, the way people really talk. To help you understand what's being said, this book provides a word-by-word transcprition of the dialog so you can read every phrase, every word in the original Schweizerdeutsch. And then it also gives the Hochdeutsch (High German) equivalent and then the English translation. Following the characters in their everyday situations, you'll learn how to greet people in all sorts of settings, you'll "eavesdrop" on private conversations and generally listen in to the way the Swiss really talk among themselves. This book peresents a completely unique way learning a language - and it couldn't be more fun.

Leseprobe

Dedications

This book is dedicated to Godi, who impressed me greatly with his warmth, friendship and helpfulness when I first moved to Switzerland. He patiently answered all of the really dumb questions that this newcomer had. He helped me integrate into the local society, no small feat in Switzerland where the people tend to be distant. He embodies all the best qualities of the Swiss. I never properly thanked him for everything he did for me and my family, so this is my chance.—PGS

I want to thank all of my students of German and Swiss German. Through their various questions and problems, and above all their misunderstandings of the language, I have discovered the basics of how the language functions as well as the wealth of everyday communication tools I use. They helped me learn that there is so much more to language than I took for granted half of my life.—HF

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introductions

The Controversy of Immigration in Switzerland

List of Main Characters

Chapter 1—Unterricht / Instructions

Chapter 2—Observationen / Surveillance

Chapter 3—Besuch beim Italiener / A visit with the Italian

Chapter 4—Ermahnung / Reprimand

Chapter 5—Informationen sammeln / Collecting information

Chapter 6—Erste Begegnung / First meeting

Chapter 7—Alltagsleben / Everyday life

Chapter 8—Missgeschick / Mishap

Chapter 9—Peinlichkeit / Embarrassing situation

Chapter 10—Abendessen / Dinner

Chapter 11—Bestechung / Bribery

Chapter 12—Glück gehabt / Running into luck

Chapter 13—Missverständnis / Misunderstanding

Chapter 14—Rund um die Uhr / Around the clock

Chapter 15—Rendezvous / Rendezvous

Chapter 16—Ordentlicher Italiener / Respectable Italian

Chapter 17—Verdacht / Suspicion

Chapter 18—Swissmaker / Swiss maker

Chapter 19—Die Kommission / The Commission

Chapter 20—Beinahe erwischt / Almost caught

Chapter 21—Bürgerrechtsfeiern / Citizenship celebrations

Chapter 22—Vorwürfe / Accusations

Chapter 23—Neuer Kandidat / New applicant

A History of Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch)

Grammar Notes

Schweizerdeutsch Quick Grammar

About the Authors

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend their grateful appreciation to the following organizations and individuals, without whose cooperation and assistance it would not have been possible to create this book:

T&C Film AG

Rolf Lyssy, the film’s director and co-producer, and who developed the original script.

The film's producer, Marcel Hoehn.

And a special thanks to Susa Katz, head of marketing at T&C Film, who was largely responsible for clearing the way for this book to become a reality.

For the purposes of studying this film, we recommend the DVD version, which offers subtitles and dialog dubbed in a number of languages. The DVD for Die Schweizermacher is available from a number of retail outlets that allow ordering over the Internet as well as several Internet-only sales channels. Among these are:

www.amazon.de

www.buchhaus.ch

www.books.ch

www.exlibris.ch

To our knowledge, the only version of the DVD comes coded alone for Region 2 (Europe) and it will not play on Region 1 players. Some readers may want to investigate the possibility of obtaining a "code-free" DVD player.

Introductions

by Paul Schreier

When I moved to Switzerland, I didn't think learning Swiss German (from here on referred to as Schweizerdeutsch) would be that big of a deal. After all, I had previously spent three years in Germany and so am reasonably fluent in Hochdeutsch (High German), and it wouldn’t be much different than picking up a regional dialect like Oberbayerisch, right? Was I in for a shock! Schweizerdeutsch is truly a distinct language, and it’s about as closely related to Hochdeutsch as is Dutch. Consider that when a Swiss is interviewed on German TV, the viewers need subtitles.

What makes it a real challenge to learn Schweizerdeutsch above all is the fact that it’s not a written language, only a spoken language and with multiple distinct dialects. So how do you find a textbook for a non-written language? In our case, how do you write an instructional text for a non-written language? As it turns out, there’s a real lack of good teaching materials for Schweizerdeutsch. Part of the reason is likely the limited market appeal for such a book— after all, out of a total population near 7.5 million, ¾ (roughly only 5.6 million people) speak Schweizerdeutsch, while visitors and expats can get along fine with Hochdeutsch. And quite a few Swiss are very comfortable with English.

But without learning the local language, you just don't experience the country in the same way. You can't sit on a tram and casually overhear people talking about the latest little shop they discovered; you can't understand when your doctor makes a comment to her assistant during your examination; you can't join a local club or social organization and expect to have the slightest idea of what's going on because the members will inevitably slip into Schweizerdeutsch in spite of their best efforts to be kind to you. Further, even though Schweizerdeutsch isn’t written, it is the de-facto standard language of spoken commerce, at every level and in every profession. During my first week in the country I was surprised to even hear lawyers and bankers conducting their business in this guttural language that has evolved from the farmyards and still retains some expressions that just about anyone else would consider crude. However, these expressions have gone beyond that stage and are accepted as perfectly respectable idioms.

To learn a language, you must hear it; to "hear" it in the true sense of the word, you must understand what is being said. Without much in the way of resources, it’s difficult to study Schweizerdeutsch. With courses at a language school or a tutor you can make a lot of headway, but you'll perhaps run into the same situation I did: I found myself at a plateau but had great difficulty jumping to the next level. Specifically, I got to the point where I could understand most of what I heard the TV news broadcasters saying, and it was the same if somebody took the time to speak slowly and distinctly. This is what I started to refer to as "Hoch-Schweizerdeutsch." But people don't normally talk that way in their mother tongue. We talk fast. We slur our words. We use slang and other colorful expressions that won't make it on a news program. Thus, in virtually any other Schweizerdeutsch environment I was lost— as if I had never even studied the language—such as when somebody stopped me on the street to ask directions, or the lady at the newsstand made a comment about something, or when a radio DJ started rambling on or did an on-the-air interview with a local.

Clearly, there's a need for some way to help students hear street Schweizerdeutsch, or what they refer to as Mundart, and understand what is being said. Then we came upon an idea: why not use a movie? The advantages are many, and key among them:

The actors speak in real Mundart, not a refined newscaster type of Schweizerdeutsch.

The actors tend to use real expressions that you’ll actually hear on the street; with the right movie, you can learn how to conduct yourself in many everyday situations.

In a typical language course the drills are dry, and it takes a lot of self-discipline to go over them more than two or three times before you die of boredom. The right movie, in contrast, could be interesting enough to allow for multiple viewings without going over the boredom threshold.

With this book we think we've found an approach that achieves these goals: an interesting, down-to-earth way of learning the language, but one that's actually very enjoyable.

So which film to choose? Well, there aren’t all that many Mundart movies coming out of Switzerland to begin with. But one stands out as an excellent candidate. It’s a satire and romantic comedy, it deals with contemporary situations, and it's the most successful movie ever to come out of Switzerland. Its title: Die Schweizermacher. As you'll see, it's a story about two civil servants who must investigate several foreigners who have applied for Swiss citizenship. The officers must conduct a character investigation on the candidates.

By the nature of the plot, you'll learn a great deal about the Swiss and their way of life. But be careful! In this satire you can't take everything at face value. So how can a foreigner know what to take as normal and what's the director is poking fun at? For selected scenes we've included commentary at the end of the chapter to help you understand the jokes that only a Swiss audience would appreciate.

In addition, this film is celebrating its 25th anniversary as we write this book, and it's aging well. But some things have changed. The most obvious is the naturalization process, which has changed for the better and in some ways also for the worse. We present a short discussion of the issues in the following section of this book. Another thing that has changed is our ability to laugh at ourselves. It's clear to me that in these days of exaggerated political correctness that this film probably could not be made in the honest form it has been here.

In closing, we believe that combining such an entertaining film with this transcription / translation and the accompanying Grammar Notes and Quick Grammar sections makes a wonderful educational tool for students of Schweizerdeutsch at any level. Beginners can get used to hearing common words and phrases as well as start getting accustomed to the language's rhythms and flow. They can also start building up a basic vocabulary. Intermediate students will expand their vocabularies with real-world expressions and can take a closer examination of how sentences are constructed.

We hope we've taken some of the boredom out of learning a language. This is one class exercise we're certain you'll enjoy.

by Harry Fuchs

I am a native German who has lived in Switzerland for 40 years. Perhaps my biggest task during this project was to create the Schweizerdeutsch transcription of the dialog in the movie. After all, how do you go about writing down on paper the dialog spoken in a language that has no formal written format? That’s the case because Schweizerdeutsch is strictly a spoken language. Ask six Swiss people how to write a given word and you'll get six different answers. We thought we might be able to work from the original script for the film, but it was written in Hochdeutsch, and the actors basically ad-libbed the Schweizerdeutsch translation during the filming.

When making the transcription, I decided to use the German pronunciation because of its phonetics. To make the Schweizerdeutsch as readable as possible, I tried to make words easily recognizable when possible. For instance, I used Vogel instead of Fogel, and jetz instead of jez, jets, iez or iets. However, some words might look unusual and become difficult to read, especially when using the kch for the cracking guttural sounds common in Schweizerdeutsch.

Although Switzerland is a relatively small country, there are a large number of distinct dialects, and everyone is proud of their dialect. People do not try to diminish or hide their dialect when in other cities or at work, as is common in some other European countries. In the film, almost all the characters come from different areas and hence speak with somewhat of a dialect, all a bit different. The film’s director seems to have asked them to tone down the dialect when it came to pronunciation, but not as much in the use of regional terms. Even so, my goal was to attain consistency of spellings throughout this book; it will do students little good to see half a dozen different spellings (based on regional pronunciations) for the same word. Further, the dialects differ mainly in the use of the vowels, and it is difficult to be consistent when the actors used shades of vowels such as e, ö and a silent e or something in between.

Perhaps the most difficult part of doing the transcription was writing down the casual utterances the actors use, in particular hä, he and ä. Were they really important to speech, or were they simply fillers between phrases and sentences? I rather consider them flavoring particles that don't translate directly, and they instead convey a certain feeling or the speaker’s attitude. In this film, these utterances are most noticeable with Bodmer. They reflect his personality, which comes across as negative and closed-minded. In fact, the more I worked on this project and studied his speed patterns, the more I disliked him. I ended up with a very strong antipathy towards this character. This was, of course, primarily due to his role in the film, but only later did I realize how much his negativity comes through in the language he uses. Even today, when I see his face, I must remind myself that it's nothing more than brilliant acting.

For the grammar portion we place an emphasis on the use of contractions, mainly between verbs and pronouns, which the Swiss use a great deal to make speech fluent. Those contractions, although they make talking more efficient, can make it difficult to hear when one word ends and the next one starts.

Those foreign to Switzerland also present a challenge. For instance, one set of characters in the film consists of an Italian family and their friends, many of them first-generation immigrants with a strong accent from their homeland. For them I had to decide how to transcribe their speech. When speaking Schweizerdeutsch, Italians have a tendency to add an -e to words ending in a consonant just as they do in their native language. I put these ending "e"s in this book to be consistent in transcribing dialects and accents.

In the German translation, I did not always attempt to find the phrasing that a native German would likely use for the same thought. The translations are German as it is spoken in Switzerland, which is almost the same as standard German from Germany, with a difference primarily in vocabulary (comparable to the difference between British and American English) and some grammar constructions that do not exist in Schweizerdeutsch (such as genitive, simple past tense and relative clauses).

My goal was to give Germans a feeling of how the Swiss speak, and how they structure their phrases and sentences. My German text thus remains close to Schweizerdeutsch, which means I made a word-by-word translation that was possible with about two dozen exceptions dealing with constructions of modal verbs.

Similarly, the foreigners in the film sometimes speak Schweizerdeutsch with some mistakes, which I did include. You can observe it especially well with the German couple, who sometimes use Hochdeutsch terms instead of those a Swiss would use. For example, Fr. Starke says, "ain Geschenk," (a gift) where "ain" is a usage of the German "ein" whereas a Swiss would say äs. In another case she says the German "jemand" (someone) instead of the Swiss öpper or the German "Kittel" (smock, or coat) when a Swiss would say Tschoope.

In the colloquial Schweizerdeutsch transcription I strived to stay true to the sentences as uttered. For instance, in everyday speech we often avoid the personal pronouns in nominative (the subject of the sentence) especially when used at the beginning of a sentence. By the context, you already know who is being referred to with a spoken phrase such as "just stepped outside for a second."

This has been a fascinating project for me, and I hope that it proves useful to my future students.

The Controversy of Immigration in Switzerland

Because of its high standard of living, Western Europe has become a magnet for emigrees and those seeking political asylum. This region is a favorite of people from Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East Although the European Union is restrictive in who can become a citizen, Switzerland is much more so. All across Europe, the issue of immigration has become controversial with strong opinions on both sides, and Switzerland is no exception. Indeed, in recent years there's emerged a backlash against foreigners, which is clearly evident in the success at the polls of the anti-immigrant Schweizer Volkspartei (SVP) in the recent national elections.

Admittedly, becoming a citizen is no longer as difficult as presented in this film. The characters mention that no appeals of a negative decision are allowed; meanwhile, an individual can apply multiple times. In addition, there are no more home visits during the investigatory stage.

One thing that complicates citizenship issues in Switzerland is that each city or town (Gemeinde), and not the Federal Government, makes all decisions on who obtains citizenship. In this film, for instance, the candidates all become citizens of the city of Zürich as well as of Switzerland.

How each city or town approaches citizenship varies widely. For instance, some require that the candidate have a good mastery of Schweizerdeutsch; others have very little in the way of language requirements.

Consider an incident from several years ago in Emmen, a town near Lucerne in the Germanspeaking region, when members of the community had to decide on 56 applicants. Of them, 48 were from the Balkans and all were rejected—while the remaining eight, all Italians, were accepted. The 48 that were turned down were then offered political asylum by four other cities and towns in French-speaking Switzerland.

At the other extreme from Emmen is the town of Castaneda, which has only approximately 230 inhabitants. Each year that town receives more than 100 applications for citizenship, and no one has ever been turned down. Each town sets its own fee structure for the naturalization process, and Castaneda charges 3000 Swiss Francs (roughly $2200), and the new citizens rarely settle down there.

Meanwhile, in towns such as Berne and Basel, simply living there for a dozen years almost assures that the candidate will be accepted for citizenship.

Just until this past year, some cities and towns used regular voting by the citizens to decide on each candidate. In July of 2003, the Swiss Supreme Court ruled that such elections are unconstitutional and that the decisions must be made by an official panel of some sort. Returning to the example of Emmen, only 0.8% of all eligible voters turned out for some recent elections where immigration candidates were involved.

Politicians at all levels continue to discuss issues surrounding immigration and naturalization at great length. But it appears that the major parties are so far apart in their thinking that it seems improbable that they will reach any compromises. Meanwhile, decisions will continue to be made at the local level.

List of Main Characters

and the actors who play them in the film

Max Bodmer............................................................... Walo Lüönd

Moritz Fischer............................................................. Emil Steinberger

Milena Vakulic............................................................ Beatrice Kessler

Dr. Helmut Starke....................................................... Wolfgang Stendar

Gertrud Starke............................................................ Hilde Ziegler

Francesco Grimolli...................................................... Claudio Caramaschi

Sandra Grimolli.......................................................... Silvia Jost

The chapter headings in this book correspond directly to the chapter divisions on the DVD.

Notes to Transcriptions:

The text that is spoken in the original version (generally, the "Mundart," or dialect version) is printed in boldface type. This is done so for Schweizerdeutsch (Swiss German) and Italian (those phrases are prefaced with Italian: and the text that follows is in bold italics). When the original is in Hochdeutsch (High German) or English, we omit the Schweizerdeutsch line and use the German or English line as appropriate.

The Hochdeutsch translation is printed in italics. Also, if the actor starts to use Hochdeutsch, we print that person's words verbatim in this italic font.

The English transcription is printed in normal text. Also, if the actor starts to use English, we print that person's words verbatim in this normal font.

Chapter 1—Unterricht / Instructions

Personen und Handlungen sind frei erfunden, Ähnlichkeiten mit tatsächlichen Verhältnissen lassen sich aber nicht ganz ausschliessen.

The persons and events are fictitious, but similarities with actual circumstances cannot be ruled out completely.

Also, ich fasse zäme: In oiserem Land isch jede willkchome, sig's als Turischt, als Arbaiter. De Fremdi sötted mir uf all Fäll immer akchzeptiere.(1)

Also, ich fasse zusammen: In unserem Land ist jeder willkommen, sei es als Tourist, als Arbeiter. Den Fremden sollten wir auf jeden Fall immer akzeptieren.

Now I'll sum up: In our country, everyone is welcome, whether as a tourist, as a worker. In any event we should always accept a foreigner.

Öppis anders isch es, wann er in oiserem Land bliibe wott, wann er s'Bürgerrächt beatrait. Dann mues er sich uf irgend än Art aapasse, er mues sich assimiliere.

Etwas anderes ist es, wenn er in unserem Land bleiben will, wenn er das Bürgerrecht beantragt. Dann muss er sich auf irgendeine Art anpassen, er muss sich assimilieren.

It’s something else when he wants to stay in our country, when he applies for citizenship.

Then he must, in some fashion, fit in, he must assimilate.

Wie scho än früenere Fremdepolizeischef gschribe hät:

Wie schon ein früherer Fremdenpolizeichef geschrieben hat:

As a former Head of Naturalization once wrote:

„Wir glauben, dass die Assimilation jener Zustand ist, bei welchem der bei uns anwesende Ausländer nicht mehr auffällt. "(2)

"We believe that assimilation is the state of affairs by which a foreigner who is with us no longer stands out."

Nänned Si mir e paar Aigeschafte, wo mir bimene Usländer vorusseze müend, damit er Bürger vo oiserem Land werde chan. Wie mues er si?

Nennen Sie mir ein paar Eigenschaften, die wir bei einem Ausländer voraussetzen müssen, damit er Bürger unseres Landes werden kann. Wie muss er sein?

Name for me a couple of the qualities that we set as prerequisites for a foreigner so that he can become a citizen of our country. What must he be like?

Noitral...Flisig...Solid.

Neutral...Fleissig... Solid.

Neutral...Hardworking...Stable.

Solid. Zum Bischpil.

Solid. Zum Beispiel.

Stable. For example.

Beschaide, charakchterfescht.

Bescheiden, charakterfest.

Modest, of sound character.

Guet. Das git grad es "C-H".

Gut. Das gibt gerade ein "C-H".

Good, that now gives a "C-H."

Sänkchrächt...Zueverläsig.

Senkrecht...Zuverlässig.

Upright...Reliable.

Zueverlesig, richtig.

Zuverlässig, richtig.

Reliable, right.

Wakcher...Aifach.

Wacker...Einfach.

Brave and honest...Easygoing.

Aifach, jawol.

Einfach, jawohl.

Easy-going, indeed.

Integer.

Integer.

Upstanding.

Guet.

Gut.

Good.

Eerlich.

Ehrlich.

Honest.

Erlich und zueverlesig.

Ehrlich und zuverlässig.

Honest and reliable.(3)

Was chönd Si mir suscht no nänne?

Was können Sie mir sonst noch nennen?

What else can you name for me?

Riich.

Reich.

Rich.

Ja, mir leged zwar grose Wärt uf es regelmässigs likchome, aber ich glaube „riich" wär doch e chli z'aisiitig.

Ja, wir legen zwar grossen Wert auf ein regelmässiges Einkommen, aber ich glaube „reich" wäre doch ein wenig zu einseitig.

Yes, we indeed set great weight on a steady income, but I believe that "rich" would be too short-sighted.

Willig.

Willig.

Adaptable.

Willig. Er chan und söll willig si. Aber es git no zwai wichtigen Begriff: Weerhaft und realistisch.

Willig. Er kann und soll willig sein. Aber es gibt noch zwei wichtigere Begriffe: Wehrhaft und realistisch.

Adaptable. He can and should be adaptable, but there are two terms that are more important: willing-to-serve-his-country and realistic.

Si gsend, die Aigeschafte mues de Usländer zersch mal under Bewis schtele, bevor er vo siich behaupte dörf: lich bin Schwizer.

Sie sehen, diese Eigenschaften muss der Ausländer zuerst einmal unter Beweis stellen, bevor er von sich behaupten darf: Ich bin Schweizer.

You see, a foreigner must first demonstrate these qualities before he can rightfully claim: I am a Swiss.

Si chönd jetz i de Praxis Iri Erfaarige sammle. I dere Probezit werded Si sich zersch emal bi Irem diräkchte Vorgsezte bewäre müese, bevor über Ire witere lisaz entschide wird.

Sie können jetzt in der Praxis Ihre Erfahrungen sammeln. In dieser Probezeit werden Sie sich zuerst einmal bei Ihrem direkten Vorgesetzen bewähren müssen, bevor über Ihren weiteren Einsatz entschieden wird.

You can now gather your own experience on the job. During your probation, you will first have to prove yourself to your immediate supervisor before anything is decided about your further assignments.

Fritz Moser, Si sind Asischtänt vom Karl Maurer. De Moritz Fischer isch äm Max Bodmer zuetailt. Werner Heim, Si sind bim Otto Knill und de Josef Andermatt isch bim Franz Huber.

Fritz Moser, Sie sind Assistent von Karl Maurer. Moritz Fischer ist Max Bodmer zugeteilt.

Werner Heim, Sie sind bei Otto Knill und Josef Andermatt ist bei Franz Huber.

Fritz Moser, you are the assistant of Karl Maurer. Moritz Fischer is assigned to Max Bodmer.

Werner Heim, you are with Otto Knill and Joseph Andermatt is with Franz Huber.(4)

Also, mini Herre, vil Erfolg bi de Arbet.

Also, meine Herren, viel Erfolg bei der Arbeit.

Well, gentlemen, much success in your work.

1 At this point, look at the row of men in the back of the room. The fellow second from the left, who puts his hands to his hair for a moment, is Walter Schoch, one of the film's co-producers.

2 Although the Swiss generally speak in their own dialect, they read and write Hochdeutsch. Thus, when the instructor quotes from the book, he does so in Hochdeutsch.

3 At this point take a close look at what the letters on the blackboard actually spell (reproduced in the photo that opens this chapter). It's a word game playing off "Scheisse," the German and Swiss word for "crap" or "shit." Already in these first few minutes you have a hint that this film will not be the standard "party line" view of the Swiss.

4 The fact that the two naturalization officers we will follow in this story are named Max and Moritz is no accident. Max and Moritz are children's characters recognized throughout the German-speaking countries, just as well known as Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are in the USA. Wilhelm Busch wrote the first story with these characters in 1865. His humorous short stories deal with two nasty, naughty boys who eventually get their just rewards. But on another level, it's a satirical, cutting attack on middleclass norms and standards of the time. In this film Rolf Lyssy is giving contemporary Swiss lifestyles a similar treatment, so it's appropriate that the characters have these names. In fact, the original screenplay carried the name "Max und Moritz."

Chapter 2—Observationen / Surveillance

Gertrud, Gertrud, kannst du mir schnell helfen?(5)

Gertrud,(6) Gertrud, can you help me real quick?

Ja.

Yes.

Halt doch mal die Fahne.

Hold the flag for a second.(7)

Schribit Fischer! 10 Uhr 15. Sonntag.(8) Die obe dra sölled nur märkche, dass mir au ab und zue än Sunntig opferid.

Schreiben Sie, Fischer! 10 Uhr 15. Sonntag. Die oben dran sollen nur merken, dass wir auch ab und zu einen Sonntag opfern.

Write this down, Fischer! 10:15. Sunday. Those up at the top should take notice that we also sacrifice a Sunday every now and then.

5 Don't be surprised that there is no Schweizerdeutsch in this exchange. If two Americans were to meet, they'd start speaking English automatically. Likewise, when two Germans are together, they automatically speak Hochdeutsch. With this dialog, the director is immediately introducing these two as a German couple, already setting the scene for things to come.

6 Although the conventional English spelling of this name is Gertrude, for this text we carry the German spelling.

7 This scene seems to bring a laugh from a Swiss audience. The Swiss and the Germans have an unusual relationship, similar in some respects to that between the Yankees and Rebels in the USA. Indeed, because the Swiss want to feel distant from the Germans is one major reason why Schweizerdeutsch emerged as a de-facto national language and why it remains yet to this day, even though Hochdeutsch is one of the country's official written languages (the others being French and Italian). To have two Germans be so blatant about displaying their loyalty to Switzerland brings chuckles, and as the story develops you'll see that this couple’s motivation isn't entirely altruistic.

8 Schweizerdeutsch has no official written form; almost everything is written in Hochdeutsch, especially official documents. So, when Max gives dictation to Moritz, he speaks it the way he wants it written down, in Hochdeutsch.

Note also that in original-language lines with mixed languages, we try to differentiate between the Schweizerdeutsch, Hochdeutsch, Italian and English so the reader can identify exactly which words and phrases are actually in Schweizerdeutsch.