[Removed user]

12 July 2011 at 15:14:36 #804476

Hi,
Just back from our Swiss adventure and it was all great fun. Saw many sights in Switzerland on the 15 day Swiss Pass and even vistited four bordering countries. Several times we caught the very last PostBus for the night back to our apartment.

I spoke with a young lad and he said the locals say the word Swiss like “Schveese” (phonetically speaking). So, when the train and Post bus employees asked for tickets, I would say I have a Schveese Pass to show respect for the way locals say it. My wife said I was butchering the language? Was I wrong to say it that way?

SH

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[Removed user]

13 July 2011 at 4:10:32 #833461

I think you are doing it about right, and the fact that you tried to speak swiss-german is to be complimented and well regarded by the Swiss. Well done.

[Removed user]

13 July 2011 at 4:42:07 #833462

We don’t, passes are for foreigners! We have halbtax, demi-tarrif, GA’s, AG’s and abo’s for ourselves.

You can’t win this game! we’ve got 4 main languages one of which wasn’t written down at all until the late 1960’s and there’s still two versions of that one. Then we have numerous local dialects and some left overs from the Arpitan language which is a Francoprovençal or Gallo-Rhaetian language.

I would really stick to hello, thank-you etc if you just want a few words. In German areas I’d use Gruetzi for hello, danke of course and the ever useful “tschüss” as a closing/thanks/cheers sort of word.

[Olga]

13 July 2011 at 5:15:25 #833463

[quote]swisshiker33 said: Hi,
Just back from our Swiss adventure and it was all great fun. Saw many sights in Switzerland on the 15 day Swiss Pass and even vistited four bordering countries. Several times we caught the very last PostBus for the night back to our apartment.
I spoke with a young lad and he said the locals say the word Swiss like “Schveese” (phonetically speaking). So, when the train and Post bus employees asked for tickets, I would say I have a Schveese Pass to show respect for the way locals say it. My wife said I was butchering the language? Was I wrong to say it that way?
SH[/quote]

I think it’s very nice of you that you at least tried. I’ve been in Switzerland almost 30 times and especially in the Bernese Oberland they can’t gossip about me any more because I understand most of what they say. So I also try some of the “Schwitzerdütsch” sometimes and it’s always appreciated. I think it’s always appreciated when you try to speak the language of the country, or even one of the dialects.

🙂

[Removed user]

13 July 2011 at 14:42:09 #833464

Danke everyone for the kind words. Tschüss!