Alsatian

The Alsatian ( Elsässisch , Elsässerditsch or, in German standard, Elsässerdeutsch ) is the whole of Germanic Dialecte S practiced in the territory of the Alsace, in France, an alternative of the family of Germanic dialects spoken in the east about the the Vosges.

Geography

The orthography is not fixed because the pronunciation in particular varies from one province to another, even from one village to another. There also existed in the Alsatian Vosges a Romance speech, almost disappeared today, except notable for the Welche (or welsche), still spoken in the valley about Kaysersberg. The distinction was noted for the first time at the time of the Serments of Strasbourg in 842. In Alsace of North, around Wissembourg and Saar-Union, one speaks an alternative about the Francique, the Rhenish Francique, characterized by the absence of the Second consonant shift ( Perd for Pferd ) and by the appearance of “Bavarian” diphthongization, where however one remained at the stage “äj” without arriving at “aj” (Wissembourg says Wäjssebua on the spot). Everywhere else in Alsace, they are Germanic alternatives.

Linguistic characteristics

Among the features which separate the Alsatian one from the Hochdeutsch, literary German, one can quote inter alia the absence of diphthongization known as Bavarian: “Wyn or Wyh” for “Wein”, “Hüs” for “Haus”; the palatalization of “U” long and the maintenance of old diphthongs: “güet” for “gut” (in the past “guot”); a certain articulatory relaxation: “sewa” for “sieben”; the passage of intervocalic to (the name of the Schnersheim village decides Schnarsche on the spot) etc

From the grammatical point of view one will notice the reduction of times of the conjugation with two: present and made up past: Ich bin, ich bin gsin . The nuances are expressed by adverbs or are guessed starting from the context.

The membership of Alsace in France was reflected on the lexical level. The fact of being politically cut sphere of the Hochdeutsch which, beyond the rhine and in Swiss, is used to the Germanic speakers as written language (Schriftsprache), allowed the safeguarding of a great number of archaisms, inintelligibles nowadays even the country of Bade; in addition, the dialect did not cease borrowing from French. These two tendencies separate the Alsatian one from the Germanic speeches of Germany and Suisse perhaps more than the purely phonetic characteristics.

Use

Today, one observes a strong reduction in the use of the Alsatian one. It is in the urban centres, with their mobile populations, that the retreat is most notable. The French revolution, period during which the German States were in the enemy camp, marked a true period of intolerance, but of limited time. It is primarily with leaving the Première and the Second world war that the French authorities have more work so that the use of Alsatian disappears with the profit from French. It was then in particular known as that “it is smart of speaking French”. If the decline continues, one can however note that the Alsatian one has tendency to better resisting than of others regional languages, more isolated, like the Breton.

One can say that the brutal retreat of Alsatian started during the Années 1970. The sexagenerians, and even sometimes the quinquagénaires, remember that in their childhood they were surprised to hear elderly discuss between them of French; and in the street it is in dialect that, in the the Sixties, the kids proposed tickets of tombolas to you. The irruption of television in the family life is for much in this retreat: there do not exist chains in dialect, hardly some emissions, and the Alsacien young person high in French-Alsatian bilingualism includes/understands from the start the French chains whereas it has much more evil with the German chains.

Alsatian culture

Many artists express themselves into Alsatian, contributing to a specific culture, like Tomi Ungerer, André Weckmann, Rene Schickelé, Jean Egen, Roger Siffer, Germain Muller, Liselotte Hamm and Jean-Marie Hummel, Rene Eglès, Sylvie ref., Kansas off Elsass, Christophe Voltz, Hopla guys (hoplaguys.cigogne.net) etc

A survival: French of Alsace

It is necessary to understand by “French of Alsace” not the spoken language by the old men dialectophones, who translate in fact French what they think into Alsatian (they are increasingly rare today), but the language used spontaneously by people which often do not know or know little about the Alsatian one and is not absolutely aware to employ forms marked locally. Thus a sentence as “I will let repair my shoes” for “I will make repair my shoes” does not mean itself more that in the mouth of old people; on the other hand a middle-class woman anxious to imitate the Parisian language will not hesitate to speak about her “raincoat” (Regenmantel) instead of saying “impermeable”. “To make the monkey” means inside “to make the imbecile to amuse the others” whereas the direction in Alsace would be rather “to make itself ridiculous”. A Protestant will often say to you that it goes “to the church” and not “to the temple” (this last word irritates even certain pastors). Under the influence of German “doch”; does the word “thus” get busy sometimes within the meaning of “however” (“You do not know it? I thus said it to you! ”).

See detailed article: French of Alsace.

Teaching and French-German bilingualism

Until the French revolution, the German is the traditional language of the school and the university. In 1853, the French becomes the official language of the school, but German remains taught 35 minutes per day. In 1871 German becomes again the official language at the school safe in the French-speaking regions of Reichsland where French is strongly used. In 1918 it is the rejection of German considered as a foreign language and order is given to use the direct method of teaching, which consisted in using French without transition. In 1928 the decree Poincaré - Pfister reintroduces German during the 2nd six-month period of the 2nd school year at a rate of 3 a.m. 30 per week to which the religious instruction given in German is added. In 1945 German is completely removed teaching by temporary measure, measurement which finally will last. As of 1951 the Alsatian opinion requires its re-establishment and German is reintroduced with discretion and optional basis with itinerant teachers. Thus during the two last years of the primary education certain Alsatian profit 3 hours of German per week. In 1971 85% of the parents are favorable to the introduction of German to the elementary school, according to a survey of the IFOP for the Breaking news of Alsace. In 1972 starts a teaching of German who exploits the dialectal asset of the nine year old children at a rate of German half an hour per day. In 1974,8 000 pupils out of 60.000 profit from the known as teaching, financed directly by the municipalities. From the beginning of the year 1990, ABCM-Zweisprachigkeit association develops the equal schools bilingual. Since, the area created in the public schools of the bilingual classes; to see Foreign language instruction.

Examples

These writings do not reflect by far all the kinds of pronunciations the Alsatian ones.

" b" becomes " v" and in several cases, as between French, English, German, Spanish and Italian…

Words yiddisches were often adopted into Alsatian.

See Dictionary Alsatian-French

Publications into Alsatian

Cartoon

Books for children

E. and Mr. Sinniger-Wollbrett, Zwarichel vom Bàschbarri , ED. North-Alsace, 2002. ISBN 2-951-75463-9

Software

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