It says “we are rebuilding” – one of the places in our town.

After living 56 years in Switzerland, 3 years in Zürich and the rest in Kanton Solothurn, I have heard enough Gobbledygook to last. With the years I got used to this gobbledygook Swiss German that everyone speaks here. Basically it should be German, but the Swiss do all sorts of things with it, according to where you live.

In my few years in Zürich I got used to their dialect, but after moving to Solothurn and living there for more than 50 years, I basically now speak fluent Solothurn German although you can always learn something new. I love reading and today read english when written by an english author and German when written by a German author. Whether Charles Dickens or Frierich Dürrenmatt, it makes no big difference for me. However at the moment I am reading a book in German, from a Swiss author “Chur 1947” from Philipp Gurt, who happens to come from Kanton Graubünden – up in the mountains, and now and again he adds a few words of Bündnerdeutsch (his local dialect), which actually I do understand to the extent to know what he means, although I have to read it as he would say it to get the meaning. I love criminal stories, and this is from a murderer of women. The Policeman in charge, Caminadas, naturally uses his own dialiect. Even his name is a typical Bundner name, but I am learning well.

For the Swiss it is defnitely not Gobbledygook, but one of their many dialects. Yes speaking high German in Switzerland is not so easy. Aber chei Probläm für mich, nur nit Bündnertütsch.