Swabian German

Swabian (Schwäbisch) is one of the Alemannic dialects of High German, spoken in the region Swabia. Swabia covers much of Germany's southwestern Land (state) of Baden-Württemberg (including the capital Stuttgart and in the rural area known as the Swabian Alb) and in the southwest of the Land Bavaria.

Related Topics:
Alemannic - High German - Swabia - Baden-Württemberg - Stuttgart - Swabian Alb - Bavaria

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The dialect ranges from a 'standard' Swabian, spoken in Stuttgart, to slightly differing and 'thicker' forms found in smaller towns in the countryside. Older people can often tell the exact village a person comes from merely by hearing his or her accent.

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Swabian is difficult for speakers of Standard German to understand. It contains vocabulary that differs altogether from Standard German (eg. 'jam' in Standard German is Marmelade while in Swabian it becomes Gsälz).

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