“Jo sicha, moch ma”, “Dongsche, fits”, “Gfrei mi, bis späda, goi”: the dialect is finding its way more and more into our written communication. Texts are written on social media without regard to spelling and grammar – in a broad dialect, like a beak could grow.
dialect as a matter of course
Recent studies also show what can be observed when writing WhatsApp messages with family and friends, in Facebook comment bars and group chats: Writing in dialect is increasing significantly, says the renowned Swiss linguist and dialectologist Helen Christen.
She recently devoted herself to the subject in detail at the congress of the “International Society for Dialectology of German” at the University of Salzburg. Especially for young people, but increasingly also for the older generation, it has even become a matter of course to type like you speak. A few years ago there was great concern about our dialect, it was even described as “threatened with extinction”, but now it seems to be experiencing a boom.
familiarity in virtual space
But why is that? The written dialect conveys the familiarity of the spoken language in the virtual space, explains Christen. Home, informality, closeness and belonging are things we associate with colloquialism. They are transferred to the typed dialect, which also opens up additional possibilities of expression and allows a relaxed, perhaps even playful, handling of the written word.
In the south and south-west of the German-speaking area, chatting in dialect is a common writing alternative for many young people, as surveys show. In Salzburg, for example, six out of seven students also write in dialect, and there are a similar number in Bamberg, Bavaria. A study from Switzerland shows that only seven percent of the students and vocational school students surveyed only write High German.
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Dialect finds its way into the professional world
What is surprising is that writing in dialect seems to be expanding from private life into the professional environment. “Writing in dialect is also getting a boost in numbers because young people in the far south are not just writing to close friends in dialect, but increasingly also to superiors,” says a broadcast from the University of Salzburg.
Since the professional hierarchies are being leveled out, the dialect is also possible as a language form for messages in team group chats or even to superiors. Gone are the days when vernacular was associated with poor education or backwoodsmanship.
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Source: Nachrichten
