Swiss Information – Tourism & Products

Swiss German Words

The Swiss federation is composed of 23 cantons. About 65% of the Swiss population speak Swiss German and it is spoken in 11 out of the 23 cantons. Pimsleur's Swiss German uses speakers with urban intonation and pronunciation spoken in cities such as St. Gallen, ZŸrich, and Basel.

Swiss German Phase 1, Units 1-10 provide an introduction to Swiss German with 10 thirty-minute lessons. With this product you start out from zero, learning firstborn survival phrases and vocabulary, then progressing to speaking and understanding at a functional level. Every lesson holds an initial conversation, and apart vocabulary and structures, as well as full exercise for all vocabulary introduced.  Emphasis on pronunciation and comprehension.  At the completion of this course, you’ll have a basic vocabulary and speak with a near-native accent. This course provides you with a solid foundation upon which to exaggerate your language skills. Culture Notes are provided to give you further clear or deep perception into Swiss German language and culture. A Notes booklet is also included in PDF format.

Pimsleur® equals success. Just one 30-minute lesson a day gets you speaking and understanding like no other program.

About the AuthorDr. Paul Pimsleur consecrated his life to language instructing and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in employed linguistics. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed The Pimsleur Method based on two key principles:  the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called “Graduated Interval Recall.”  This Method has been used to the galore levels and languages of the Pimsleur Programs.

Most helpful client reviews

8 of 9 humans found the following review helpful.
do you recognise basic German??
By Y. Calvin
every chapter is around 30 min. when i learnt 5 lessons, i tried to speak to my Swiss friend. He thought my Swiss German was taught by a Swiss!!

Yes, a heap of of the sentences is gorgeous FORMAL. But my Swiss friend is already impressed.

It is better to know basic German before you learn, as the program doesn't include any book for you to read. And they won't tell you the reason why you speak this way this time; and that way that time.

10 of 12 humans found the following review helpful.
Could Use More Vocabulary Words
By Mike Yorkey
My wife is Swiss-German, and I've learned a great deal of Swiss-German words over the years. While I cherished the effort, learning how to order two beers over assorted lessons didn't rather work for me. Since there are so few Swiss-German language resources available, this CD series is better than nothing, but I would have like to have learned more than saying I am from America and would like to order "gschnatzlets mit rosit" and a beer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Worth each penny
By Leila Sadeghi
I love this product! I am a Swiss American who unluckily was not taught Swiss German by my mother. I learned popular German in school. I listen to the program in the car and I have likewise saved it to my itunes on my mac. It is so helpful: The repetition, broken down pronunciation, and build up. The fact is that Swiss German is almost not one thing like German. Without this organized method, I don't think I would be making the transition so well. I am actually holding back the information. I can't wait for my next visit!

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