High Alemannic German

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High Alemannic
Hochalemannisch
Native to	Switzerland Germany: Baden-Württemberg Austria: Vorarlberg Liechtenstein France: Haut-Rhin
Language family	Indo-European Alemannic High Alemannic
Writing system	Latin (German alphabet)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	high1290
Geographical spread of High Alemannic dialects; marked in red is the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line

High Alemannic is a branch of

The High Alemannic dialects are spoken in Liechtenstein and in most of German-speaking Switzerland (Swiss Plateau), except for the Highest Alemannic dialects in the Swiss Alps and for the Low Alemannic (Basel German) dialect in the North West.

Therefore, High Alemannic must not be confused with the term "Swiss German", which refers to all Alemannic dialects of Switzerland as opposed to Swiss variant of Standard German, the literary language of diglossic German-speaking Switzerland.

In

Subdivisions

High Alemannic is traditionally subdivided in an Eastern and Western language area (Sprachraum), marked by the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line across the cantons of Aargau and Lucerne (Luzern).

Eastern High Alemannic includes

Western High Alemannic includes Bernese German, the German dialects of Solothurn and Fribourg, as well as most dialects of Aargau and the northern parts of the canton of Lucerne.

Features

The distinctive feature of the High Alemannic dialects is the completion of the High German consonant shift, for instance chalt [xalt] 'cold' vs. Low Alemannic and standard German 'kalt' [kʰalt].

References