language. sprache.

Der Herr isch my Hirt, Mir manglet's a nuüt.

Uf grüene Matte lat är mi weide
und lat mi löie, wo's Wasser het.

Nöis Läbe git är mir
und füert mi uf em richtige Wäg.
So isch är sym Name tröi!

O wen i dür ne fyschteri Schlucht düre mues,
han i vor em Unglück ke Angscht.
Du bisch ja bi mir,
dy Stab und dy Stäcke mache mir Muet.

Du machsch mir der Tisch zwäg -
myni Finde chöi's gseh.
Du slabisch mer der Chopf mit Öl,
und my Bächer isch voll, dass er über louft.

Güeti and Gnad gö mir nache, solang dass i läbe,
und i blybe myr Läbtig im Huus vom Herr.

Isn't that awesome? That, my friends, is Psalm 23, one of my favorite, in Swiss German. Languages are a funny thing. For anyone who doesn't know Swiss-German, that text up there is a complete disaster. Words with six consonants in a row, one-letter words. But if you can read it - 'tis a beautiful thing.

I love listening to Italians. I love how it's melodious, how it is said with feeling and heart. I like how it looks on a page.

I went to an open-air theater tonight with my Aunt and Uncle. 'Wachtmeister Studer', it was called - a detective story with a typical twisted plot line and five billion characters. But it was in Swiss-German, in different dialects, and with vocabulary that is often specific to a certain region of Switzerland - and there was even a bit of Italian thrown in. There is something so gratifying about hearing words used in conversation that you've never heard before, but deciphering what it means through the context.

I enjoy reading signs in Switzerland both in German and in English, because they're never direct translations. Each has their particular nuance. Their particular tone. (one particular sign in a train explained the rules of conduct in English in a very polite, formal tone. The German version had a more no-nonsense, 'this-is-your-mother-telling-you' tone - something along the lines of 'yo, your shoes don't belong on the seat. Put them on the floor!')

Can you imagine if Babel didn't happen?

(I don't have any relevant picture today, as I didn't bring my camera to the theater - and wouldn't have dared take a picture anyway. Instead you'll get this very cute picture):

One of them is my dear mother. The other is (obviously) her twin. And there
are more pictures. A future post may well be dedicated to my Mueti.