Saturday, November 11, 2006


On Monday I went to Zurich with my friend Lee who spent a few months here in Congo as a tutor for the Phillips' daughters. Besides seeing a beautiful cathedral and doing some shopping, we needed a little entertainment. When I told Lee I had learned to say "I want a Swiss husband" in Swiss German, she dared me to try it out on some unsuspecting Swiss man. She works at Starbucks and we decided if I pulled it off she would buy me a mug. That was too good to pass up! Plus we had a lot of laughs along the way...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know, after spending the weekend in the Grissons (German speaking canton in the south east), I'm starting to want a Swiss-German husband myself. And the more I hear Swiss-German being spoken, the more I'm convinced I could learn it relatively quickly if I wanted to.

johne nomad said...

Did you also learn how to say "I live in the Congo - wouldn't you like to move there?"

Linguistica said...

Hey Angi! We could start the Americans-in-search-of-Swiss-Germans club!

Good point, John. I will ask my roommate to teach me that line.

Angi, you think Swiss German sounds EASY? The more I heard it the more I despaired of ever learning it! Plus, I don't think there's an Inlingua school that teaches it :o)

Anonymous said...

Ummm ... so there was a Swiss German who desperately wanted to date me last year ... yeah, definitely had to pass on that one ... but i think i still have pictures of him somewhere if anyone else is interested =)

Anonymous said...

I mean, it's not Tok Pisin or anything, but we already speak English and French. Plus, the grammar is pretty simple: only one past tense, no subjunctive, germanic language, no case system like in German. I mean, I think I've picked up a good amount for not trying at all and having no motivation. (Cause the only way I'd ever be motivated is if I married a Swiss-German.) Plus, there's always Ecole-Migros.