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Highest Alemannic German
Highest Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German and is often considered to be part of the German language, even though mutual intelligibility with Standard German and other non-Alemannic German dialects is very limited. Highest Alemannic dialects are spoken in alpine regions of Switzerland: the Bernese Oberland, in the German-speaking parts of the Canton of Fribourg and Valais, and in the Walser settlements (mostly in Switzerland, but also in Italy and in Austria; see Walser German). In the West, the South and the South-East, they are surrounded by Romance languages; in the North, by High Alemannic dialects. In the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons) only the Walser exclaves in the Romansh part and the Prättigau, Schanfigg and Davos are Highest Alemannic; the Rhine Valley with Chur and Engadin are High Alemannic. Features The distinctive feature of the Highest Alemannic dialects is the lack of hiatus diphthongization, for instance 'to snow', 'to build' vs. High Alem ...
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Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. The Alpine arch extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrust fault, thrusting and Fold (geology), folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains 82 peaks higher than List of Alpine four-thousanders, . The altitude and size of the range affect the climate in Europe; in the mountain ...
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Walser
The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Swiss Alps, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser people are named after the Valais, Wallis (Valais), the uppermost Rhône valley, where they settled from roughly the 10th century in the late phase of the migration of the Alamanni, crossing from the Bernese Oberland; because of linguistic differences among the Walser dialects, it is supposed that there were two independent immigration routes. From the upper Wallis, they began to spread south, west and east between the 12th and 13th centuries, in the so-called Walser migrations (''Walserwanderungen''). The causes of these further population movements, the last wave of settlement in the higher valleys of the Alps, are not entirely clear. Some think that the large ''Walser'' migrations took place because of conflicts with the valley's feudal lord ...
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Hiatus (linguistics)
In phonology, hiatus ( ) or diaeresis ( ; also spelled dieresis or diæresis) describes the occurrence of two separate vowel sounds in adjacent syllables with no intervening consonant. When two vowel sounds instead occur together as part of a single syllable, the result is called a diphthong. Preference Some languages do not have diphthongs, except sometimes in rapid speech, or they have a limited number of diphthongs but also numerous vowel sequences that cannot form diphthongs and so appear in hiatus. That is the case for Nuosu, Bantu languages like Swahili, and Lakota. An example is Swahili 'purify' with three syllables. Avoidance Many languages disallow or restrict hiatus and avoid it by deleting or assimilating the vowel sound or by adding an extra consonant sound. Epenthesis A consonant sound may be added between vowels (epenthesis) to prevent hiatus. That is most often a semivowel or a glottal, but all kinds of other consonants can be used as well, depending on the ...
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Engadin
The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna''. ; ; ) is a long high Alps, Alpine valley region in the eastern Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubünden in southeasternmost Switzerland with about 25,000 inhabitants. It follows the route of the Inn (river), Inn () from its headwaters at Maloja Pass in the southwest running roughly northeast until the Inn flows into Austria, little less than one hundred kilometers downstream. The En/Inn subsequently flows at Passau into the Danube, making it the only Swiss river to drain into the Black Sea. The Engadine is protected by high mountain ranges on all sides and is famous for its sunny climate, beautiful landscapes and outdoor activities. Name In English, the valley is known as either ''Engadin'' (, locally also ) or ''Engadine'' ( , ). The R ...
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Chur
'' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where the Rhine turns towards the north, in the northern part of the canton. The city, on the right bank of the Rhine, is reputedly the oldest town in Switzerland. The official language of Chur is German language, German,In this context ‘German’ is used as an umbrella term for any variety of German. A person is allowed to communicate with the authorities using any kind of German, in written or oral form. However the authorities always use Swiss Standard German (the Swiss variety of Standard German) in documents and any written form. In spoken interaction ''Hochdeutsch'' (Swiss Standard German or what the particular speaker considers as High German) or any other dialectal variant can be used. but the main spoken language is the local variant ...
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Rhine Valley
Rhine Valley (German: ''Rheintal'' ) is the valley, or any section of it, of the river Rhine in Europe. Particular valleys of the Rhine or any of its sections: * Alpine Rhine Valley ** Chur Rhine Valley (or Grisonian Rhine Valley; , or sometimes ''Bündner Rheintal'') between Reichenau, Switzerland, Reichenau and Sargans, East Switzerland ** St. Gallen Rhine Valley (also: St. Gall Rhine Valley; , however commonly known as ''Rheintal'') between Sargans and Lake Constance, East Switzerland * High Rhine Valley * Upper Rhine Valley (or Upper Rhine Plain, also known as Rhine Rift Valley; ), a rift valley between Basel and Bingen am Rhein, Germany * Middle Rhine Valley () * Lower Rhine Valley See also * Oberrheintal (translation: "Upper Rhine Valley", but not to be confused with the Upper Rhine Valley), a former district in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, part of the ''St. Gallen Rhine Valley'' * Unterrheintal (translation: "Lower Rhine Valley"), a former district in the Cant ...
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Davos
Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Ranges. The municipality covers nearly the entire valley of the Landwasser, and the centre of population, economic activity and administration is two adjacent villages, ''Davos Dorf'' (engl.: Davos Village) and ''Davos Platz'' (Davos Place), which are above sea level. Gaining prominence in the 19th century as a mountain health resort, Davos is perhaps best known today for hosting the World Economic Forum, an annual meeting of global political and corporate leaders. With its long history of winter sports, Davos also has one of Switzerland's largest ski resorts and hosts the international Spengler Cup, an ice hockey tournament, every December. Name ''Tavau'', the Romansh name, derives from the La ...
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Prättigau
The Prättigau is a geographical region in the canton of Grisons, Switzerland. It consists of the main valley of the river Landquart and the valleys of its side-rivers and creeks. Landquart River, which drains into the Alpine Rhine in the town of the same name, is on its upper end home to the ski resorts of Klosters. Landquart is a village with a railway junction on the flat floor valley of the Alpine Rhine just north of Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ..., the capital of the Grisons. The Prättigau is a tourist destination for winter and summer activities, including downhill and cross-country skiing, tobogganing and hiking. Traditionally, towns in the Prättigau were reliant on the lumber industry, although the income from tourism has largely replaced tha ...
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Romansh Language
Romansh ( ; sometimes also spelled Romansch and Rumantsch) is a Gallo-Romance languages, Gallo-Romance and/or Rhaeto-Romance languages, Rhaeto-Romance language spoken predominantly in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons (Graubünden). Romansh has been recognized as a national Languages of Switzerland, language of Switzerland since 1938, and as an official language in correspondence with Romansh-speaking citizens since 1996, along with Swiss Standard German, German, Swiss French, French, and Swiss Italian, Italian. It also has Official language, official status in the canton of the Grisons alongside German and Italian and is used as the medium of instruction in schools in Romansh-speaking areas. It is sometimes grouped by linguists with Ladin language, Ladin and Friulian language, Friulian as the Rhaeto-Romance languages, though this is disputed. Romansh is one of the descendant languages of the Vulgar Latin, spoken Latin language of the Roman Empi ...
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High Alemannic German
High Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German spoken in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Intelligibility of these dialects to non-Alemannic speakers tends to be limited. Language area 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 Germany, High Alemannic dialects are spoken in Southern Baden-Württemberg, i.e. the Markgräflerland and in the adjacent area south of Freiburg im Breisgau up to the Black Forest (Schönau im Schwarzwald, Schönau). It is also spoken in the southern Sundgau r ...
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