Walser German

Common card · No. 441887

Walser German (German: Walserdeutsch) and Walliser German (Walliserdeutsch, locally Wallisertiitsch) are related varieties of Highest Alemannic German spoken in parts of Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, and Grisons), Italy (Piedmont and the Aosta Valley), Liechtenstein (Triesenberg and Planken), and Austria (Vorarlberg). Usage of the terms Walser (Walser people) and Walliser (Valais resident) has come to reflect a difference of geography, rather than language. The term Walser refers to those speakers whose ancestors migrated into other Alpine valleys in medieval times, whereas Walliser refers only to a speaker from Upper Valais – that is, the upper Rhône. Walser migrations during the Late Middle Ages brought Walser German speakers out of the Upper Valais across the higher valleys of the Alps.

Read on Wikipedia · Image CC BY-SA 2.5