Schatzli

We've made no secret of our dislike for the sound of Swiss German to our non-native ears, so we were shocked to learn something we never would have expected: the way the nurses at the hospital speak Schwyzertütsch to Baby is utterly charming. I'm sure some of that is just because they're so good with babies, but it's also the case that the sing-songy cadence that can sound so off-putting at times to our expat ears is genuinely beautiful with a baby in a way that I don't think Hochdeutsch (High German) would be, and she really seems to love it--we're actually trying to learn some words from one of the nurses, although I'm betting we won't be able to say them in quite the same way. I never would have imagined using "Swiss German" and "charming" in the same sentence unless there was a "not" somewhere in between...go figure.