Aachen dialect

Aachen dialect (natively Öcher Platt) is a dialect of Ripuarian Franconian spoken in the German Rhineland city of Aachen. This dialect, as part of the large West Germanic dialect continuum, is to a large extent similar to the dialects spoken in Eschweiler and in Stolberg.

Aachen dialect
Öcher Platt
Pronunciation[ˈœɕɐ ˈplɑt]
RegionCentral Rhineland, Germany
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
GlottologNone

Aachen dialect has a pitch accent system, which is also featured in related dialects, including Vaals (Vólsj), Bocholtz (Boches) and Kerkrade/Herzogenrath (Kirchröadsj) dialects, spoken only a few kilometres away.

Phonology

The phonology of the Aachen dialect is similar to that of the Kerkrade dialect. In the Aachen dialect, the difference between the sounds corresponding to [ç] and [ʃ] in Kerkrade is less perciptible and more reminsecent of Colognian; in Aachen, these are [ɕ] and [ʃ]. In Rheinische Dokumenta, the latter two sounds are not distinguished.

The Aachen dialect features r-vocalization, so that /ʁ/ forms an opening diphthong with the preceding vowel, whereas the sequence /əʁ/ is pronounced [ɐ]. In Kerkrade, the /ʁ/ is pronounced as a consonant in all positions.

As most other Ripuarian and Limburgish dialects, the Aachen dialect features a distinction between the thrusting tone (German: Schärfung or Stoßton), which has a shortening effect on the syllable and the slurring tone (German: Schleifton).[1] As in Help:IPA/Colognian, the thrusting tone is transcribed as a falling tone, whereas the slurring tone is left unmarked.

Words

Phrases
  • A way to say goodbye in the sense of Bon voyage is Komm jut zuhaus, waa!?
  • Och Herm! is said when expressing pity.
  • Au Huur! does not mean old whore, though it is frequently and falsely mixed up.[2] It is used as a statement of astonishment in every circumstance, often coupled with the ubiquitous waa. In somewhat higher society, the stand-in swear word Au Banan! (old banana) is particularly used. (A huur in Aachen dialect historically denoted a menial worker, cognate with English "hireling", from Dutch huren "to hire/to rent".)
  • The interjection Aah suae? is also prevalent instead of the standard German versions Ach so? (So?) and Tatsächlich? (Really?).
  • The waa (originally "is it true?") somehow resembles the English "isn't it?", or "is it?" that some speakers customarily append to their sentences. Standard German would be nicht wahr? or oder? meaning 'or what?'.

Literature
  • Ludewig Rovenhagen: Wörterbuch der Aachener Mundart, Aachen, 1912.
  • Prof. Dr. Will Herrmanns, Rudolf Lantin (editor): Aachener Sprachschatz. Wörterbuch der Aachener Mundart. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte Aachens und Seiner Umgebung, Band 1. Im Auftrag des Vereins „Öcher Platt“ für den Druck überarbeitet und herausgegeben von Dr. Rudolf Lantin. 2 Bände. Verlag J. A. Mayer, 1970. ISBN 3-87519-011-4
  • Adolf Steins: Grammatik des Aachener Dialekts. Herausgegeben von Klaus-Peter Lange. Rheinisches Archiv Band 141. Böhlau-Verlag, Kölle, Weimar, Wien, 1998. ISBN 3-412-07698-8
  • Dr. Karl Allgeier, Jutta Baumschulte, Meinolf Baumschulte, Richard Wolfgarten: Aachener Dialekt - Wortschatz, Öcher Platt - Hochdeutsch und Hochdeutsch - Öcher Platt. Öcher Platt e.V. Aachen, 2000.

References
  1. Köhnlein, Björn (2013). "Optimizing the relation between tone and prominence: Evidence from Franconian, Scandinavian, and Serbo-Croatian tone accent systems" (PDF). Lingua. 131: 1–28. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2013.03.002.
  2. http://www.mitmachwoerterbuch.lvr.de/detailansicht.php?Artikel=Au%20Hur!&Eintrag1=3245

This article is based on its German equivalent.

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