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Swiss German is as foreign a language to Germans as English.
Schwyzrdütsch occurs in several depths of accent. Some of it is quite close to standard German, but that from other regions is indeed completely unintelligible to a German German speaker. Then again, I can't understand a word of really heavy Platt (influenced by Friesisch), Schwäbisch, Bayrisch, or Österreichisch, either.
Oliver Schick-
interesting to remark maybe, as a dutchman in hochdeutsch spheres, whenever i go to germanophone schweiz some inner process makes that i think i hear dutch whenever people speak schweizerdeutsch. this illusion is quickly evaporating due to not being able to understand a word, but the instinctive reaction gets me every time.
i guess it has to do dutch and schweizerdeutsch and lower german not experiencing the hochdeutsche klangverschiebung hence remaining more similar in sound and intonation..?
Rodolfo
Swiss German is as foreign a language to Germans as English.
I tried to improve my German when i lived in Zurich, but if I spoke in German to a Swiss they'd reply in English.