To celebrate 10 full-length episodes of the Learn Bernese for Life podcast, we get new artwork, new soundtracks, chapter markers, and a transcript of the podcast (coming soon!). In episode 10, Leo is back! We translate another Bern Mobile advertisement, talk about other forms of public transit in dialect, and discuss how do you say some of the main areas that people go to in the city of Bern by bus. For those paying more attention to grammar, we also talk about the changes tha...

3, 2, 1.... deep breath, okay, you can introduce yourself now. Learn how to say basic things about yourself in Bernese Swiss German at the Novice Low or A1 level. (See the links below for a further description of those levels). You meet Leo who shares his background and passions with us in Bärndütsch and we learn more about professions. Words and phrases in Mundart I bi dr Leo - I am Leo. My name isch Leo - My name is Leo (note the pronunciation of the vowels. eg. "y" sounds like th...

Special thanks to Officer Mike for joining us, and thanks to all the officers at the Kontonspolizei in Bern for serving our community. For more information about these sentences in Bärndütsch, listen to episode #8. To learn about how to use these Bärndütsch dialogues to further your ability to understand and use these words and sentences in daily life, be sure to check out episode 2. Relevant Vocabulary: uswiis - Identity card (used as a catch all for ID cards) - noun geburtsdatum - birth d...

What does "little mouse" and "cereal" or "trade" and "shower" have in common? The word pairs sound very similar in Bärndütsch! After discussing strategies to overcome like-sounding words, Simu and I translate cleverly worded advertisements from Bernmobile. The skill level for today's episode is A2 (CEFR) or Novice high (ACTFL Guidelines). Words and phrases in Mundart Word pairs tuusche (trade/swap) Dusche (shower) Müsli (little mouse) Müesli (cereal) Bernmobile advertisements ...

The skill level for this Bernese Swiss German dialogue is novice-mid. The basic structure of this sentence is useful as you can apply it to many situations in life! Contents: - «Was machsch lieber? Wandere oder velofahre?» - "What do like doing more? hiking or biking? For more information about these sentences in Bärndütsch, listen to episode #6. To learn about how to use these Bärndütsch dialogues to further your ability to understand and use these words and sentences in daily li...

The skill level for this Bernese Swiss German dialogue is novice-mid. The basic structure of this sentence is useful as you can apply it to many situations in life! Contents: - «Nei, I tue nid gärn Zeichne» - "No, I don't like knitting." For more information about these sentences in Bärndütsch, listen to episode #6. To learn about how to use these Bärndütsch dialogues to further your ability to understand and use these words and sentences in daily life, be sure to check out episod...

The skill level for this Bernese Swiss German dialogue is novice-mid. The basic structure of this sentence is useful as you can apply it to many situations in life! Contents: - «Ja, I tue gärn Aarebötle.» - "Yes, I like boating in the Aare." For more information about these sentences in Bärndütsch, listen to episode #6. To learn about how to use these Bärndütsch dialogues to further your ability to understand and use these words and sentences in daily life, be sure to check out ep...

The skill level for this Bernese Swiss German dialogue is novice-mid. The basic structure of this sentence is useful as you can apply it to many situations in life! Contents: - «Tuesch du gärn läse?» - "Do you enjoy reading?" For more information about these sentences in Bärndütsch, listen to episode #6. To learn about how to use these Bärndütsch dialogues to further your ability to understand and use these words and sentences in daily life, be sure to check out episodes 1 and 2. ...

In this episode, Simu suggests I take up joining a knitting club, I embarass myself writing and speaking Bärndütsch, all while speaking Bernese German in Switzerland. The skill level for this task is novice-mid according to the ACTFL proficiency guidlines. Content includes: - How to send a text message telling someone that you will be late. (However, don't be late for -anything- in the land of cheese and money!). - The 19 verbs related to hobbies from episode 5. - Si...

The skill level for this Bernese Swiss German dialogue is novice-mid. Vocabulary* 11. klavier spile (play piano) 12. läse (read) 13. zeichne (draw) 14. male (paint) 15. lisme (knit) 16. gärtnere (garden) 17. iz Fitness (exercise) 18. spörtle (play sports) 19. schutte (play soccor) *note that all these words are verbs. For more information about these verbs in Bärndütsch, listen to episode #5. In that episode, Simu shares some of his favourite hobbies in Bern Switzerland, more recent fad...

The skill level for this Bernese Swiss German dialogue is novice-mid. Vocabulary* 1. snowboardä (snowboard) 2. bike (bike) 3. aareschwümme (swim in the Aare) 4. aarebötle (boat in the Aare) 5. föttele (take pictures) 6. pingpöngle (play ping pong) 7. wandere (hike) 8. fishä (fish) 9. musig mache (make music) 10. gitarre spile (play guitar) *note that all these words are verbs. For more information about these verbs in Bärndütsch, listen to episode #5. In that episode, Simu s...

From swimming in the Aare river, soccer, playing guitar and.... knitting?!?! In this episode, Simu and I talk about hobbies in Bern Switzerland as we talk about the mundart (dialect) of Bärndütsch. these things and more in this episode. Welcome to Learn Bernese for Life, a resource of Acquire for Life. In this episode, I elicit vocabulary for some sports in Bern Switzerland. The skill level for this task is novice-mid. The vocabulary will be released tomorrow and Friday. ...

Welcome to Learn Bernese for Life, a resource of Acquire for Life. This Bernese Swiss German recording includes numbers from 1 to 10. The level for this recording is novice low. Dialogue - Counting from 1 to 10 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 Note: 1. Notice how there unique numbers for 11 and 12. 2. The numbers from 13 - 20 follow the pattern "3 and 10, 4 and 10," etc. This is the pattern of most numbers in the 10s. To learn about how to use these Bärndütsch...

Welcome to Learn Bernese for Life, a resource of Acquire for Life. This Bernese Swiss German recording includes numbers from 1 to 10. The level for this recording is novice low. Dialogue - Counting from 1 to 10 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 To learn about how to use these Bärndütsch dialogues to further your ability to understand and use these numbers in daily life, be sure to check out episodes 1 and 2. More information about language learning: ACTFL Guildelines fo...

Welcome to Learn Bernese for Life, a resource of Acquire for Life. In this episode, I walk you through how to learn your phone number in Bernese Swiss German. I share some helpful strategies I've used to learn numbers from 1 to 20, and then how to take the next step to be able to share my number and also being able to take down someone else's phone number. The skill level for this task is novice low. The numbers 1-10 in Bernese will be released tomorrow! On Friday, the numbers ...

Welcome to Learn Bernese for Life, a resource of Acquire for Life. This Bernese Swiss German dialogue is about greeting people and asking "How are you" in an informal situation. For more information and the structure for this dialogue, listen to episode number 3. The level for this recording is novice mid. 2. Formal dialogue with a neighbour. Herr. Ernst Herr Ardelean Grüssech Herr Ernst. ...

Welcome to Learn Bernese for Life, a resource of Acquire for Life. This Bernese Swiss German dialogue is about greeting people and asking "How are you" in an informal situation. For more information and the structure for this dialogue, listen to episode number three. The level for this recording is novice low. 1. Informal dialogue between friends. Simu Mike Hallo Mike ...

Welcome to Learn Bernese for Life, a resource of Acquire for Life. In this episode, you meet Simu a Berner from the Swiss countryside. Then together we walk through how to greet and ask "how are you?" in an informal situation with a friend, and also a formal conversation with someone like a neighbour. 1. Informal dialogue between friends. Simu Mike Hallo Mike &nb...

Welcome to Learn Bernese for Life, a resource of Acquire for Life. In this episode, I unpack several strategies for how to use recorded dialogues as tools for language learning. These strategies are based on best practices for second language acquisition and skills I learned in a second language acquisition course that Carol, my trainer and coach, taught me. These strategies, in combination with the GLUE method, will help you become more efficient and strategic and reach yo...

This Bernese Swiss German dialogue is about greeting people in the evening in a formal situation. The level for this recording is novice low. Lexicarry #3--Abe Guete Abe Grüessech Guet Nacht Adieu For more information about how to use this dialogue in Bärndütsch, listen to episodes 1 and 2. Tell us what you think about this episode! How are you learning language? Did you find this helpful? All support to this podcast goes to the language helpers! Lexicarry by Patrick R. Moran ...