Stubai Magazin

Stubaierisch " Stubai dialect
Vokabeltraining:
Stubaierisch English
bluttat overweight,
particularly in
the belly
antern to ape or imitate
gauggl to be unsound, flimsy
tixl to sneak or creep
earla just a moment
entila barely, just
tirmig dizzy, giddy
oanlatsch individually, singly
maggn push, press
hala litt. slipery, smooth
or slick, but also
spiteful, insidious
geplanggig hooked, addicted
horscht strenuous, arduous
saisch ugly
spera dry
stickl steep
Gówatta snowdrift
Schnerfer rucksack, knapsack
30
„Stubaierisch“
Understanding the locals when they speak
in dialect is difficult, particularly if they are
among themselves. This is the same everywhere.
Karlheinz Töchterle has concerned himself
with the Stubai dialect. The native of Telfes is a Federal
Minister of Science and expert as well as an aficionado
of Stubai dialect. Because he is able to speak Stubai dialect
as a native of the Stubai Valley, and he has intensively
dealt with the history, culture and traditions of the
valley, Karlheinz Töchterle advocates the appreciation
and preservation of the dialect. The classical philologist
residing in Telfes has written two books about the
unique character of the Stubai dialect.
Stubai „r“ helps when learning English
Based on the West Tyrolean linguistic family, which
originally stems from Bavarian, the most varying dialects
(they are still evolving) have evolved over the
course of time. They often differ from locality to locality.
The Stubai dialect can be roughly subdivided
into three areas: Schönberg and Mieders, Telfes and
Fulpmes, and as a third linguistic area, Neustift. „It basically
applies that the language in the valley is all the
more idiosyncratic the further you are in the valley“,
says Töchterle in his book „Stubai“ (published in 1991
by the Tyrolia publishing house).
Schönberg and Mieders are more oriented towards the
Wipp Valley and Innsbruck. The „r“ in the Telfes and
Fulpmes dialect is well-known beyond the provincial
borders. Experienced ears can even hear differences in
villages which are hardly a kilometre away from each
other. The American-sounding „r“ has even brought
derision and mockery to many a Stubai native outside
the valley. But it has helped the Stubai dialect to reap
high familiarity with considerable recognition value.
Apart from that, it is particularly easy for children in
Telfes and Fulpmes when it comes to pronunciation
during English lessons. In Neustift this „r“ is only
pronounced gently, but other distinctive features are
added here. „As in other valley heads in Tyrol, you
can also hear the change of vowel mutation from ‚o‘
and ‚u‘“, explains Karlheinz Töchterle with the help of
the examples „Löch“ for „Loch“ (hole) and „güet“ for
„gut“ (good). In general it can be said that the dialect
in Neustift is somewhat softer and sounds nobler in
comparison with the villages of the front part of the
Stubai Valley.
Many external influences
The vocabulary in the dialect is also interesting for
visitors to the Stubai Valley. Many old expressions
are slowly being forgotten because they stem from
out-dated living conditions and are simply no longer
used, such as the „Graia“, a two-wheeled cart for smaller
loads. „Graia“ stems from Celtic-Latin „carruca“.
There are many derivations from Latin expressions.
Yet expressions from other languages have also been
adopted in the Stubai dialect. The umbrella, which in
former times did not even exist in the rural society,
emerged in that era when it was regarded as classy to
speak French. The expression „Parabli“ or „Ombrell“ is
still used today in the Stubai region. „With ‚Piuri hobn‘,
from the Italian ‚paura‘, we mean somewhat derogatorily
‚to be afraid‘, and ‚Fatsche‘ from the Italian word
‚fasce‘ signifies dressing material placed on injuries“,
explains Karlheinz Töchterle.
If one asks a Stubai native a question and only receives
a whistling sound - that arises by sucking air through
pointed lips - as an answer, this does not signify any
contempt whatsoever, as one would like to think. This
is merely a very economical form of positive affirmation
and agreement.
„For a precise knowledge of the Stubai dialect, probably
nothing else remains for foreigners but to come to
the Stubai region and, based loosely on Martin Luther,
to ‚listen to how the locals talk‘“, says the former vicechancellor
at the University of Innsbruck and current
Austrian Federal Minister of Science and Research. "