{"id":6269,"date":"2015-04-20T12:12:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-20T12:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=6269"},"modified":"2017-11-20T14:57:03","modified_gmt":"2017-11-20T14:57:03","slug":"catholicism-in-the-bavarian-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/catholicism-in-the-bavarian-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholicism In The Bavarian Language"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Wegkreuz<\/a>

Photo by 129501455@N02 on flickr.com under Public Domain<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bavaria is a predominantly Catholic part of Germany. While this is evident in its culture, architecture and religious rituals, it is also evident in its language. To explain, I’m going to take some simple Bavarian phrases and expressions and show you the religious meanings behind them.<\/p>\n

For all examples I\u2019ve included the Hochdeutsch (Standard or High German) first, then the Bairisch (Bavarian) equivalent, followed by a short explanation.<\/p>\n

SAYING HELLO<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In Hochdeutsch:<\/span> Guten Tag (Hello\/Good day)
\nIn Bairisch:<\/span> Gria\u00df God\/Gria\u00df di\/Servus<\/p>\n

Gria\u00df God<\/strong> is a typical greeting in Bavaria. As you may be able to tell, by saying\u00a0Gria\u00df God you are literally saying May God greet you <\/strong>rather than just hello<\/em> or good day<\/em> (as in Guten Tag<\/strong><\/em>) There is a way of saying this in Hochdeutsch, too: Gr\u00fc\u00df Gott.<\/strong> Somebody once told me that they could tell my family came from southern Germany, because I greeted them with Gr\u00fc\u00df Gott rather than with Guten Tag! That is how revealing the dialects within Germany can be.
\nGria\u00df di<\/strong> is a secular way of saying hello (literally: Greet you<\/strong>), and would be Gr\u00fc\u00df dich<\/strong> in Hochdeutsch.
\nServus<\/strong> is another typically Bavarian greeting, and one which means hello and<\/em> goodbye. It is more colloquial than the previous two, and mostly used between friends and family.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SAYING GOODBYE<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Hochdeutsch:<\/span> Auf Wiedersehen \/ Tsch\u00fc\u00df
\nIn Bairisch:<\/span> Pfiat God \/ Pfiat di<\/p>\n

Pfiat God<\/strong> follows the same pattern as Gria\u00df God<\/strong>.
\nPfiat di <\/strong>is more colloquial, with di <\/strong>being short for dich<\/strong> (you<\/em>).
\nAs you can see, Pfiat God and Pfiat di look nothing like Auf Wiedersehen or Tsch\u00fc\u00df. There are two possible origins of this phrase. The first is that Pfiat God comes from the German F\u00fchre dich Gott<\/strong>, which means May God lead you<\/strong>. The second is that Pfiat God comes from the German Beh\u00fcte dich Gott<\/strong>, which means May God protect you.<\/strong> It is possible to see how the words F\u00fchre <\/strong>and Beh\u00fcte<\/strong> have morphed into Bavarian versions of themselves:
\nF\u00fchre<\/strong> > Fiat > Pfiat …. Beh\u00fcte<\/strong> > Bhiat > Pfiat<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BLESSINGS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In Hochdeutsch:<\/span> Gesundheit!
\nIn Bairisch:<\/span> Heif di God!<\/p>\n

When someone sneezes, you say Bless you!<\/em> in English. In Hochdeutsch, you say Gesundheit!<\/strong> which literally means Health!<\/strong>
\nIn Bairisch, however, you say Heif di God!<\/strong> which translates to Hilf dir Gott!<\/strong> or Gott hilf dir <\/strong>\u2013 in other words, May God help you!<\/strong> What\u2019s interesting is that the English bless you<\/em> is much more similar to the religious Bavarian translation than the secular Hochdeutsch one.<\/p>\n

There is also the phrase Vergeit’s God<\/strong> (Vergelte es Gott<\/em> in Hochdeutsch), also sometimes shortened to Geit’s God<\/strong>, which is used in Bavaria as an alternative to Thank you<\/em>. It literally means May God repay you<\/strong>. If someone says Vergeit’s God<\/em> to you, you respond with Segn’s God<\/strong> (Segne es Gott<\/em> in Hochdeutsch), which means Bless you\/you’re welcome.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Vergelt's<\/a>

This is a donation box in a church. Give 50 cents to light a candle for the dead. Vergelt’s Gott! Photo by barockschloss on flickr.com under CC BY-SA 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EXPRESSING FRUSTRATION OR ANNOYANCE<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Hochdeutsch:<\/span> Schei\u00dfe (shit), Mist (crap), Verdammt (damn it)
\nIn Bairisch:<\/span> Kruzifix Nomoi<\/strong> (‘crucifix again’), Zifix<\/strong> (‘crucifix’ – abbreviated version), Bluad Zakrament<\/strong> (‘blood sacrament’), Pfui Deifi<\/strong> (‘yuck devil’ – when you see\/smell something disgusting)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Catholic Bavaria the worst form of swearing is not actually swearing itself; it\u2019s blasphemy.<\/strong> Words like Schei\u00dfe<\/strong> do not have as much of an impact as blasphemous words, so if Bavarians really want to express their anger and frustration, it\u2019s likely that one of these religious phrases above will jump out of their mouths, instead. In fact, Schei\u00dfe hardly has any impact in Bavarian everyday conversation. When I was a kid I could freely say Dieses Schei\u00df-Wetter, <\/em>for example (‘this shitty weather’) <\/em>without anyone batting an eyelid, but as soon as I said Bluad Zakrament! <\/em>I was promptly told to watch my language and never say that again!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hope this post has been interesting. As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please leave me a comment! I love reading them!<\/p>\n

Bis bald,<\/em><\/p>\n

Constanze<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Bavaria is a predominantly Catholic part of Germany. While this is evident in its culture, architecture and religious rituals, it is also evident in its language. To explain, I’m going to take some simple Bavarian phrases and expressions and show you the religious meanings behind them. For all examples I\u2019ve included the Hochdeutsch (Standard…<\/p>\n

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