Austrian, Swiss or Standard German voice: how to choose
German is not one standard language but three. Germany, Austria and Switzerland each have their own standard variety, with its own pronunciation, vocabulary and, in Switzerland, spelling. A voice-over that sounds natural in Hamburg can sound slightly foreign in Vienna or Zurich. Here is how the three differ and how to choose.
Three standards, not dialects
Linguists call German a pluricentric language. German Standard German, Austrian Standard German and Swiss Standard German are all correct written and spoken German; none of them is a dialect. Dialects, such as Viennese or Bernese German, are something else: everyday speech that varies from valley to valley and has no fixed spelling.
Text-to-speech voices read written text, so they speak a standard variety. Our Austrian and Swiss voices read Standard German with an Austrian or Swiss sound, the way people there speak at work, read the news or present in a meeting. They are not dialect voices.
What differs
- Pronunciation and melody: Austrian German often has softer consonants and a different sentence melody; Swiss Standard German has its own rhythm and vowels.
- Vocabulary: "Jänner" instead of "Januar" in Austria, "Velo" instead of "Fahrrad" in Switzerland, and many more everyday words.
- Spelling: Swiss German does not use "ß"; it writes "ss" instead.
Which voice for which audience
- Germany or the whole German-speaking market: a German Standard German voice is the safe default.
- Austria: for phone menus, local ads and training for Austrian teams, an Austrian voice sounds closer to home.
- Switzerland: the same for the German-speaking part of Switzerland, with Swiss spelling and vocabulary in the script.
If you serve all three countries, consider three versions of the same script. The extra effort is small, since the text barely changes, and each market hears a voice from its region.
Getting the script right
A regional voice works best with a regional script. Use the words your audience uses, write prices and numbers the way they should be spoken, and listen to place names before you publish. Where a word sounds wrong, set the stress in the editor.
Listen to the voices on the pages for German text to speech, Austrian German and Swiss German, or browse German female and German male voices.
Common questions
Do Germans understand Austrian or Swiss voices? Yes. They read Standard German, which is understood across the German-speaking world; listeners in Germany simply hear the regional sound.
Can I get Swiss German dialect? No. The voices are tuned for Swiss Standard German. For a dialect recording, a speaker from the region is still the best choice.
Which variety should an international company use? German Standard German as the default, plus Austrian and Swiss versions for messages aimed at those countries, such as phone menus and local ads.
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