German is not an easy language to learn, particularly Swiss German. The City of Zurich knows this and has several offers for free classes for immigrants. Writer Parul Chhaparia lists five of them.
Some Swiss German words are so culturally specific, or just so strange, that it is impossible to translate them – at least not in a simple, elegant way. From dogs' funerals to egg bumping, some Swiss German words just don't make it across the translation divide.
