Aachen dialect (
Aachen German Öcher Platt) is the name of the dialect of
Ripuarian spoken in Aachen. This dialect, as part of the large
West Germanic dialect continuum, is to a large extent similar to the
Kölsch language and the language spoken in
Eschweiler.Aachen dialect possesses an accent that, like
Welsh English, is often described as 'singsong'. For example, in Aachen dialect the word 'Prentekopp' (Printenkopf) is a well used
swear word and a way to say goodbye in the sense of '
Bon Voyage' is "Komm' jut zuhaus, waa!?". It is very surprising to people not from the area to hear the phrase (very alike the
Dutch "Ik heb het koud!") "Ich hab' kalt!" (lit. I have cold) instead of "Mir ist kalt!" (lit. It is to me cold). All of these mean 'I am cold' in English. If a resident of Aachen wishes to ask the way, he does not ask "Kennst Du Dich hier aus?" (lit. Are you familiar yourself with here?), but says "Kennst Du Dich hier?" (lit. Do you know (as if to a person) here?). The answer "Hier kenn' ich mich nicht!" (lit. I don't know myself here) follows the same idea. People from Aachen use "hömmele" (lit. heavenly) instead of the words "sehr" (very) or "viel" (much). Examples of this would be "Das hat aber hömmele Geld gekostet!" (But that cost a lot of money!) and "Da müssen wir aber hömmele weit laufen!" (But we'll have to walk an enormous distance there!). When a person from Aachen feels sorry for someone, he will mostly say "Och Herm!" Something that requires getting used to for non-locals is the often rough sounding etiquette. "Au Huur!" (old whore). It is used as a statement of astonishment in every circumstance, often coupled with the ubiquitous "waa". In somewhat higher society, the stand-in swear word "Au Banan!" (old banana) is particularly used. This doesn't sound so vulgar, but everyone knows what is meant. The interjection "Aah suae?" is also prevalent instead of the standard German versions "Ach so?" (So?) and "Tatsächlich?" (Really?). The "waa" (originally "is it true?") somehow resembles the English "isn't it?", or "is it?" that some British customarily append to their sentences.
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