Welcome to the Woadl Valley

"Woadl Valley" – what does that mean?! Read more about it in the blog...

This headline will probably bring a smile to the faces of some locals and a question mark to the foreheads of others. "Woadl Valley" - what does that mean? You can read the explanation in this blog, which we would like to dedicate to the Wipptal dialect. Although many expressions differ slightly in the individual valleys, the entire valley can be summarized in one dialect. We don't want to do any linguistics here, but we would like to make a few brief observations about this dialect.

Dialect fascinates

There are many typical forms of speech in our region, so to get an overview we used the help of the booklet "Dahoame" on the subject of dialect, which was published by the Gries am Brenner secondary school in 1994. We have also adopted the spelling of the dialect words, which is based on the existing alphabet. It is mainly local words which are probably no longer familiar to the younger population, but which are still used by their parents or grandparents. Nevertheless, we believe that this topic is very interesting for all age groups and that we also have a certain responsibility to pass on the local dialect to our descendants. After all, it is part of our Wipptal DNA and I dare say that most of us are proud of it.

Dialect is perseverance through language

The longevity of many words and linguistic forms over the centuries is interesting. According to research, place names such as Schmirn or Matrei are possibly over 2,000 years old and date back to Roman or pre-Roman times. Other place names, such as Vinaders or Vals, have not changed in the last 1,000 years either. And although we have been learning written and spoken German at school for 250 years and hear nothing else from television, radio and other media - the dialect is still alive, although it is only learned unconsciously. When we read, write or hear "Steinach" and "Innsbruck" for 100 years, we locals still say Schtoanach and Innschbrugg. The reason for this probably lies in the social function of the dialect, which, according to science, strengthens the sense of unity of the rural people. The dialect is firmly rooted in centuries long past and still adheres to the local language forms.

The sound of our dialect

Compared to the standard language, many sounds are pronounced differently in our dialect. To list them all here would go beyond the scope of this article. So here are a few selected examples:

• Our "a" is pronounced as an o and emphasized further back: Wand > Wond, Hand > Hond, aber > ower
• The "ie" and the "ü" in the inlaut are pronounced as ia: fliegen > fliagn, Krieg > Kriag, müde > miade
• With "h" it becomes ch: ziehen > ziachn, roh > roach and "ck" becomes gg: Brücke > Brugge, Ecke > Egge
• The "fst" at the end becomes bsch: darf > darbsch, hilfst du mir > halbsch ma
• The "st" becomes sch: du hast > du hosch, du wirst > du wearsch, es ist > es isch
• The "ei" often becomes oa: eins > oans, klein > kloan, Schrei > Schroa

I stick with the classic Nordmann fir and soon find my ideal tree. The master of the house lends a hand and cuts down the fir tree himself. There are a few other traditionalists in the Christmas tree culture and you soon realize that several families here have a long-standing Christmas tradition.

What is the "woadl" all about now?

This very frequently used word exposes every Wipptaler - because it is only used here. "Woadl" or "woadla" means something like "just now", "in the meantime", "a moment" or "a short time". And as the word is so special to the people of the Wipptal, there has been talk of the "Woadl Valley" at one time or another. Here are a few examples of its use to help you understand it better:

• He's not here at the moment. > He's not here right now.
• Wait a moment. > Word woadl.
• I don't know that right now. > I don't know.

A few common expressions here

The topic of dialect in the Wipptal could probably go on forever and you could even make your own dictionary for the expressions that are common here. We have selected a few words that are still very common and would like to list them here:

• ainkentn > heat up (in the farmhouse oven, tiled stove)
• Biteworm > Adder
• Bischl > Flowers
• damish > stubborn, obstinate
• thirsty or skinny > dizzy
• Fokke > Pig
• gaach > fast
• blangy > sweet tooth
• Glaan > Cranberries
• Gobate > Snowdrift
• grampln > buy useless stuff
• Gschtrabbl > Stress
• Gugger > Binoculars
• haale > slippery
• hagn > to hay, to make hay
• Hoagerscht or Hoangerscht > Chat, entertainment
• Huar > swear word, but in Gschnitz also an expression for friend/buddy
• krefl > crawl
• Kuise > Cow
• marenten > snack in the afternoon
• Murfl > Mouth
• olm > always
• gossip > chat
• schbeare > dry
• Tschuutschelle > Spruce cone
• Umassn > Ants
• unhelfl or unhelpful > clumsy
• wolltan > completely
• tender > cuddly
• ....

And so on and so forth.

TIP: If you would like to read more about the Wipptal dialect, we recommend the above-mentioned booklet. It can be borrowed from the school library in the new secondary school in Gries am Brenner: Dahoame - Booklet 1: Dialect, H. J. Jungwirth, Landeshauptschule Gries am Brenner (1994)

A hut is often the best place to chat