© Andy Short - Fotolia.comUnlike many other German dialects, Cologne´s vernacular (Kölsch) has never been threatened with extinction because most local people are masters of the dialect and they treasure it.
Even so-called "Imis" (immigrants) try to acquire the city´s speech.
Cologne musicians such as the Höhner Carnival band or the BAP rock band are well-known through Germany.
The city´s Volksbühne popular theater and Hänneschen puppet theater stage perform in the local dialect.
Some expressions are so embedded that Cologne people can hardly avoid using them even when they try to speak High German.
In Cologne´s dialect, the letter "g” is spoken as a " y”, the "ch” sounds resembles "sch”, so, for example, the High German "wichtig” becomes "wischtisch” and the words "was” and "das” become "wat” and "dat”.
Many special local words such as Kess for car, Ping for pain and brassele for work don´t make it any easier to learn local speech. Below is a short Kölsch language lesson.
| English | Kölsch |
| Hello! | Jode Dach! |
| How´s it going? | Wat maat Ühr esu? |
| I´m new in town, are you? | Isch ben ne Imi un du? |
| I´m a real local | Isch ben ne kölsche Jung |
| Isn´t our Cologne dialect nice? | Ess se nit schön, uns kölsche Sproch? |
| Cologne people don´t pronounce "g"! | Im Kölsche jit et kei G! |
| Happy birthday! | Alles Jode zum Jebootsdag! |
| The weather will be nice | Dat Wedder wed jot |
| He likes to talk a lot | Dä ka´jooht der Muul schwahde |
| Don´t argue, fight | Zänkt üch nit, schlot üch leever |
| Every person is different | Jede Jeck is anders |
| I love you! | Isch han disch jän! |
| It will soon be over | Dat jeiht vorbei |
| Isn´t it great here! | Es dat hee schön! |
| You only live once | Mer läv nur eimol |
| I don´t believe it | Dat jläuv isch nit |
| If you can´t come today, come tomorrow | Küss de hück nit, küss de morje |
| Cologne´s (laid-back) constitution |
|
| 1. It is how it is. | Et es wie et es. |
| 2. Whatever will be, will be. | Et kütt wie et kütt. |
| 3. It´s always worked out. | Et hätt noch immer jot jejange. |
| 4. Don´t cry over spilt milk. | Wat fott es es fott. |
| 5. Nothing stays the same. | Nix bliev wie et wor. |
| 6. What we don´t know, we don´t need, away with it. | Kenne mer nit, bruche mer nit, fott domet. |
| 7. What can you do? | Wat wellste mache? |
| 8. Do it but not too often. | Mach et jot ävver nit ze off. |
| 9. What the heck´s that? | Wat soll dä Quatsch? |
| 10. Let´s have a drink. | Drinkste ene met? |
| 11. You´ll split your sides laughing. | Do laachste dech kapott. |
