Play it again, Sämu: decoding Bernese nicknames

If you think Bernese nicknames sound childish, feel free to tell champion wrestler Chrigu Stucki. Keystone / Ennio Leanza

If you’re introduced to Seppu, Küsu, Vanä and Simä, you might think you’ve woken up in Finland. But you’re actually in the Swiss capital, Bern, and have just met Joseph, Markus, Vanessa and Simone. Welcome to the colourful world of Bernese nicknames.

Nicknames, sobriquets, monikers – call them what you like, almost all cultures have them. They can be used for convenience (Alex for Alexander, Liz for Elizabeth), to express affection, or to signal that you’ve been accepted by a group – that you belong.

Nicknames

A nickname, in its broadest sense, is an informal substitute for a person’s real name.

It can be a shortened form (Tom, Sue), a term of endearment (Pumpkin), or a funny description based on physical characteristics (“Big Mac” if tall and Scottish – these are often ironic, hence “Curly” for someone who is bald).

It is not the same as a pseudonym (Le Corbusier), a pen name (Mark Twain, Elena Ferrante) or stage name (many, many actors and musicians – Marilyn Monroe, John Denver, Lady Gaga), although these concepts often overlap.

It can also simply be a name that someone picks up when young and which sticks: Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Pelé, Eldrick “Tiger” Woods, Shelton “Spike” Lee.

This article focuses on Bernese forms of first names which are often – but not always – shortened. They are not to be confused with Pfadfindernamen or Fahrtennamen (scouting names or trail names), by which several famous Bernese are known (Hans-Peter “Mani” Matter, Urs “Polo” Hofer).

In English, many first names are shortened or at least changed somehow; famous tweaks include William Clinton, Catherine Blanchett and Michael Jagger. At the other end of the fame scale, hardly anyone I’m close to calls me Thomas (it’s Tom).

But finding someone from Bern who uses their original name is definitely the exception. In my first week at Swissinfo I met a Chrigu, Pesche and Köbi – in fact a couple of Köbis. It was several days before I realised I was dealing with a Christian, Peter and two Jakobs.

“When I meet someone, I introduce myself as Chrigu – no one calls me Christian,” explains my colleague Chrigu Raaflaub, who grew up in Riggisberg, canton Bern. “When I was a kid, my family called me Chrigi, but when I went to higher education in Bern when I was 16 or 17 it became Chrigu.”

In Bern, it’s rare not to be called by a nickname – whether you like it or not – by friends and family and, depending on the level of formality at your job, by work colleagues. Teachers stick to using the original name.

‘Bernified’ names

There are literally hundreds of Bernese versions of traditional first names – and if one doesn’t exist, friends will make one up!

Wikipedia has a page on the subject, written in Bernese dialect, with a list of more than 100 namesExternal link with their High German equivalent – from Abraham (Hämdu, Abi, Äbu) to Werner (Werä, Wernu, Werni).

Those examples highlight another challenge for the uninitiated: most names have multiple Bernese equivalents. Andreas, for example, could be Ändu, Res or Resu; Nicole could be Nicä, Nigge, Nici, Nicci – or something else (dialect spelling is pretty flexible). Geography is also a factor: Simon could be Simu in the city of Bern but Siml in, say, the Bernese Oberland.

What’s more, names are not necessarily shortened – rather they are “Bernified”. Anna could become Ännelä and Urs Ürsu.

That said, looking down the list, you realise that the code isn’t totally indecipherable: there is a certain logic to (most) nicknames. Often you can take the first (sometimes last) syllable of the original name, add an umlaut and, at the end, a “u” for boys and an “ä” or “e” for girls. Thus Dänu, Flöru and Tinu (Daniel, Florian and Martin) and Chrige, Felä and Melä (Christina, Felicitas and Melanie). A personal favourite is Schämpu (Jean-Pierre or Hans-Peter).

It all started in the Emmental

“The -u that can be seen in names such as Chrigu, Tinu or Michu is the vocal realisation of the diminutive suffix -el,” explains linguist Matthias FriedliExternal link, editor of the Swiss Idiotikon, a Swiss-German dictionary, and a member of the Swiss committee for the Duden dictionary.

“Certain dialects realise the ‘l’ sound in certain positions as ‘u’, so you get Abfau [Abfall/rubbish] and Schlüssu [Schlüssel/key]. This is known as l-vocalisation,” he told Swissinfo. This is also heard in some London accents, such as Cockney, in which the “l” sound in words such as “milk” and “will” is replaced by a “w” sound: “miwk” and “wiw”.

“Vocalisation occurs mainly over a large part of canton Bern. This is why these short names are considered typical for Bern, even if they don’t occur in the entire canton,” Friedli said. “Incidentally, the l-vocalisation has been around for about 200 years and, according to research, spread from the Emmental.”

A Berner Zeitung articleExternal link from 2009 on live music in the Swiss capital had the headline: “Pesche, Pädu, Phibe – das Triumvirat hinter den Kulissen”. The triumvirate behind the scenes were Peter Burkhart, Beat Anliker und Philippe Cornu.

Fans of Swiss stop motion animation might wonder whether Pingu is also Bernese, but the origin of the name of the playful penguin, created by the German-language division of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, is unclear.

No negative connotations

While nicknames exist all over the country – for example former FIFA boss Joseph “Sepp” Blatter (born in canton Valais) and ski legend Verena “Vreni” Schneider (born in canton Glarus) – in Bern they are almost an artform.

“The Bernese are particularly creative when it comes to modifying and shortening forenames among friends and family,” said Markus Gasser, dialect editor at Swiss public radio, SRF, citing the examples of Pesche (Peter) and Teslä (Theres).

Gasser was responding to a questionExternal link from listener Ernst Müller, who wanted to know where his nickname “Aschi” came from.

“What’s certain is that the nickname Aschi is typical of Bern – as well as Solothurn and Fribourg,” he said. “It’s absolutely neutral and, as far as I know, Aschi doesn’t have any extra meaning in slang.” This isn’t always the case, he pointed out. “There are many names that have an additional meaning. If you say ‘You’re such a Chlous’ [Niklaus], that means ‘you’re so clumsy’. But Aschi really just means Ernst.”

Just to keep things complicated, Ernst can also be called Ärnscht, Äschi, Änggu and Ängge, according to berndeutsch.chExternal link.

Matthias Friedli agrees that these Bernese nicknames are neutral when used among family and friends – although subtleties exist.

“When in the family we talk about my two cousins, we use Dänu and Käru [Karl] without any connotation, but we can also talk about Dani or Kari,” he said. “When I’m annoyed with them, I definitely prefer the forms with u. Käru is certainly seen as rougher than Kari – even more so by outsiders [non-Bernese]. I’ve noticed it myself: my cousin’s children [in Bern] address me as Mättu as a matter of course, which irritates me for a moment. Living in Zurich, where everyone calls me by my full name, Mättu no longer sounds neutral to my ears.”

Indeed, not everyone is a fan of Bernese nicknames. My colleague Chrigu says he knew someone who wanted to give her son a name that couldn’t be changed or shortened, so she called him Noah. “His schoolfriends called him Nöu…”

Edited by Balz Rigendinger/sb