Differences between Swiss High German and German German via data-driven methods

Abstract

This study uses data-driven methods to detect and interpret differences between the High German used as standard language of written communication in Switzerland, and German High German. The comparison is based on a comparable web corpus of two million sentences, one million from Switzerland and one million from Germany. We describe differences at the levels of lexis, morphosyntax, and syntax, and compare to previously described differences. We show that data-driven methods manage to detect a wide range of differences.