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The German of today is known because the so-called German part of Switzerland learns the language at school... the other part, the so-called Swiss-German (what people speak at home, etc.) is just a newer version of the languages some German tribes brought to the territory... one very ancient, the Helvetians gave the country's latin name of confoederatio helvetica.

The country was - at least partially - closly linked to Austria and Germany in the years before 1291 (medieval times). But not really as brother - rather as occupied agricultural zone. This led to the defence agreement, the foundation of Switzerland and the "we-do-not-like-that-much-our-bigger-brother-Germany" feeling the Swiss even showed during second world war... this means there was a kind of split between them... leading to two kinds of German as a language that are linked, but not close enough to be directly understandable to Germans without practice.

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