• Linguistische Treffen in Wrocław •

The article is dedicated to studying the assimilative processes in the Bernese German phonetics. It points out the dynamic character of the modern Bernese German sound system and shows that the realization of the Bernese German vowels and consonants is influenced by both, the other Swiss German dialects especially the Zurich German on the one hand and the Standard German language on the other. The Bernese German vowel and consonant system develops in accordance with the universal principles such as saving of pronunciation efforts and acceleration of the speech tempo. Thus, it is subject to modifications like sound weakening, co-articulation or redistribution of syllables. At the same time, there still remain specific characteristics of the Bernese sounds realization that are connected to pronunciation habits of Bernese dialect speakers. These include the complete muting of semi-voiced consonants, the use of transient sounds in the intervocalic position at the syllable and word boundaries as well as the high functional strain of the vocalic allophone of the phoneme. /l/.