2020, Widmer Beierlein, Sandra, Vorwerg, Constanze

The language situation in the German-speaking part of Switzerland is diglossic, with Swiss German (regional dialects) and Standard German being used under different conditions. Aphasia assessment therefore constitutes a linguistically complex and challenging situation for speech therapists, as most of the tests are available in Standard German only, but patients speak Swiss German in every­day life. This study investigated reasons why speech therapists decide to use a Swiss-German dialect or the standard variety in the testing situation. Twenty speech therapists were interviewed. Results show that therapists adopt different perspectives whenjustifying the use of one or the other. For Standard German, the most frequently cited argument was the test criteria. For Swiss German, it was the patient's language.