Languages of Switzerland

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Languages of Switzerland
Karte Schweizer Sprachgebiete 2022.png
Official German, French, Italian, Romansh
National
  •    German 62.6%
  •    French 22.9%
  •    Italian 8.2%
  •    Romansh 0.5%
Vernacular Swiss German, Swiss Standard German, Swiss French, Swiss Italian, Franco-Provençal, Lombard, Walser German, Frainc-Comtou, Bavarian
Immigrant
Signed Swiss German Sign Language, French Sign Language, Italian Sign Language [1]
Keyboard layout
SourceFSO [2]

The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. [3] German, French, and Italian maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation, while Romansh is used in dealings with people who speak it. [4] Latin is occasionally used in some formal contexts, particularly to denote the country (Confoederatio Helvetica). [5]

Contents

In 2020, 62.3% of the population of Switzerland were native speakers of German (either Swiss or Standard German) at home; 22.8% French (mostly Swiss French, but including some Franco-Provençal dialects); 8% Italian (mostly Swiss Italian, but including Lombard); and 0.5% Romansh. [6] The German region (Deutschschweiz) is roughly in the east, north, and centre; the French part (la Romandie) in the west; and the Italian area (Svizzera italiana) in the south. There remains a small Romansh-speaking native population in Grisons in the east. The cantons of Fribourg, Bern, and Valais are officially bilingual; Grisons is officially trilingual.

History

The main languages of Swiss residents from 1950 to 2015, in percentages, were as follows: [7]

Overview of the native language of Swiss
YearGermanFrenchItalianRomanshOther
201563.722.78.40.65.3
200063.720.46.50.59.0
199063.619.27.60.68.9
198065.018.49.80.86.0
197064.918.111.90.84.3
196069.418.99.50.91.4
195072.120.35.91.00.7

In 2012, for the first time, respondents could indicate more than one language, causing the percentages to exceed 100%. [7]

Federal authorities

While the National Council offers simultaneous translation to and from German, French and Italian, the Council of States does not translate debates – its members are expected to understand at least German and French.

Employees of the federal government are expected to write documents in their native tongue. 77% of the original official documents were edited in German, 20% in French, and 1.98% in Italian. More than half of the Italian speakers employed by the federal government are translators. [8]

The Federal Supreme Court publishes its decisions only in one language, usually in the language used in the earlier instance. The so-called regest – a summary of the decision – will be offered in German, French and Italian, but only in important and influential cases (German "Leitentscheide"). [9]

National languages and linguistic regions

German

Distribution of High Alemannic dialects. Marked in red is the Brunig-Napf-Reuss line. Brunig-Napf-Reuss-Linie.png
Distribution of High Alemannic dialects. Marked in red is the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line.
Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects. Hoechstalemannisch.png
Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects.

The German-speaking part of Switzerland (German : Deutschschweiz, French : Suisse alémanique, Italian : Svizzera tedesca, Romansh : Svizra tudestga) constitutes about 65% of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switzerland, most of the Swiss Plateau and the greater part of the Swiss Alps).

In seventeen of the Swiss cantons, German is the only official language (Aargau, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Glarus, Luzern, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Uri, Zug, and Zürich). [10]

In the cantons of Bern, Fribourg and Valais, French is co-official; in the trilingual canton of Graubünden, more than half of the population speaks German, while the rest speak Romansh or Italian. In each case, all languages are official languages of the respective canton.

While the French-speaking Swiss prefer to call themselves Romands and their part of the country is Romandy, the German-speaking Swiss used to (and, colloquially, still do) refer to the French-speaking Swiss as "Welsche", and to their area as Welschland, which has the same etymology as the English Welsh (see Walha ). [11] Research shows that individuals with a French-sounding name in the German-speaking part suffer from social discrimination. [12] [13]

Nevertheless, in 2017, 11.1%, or about 920,600 of the Swiss residents speak Standard German ("Hochdeutsch") at home, but this figure likely includes numerous German (and Austrian) immigrants. [14]

Geography of languages in Switzerland in the early 20th century. Page from a school atlas, in the Jewish Museum of Switzerland's collection. Sprachgebiete der Schweiz im 20. Jahrhundert.jpg
Geography of languages in Switzerland in the early 20th century. Page from a school atlas, in the Jewish Museum of Switzerland's collection.

By the Middle Ages, a marked difference had developed within the German-speaking part of Switzerland between the rural cantons (Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Glarus, Zug, Appenzell, Schaffhausen) and the city cantons (Lucerne, Berne, Zurich, Solothurn, Fribourg, Basel, St. Gallen), divided by views about trade and commerce. After the Reformation, all cantons were either Catholic or Protestant, and the denominational influences on culture added to the differences. Even today, when all cantons are somewhat denominationally mixed, the different historical denominations can be seen in the mountain villages, where Roman Catholic Central Switzerland abounds with chapels and statues of saints, and the farmhouses in the very similar landscape of the Protestant Bernese Oberland show Bible verses carved on the housefronts instead.

In addition to this more widespread notion of Swiss German dialect, there is also Walser German, another Highest Alemannic speech brought by Walser emigrants from Valais.

Because the largest part of Switzerland is German-speaking, many French, Italian, and Romansh speakers migrate to the rest of Switzerland, and the children of those non-German-speaking Swiss-born within the rest of Switzerland speak German.

French

Arpitan language area map with place names in arpitan and historic political divisions. Arpitan francoprovencal map.jpg
Arpitan language area map with place names in arpitan and historic political divisions.

Romandy (French : Romandie, la Suisse romande, German : Romandie, Welschland, Welschschweiz, or in some contexts: Westschweiz, [lower-alpha 1] Italian : Svizzera romanda) is the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It covers the area of the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, and Jura as well as the French-speaking parts of the cantons of Bern (German-speaking majority), Valais (French-speaking majority), and Fribourg (French-speaking majority). 1.9 million people (or 24.4% of the Swiss population) live in Romandy. [15]

Standard Swiss French and the French of France are highly mutually intelligible, though some differences exist. For example, like most Francophone Belgians, speakers of Swiss French use septante (seventy) instead of soixante-dix (literally, "sixty ten") and nonante (ninety) instead of "quatre-vingt-dix" ("four twenty ten"). In the cantons of Vaud, Valais and Fribourg, speakers use huitante (eighty) instead of "quatre-vingts" (four twenties) used in the rest of the French-speaking world; the cantons of Geneva, Bern and Jura use "quatre-vingts". [16] [17] [18] "Sou" is used throughout Romandy for a 5-centime coin, as is "tune" (or "thune") when referring to a 5-Swiss-franc piece. Swiss French also uses "déjeuner, dîner, souper" for breakfast, lunch and dinner instead of "petit-déjeuner, déjeuner, dîner" used in France.

Historically, the vernacular language used by inhabitants of most parts of Romandy was Franco-Provençal. Franco-Provençal (also called Arpitan) is a language sometimes considered to be halfway between the langue d'oïl (the historical language of northern France and ancestor of French) and Occitan (the langue d'oc, spoken in southern France). Standard French and Franco-Provençal/Arpitan, linguistically, are distinct and mutual intelligibility is limited. Increasingly, Franco-Provençal/Arpitan is used only by members of the older generations. [19] In parts of Jura Franc-Comtois dialects are also spoken; these belong to the same Oïl bloc as Standard French.

The term Romandy does not formally exist in the political system, but is used to distinguish and unify the French-speaking population of Switzerland. The television channel Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) served the Romande community across Switzerland and worldwide through TV5Monde until it was merged with the Radio Suisse Romande (RSR) and renamed RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse) in 2010.

Italian

Italian language in Switzerland Suisse italiene.png
Italian language in Switzerland

Italian Switzerland (Italian : Svizzera italiana, Romansh : Svizra taliana, French : Suisse italienne, German : italienische Schweiz) is the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, which includes the canton of Ticino and the southern part of Grisons. Italian is also spoken in the Gondo Valley (leading to the Simplon Pass, on the southern part of the watershed) in Valais. The traditional vernacular of this region is the Lombard language, specifically its Ticinese dialect.

The linguistic region covers an area of about 3,500 km2 and has a total population of around 350,000, [20] with the number of Italophones residing in Switzerland being 545,274 (about 7% of the Swiss population). [21]

The proportion of Italian-speaking inhabitants had been decreasing since the 1970s, after reaching a high of 12% of the population during the same decade. This was entirely because of the reduced number of immigrants from Italy to Switzerland. However it has increased again during the last decade.[ when? ] [7]

Romansh

Languages of instruction in the traditionally Romansh-speaking areas of Grisons as of 2003

Romansh school
Bilingual Romansh-German school
German school, Romansh as a subject
German schooling only Schulsprachen Romanischbunden 2003.PNG
Languages of instruction in the traditionally Romansh-speaking areas of Grisons as of 2003
  Romansh school
  Bilingual Romansh-German school
  German school, Romansh as a subject
  German schooling only

Romansh is an official language in the trilingual Canton of Grisons, where the municipalities in turn are free to specify their own official languages. Romansh has been recognized as one of four "national languages" by the Swiss Federal Constitution since 1938. It was also declared an "official language" of the Confederation in 1996, meaning that Romansh speakers may use their language for correspondence with the federal government and expect to receive a Romansh response. Although Romansh is split into several dialects, the federal and cantonal authorities use the standardized version (Romansh Grischun) exclusively.

Romansh speakers remain predominant in the Surselva, the Albula Region, and the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region.

English

While learning one of the other national languages at school is important, many Swiss nowadays find it easier to use English as a lingua franca with other Swiss people of different linguistic backgrounds. [22] In 2022, Switzerland ranked 23rd in Europe in the English Proficiency Index of EF language school. [23]

Swissinfo, a multilingual outlet of Swiss Radio and Television, reported in 2021 that interview subjects are often asked technical questions in English, given that interviewers are often not proficient enough to do so in the local language. The interviewees then answer in their own local language. The interviews are later translated and dubbed over at the studio. A 2003 study on the online communication behavior of Swiss medical students showed that they quickly changed to English as soon as students from other languages were involved. The main drivers behind using English were the Italian-speaking students from Ticino, as students from other parts of the country rarely understood their messages. [24]

In advertising and sports, English slogans and labels are frequently used, as it reduces the need for regional branding. For example, Swiss railways sell tourism offers through the "RailAway" label since 1999, and many national sport federations have English names (e.g. Swiss Olympic), with their German or French names almost never being used.

Other languages

Franco-Provençal and Lombard

Besides the national languages and the many varieties of Swiss German, several regional Romance languages are spoken natively in Switzerland: Franco-Provençal and Lombard.

Sinte

About 20,000 Romani speak Sinte, an Indic language.

Sign languages

Five sign languages are used: Swiss-German, French, Italian, Austrian, and German. [25]

Language in Switzerland [lower-alpha 2]
Language2000 [27]
Mother tongue
2015[ citation needed ]
Main language
2018 [28]
Main language
2020 [6] [29]
Main language
Number %Number %Number %Number %
German 4,639,7624,424,1504,458,1564,477,946
French 1,484,4111,567,1971,619,7081,624,424
Italian 470,961581,381593,646575,017
Romansch 35,07240,29936,70935,938
English 73,422374,642471,056416,887
Portuguese 89,527256,560251,570
Albanian 94,937188,125230,007
Serbo-Croatian 103,350161,882165,317
Spanish 76,750159,859172,505
Turkish 44,52378,015
Arabic 14,34536,857
Russian 8,57032,244
Tamil 21,81631,145
Polish 5,20624,881
Dutch 11,84022,357
Hungarian 6,19420,597
Kurdish 7,53119,401
Thai 7,56914,528
Greek 4,79213,763
Czech 5,44413,433
Romanian 3,39712,738
Chinese 8,27912,324
Slovak 2,01812,072
Persian 3,46711,108
Macedonian 6,41510,698
Swedish 5,5608,771
Vietnamese 4,2266,720
Tagalog 3,0196,275
Japanese 4,1006,001
Danish 2,7395,272
Tibetan 1,1085,219
Bulgarian 1,5794,583
Finnish 2,6284,299
Hindi-Urdu 1,4073,846
Slovene 1,6013,690
Somali 2,6613,607
Aramaic 1,3332,465
Hebrew 1,1762,159
Norwegian 1,3612,108
Korean 1,2021,816
Other languages77,7511,255,656589,393

Neo-Latin

A Swiss five-franc coin with the Latin inscription Confoederatio Helvetica. Funffranken (cropped).jpg
A Swiss five-franc coin with the Latin inscription Confoederatio Helvetica.
The Federal Palace of Switzerland, with the Latin inscription
.mw-parser-output span.smallcaps{font-variant:small-caps}.mw-parser-output span.smallcaps-smaller{font-size:85%}
Curia Confoederationis Helveticae. Bundeshaus Bern 2009, Flooffy.jpg
The Federal Palace of Switzerland, with the Latin inscription Curia Confoederationis Helveticae.

To avoid having to translate the name of Switzerland into the four national languages, [lower-alpha 3] Latin is used on the coins of the Swiss franc ( Helvetia or Confoederatio Helvetica) and on Swiss stamps (Helvetia). The country code top-level domain for Switzerland on the internet is .ch, the abbreviation of the Latin name, Confoederatio Helvetica (Swiss Confederation); similarly, the International vehicle registration code for Swiss automobiles is "CH". The Federal Palace of Switzerland bears the inscription Curia Confoederationis Helveticae. [30]

To have a unique name across the country (without favoring German, French or any other language), several Swiss foundations and associations have Latin names, such as Pro Helvetia, Pro Infirmis, Pro Juventute, Pro Natura, Pro Patria, Pro Senectute, Pro Specie Rara, Helvetia Nostra, and many more.

See also

Notes

  1. "Welsch" is an old German word for "Foreign" and is the same word the Anglo-Saxons used for the original British inhabitants which today are the Welsh people.[ citation needed ]
  2. Since 2010, statistics of languages in Switzerland provided by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office are based on a national structural survey of 200,000 people aged 15 years and older (corresponding to 2.5% of the total resident population). Data are extrapolated to obtain statistical results for the whole population (aged 15 years and older). These results are estimates subject to some degree of uncertainty indicated by a confidence interval. Therefore, the figures of the structural survey may not be entirely comparable to data collection before 2010 based on census figures (counting every person living in Switzerland). [26]
  3. When there is no room to use the four official languages, unlike on the banknotes of the Swiss franc, on the logo of the Federal administration of Switzerland and on the Swiss passport.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Switzerland</span> Country in Central Europe

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps and the Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's population of 9 million are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts its largest cities and economic centres, including Zürich, Geneva and Basel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Switzerland</span> National demographics

Switzerland had a population of 8.57 million as of mid-2019. Its population quadrupled over the period 1800 to 1990. Population growth was steepest in the period after World War II, it slowed during the 1970s and 1980s but has since increased to 1% during the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cantons of Switzerland</span> Member states of the Swiss Confederation

The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte. Two important periods in the development of the Old Swiss Confederacy are summarized by the terms Acht Orte and Dreizehn Orte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canton of Jura</span> Canton of Switzerland

The Republic and Canton of Jura, less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont. It shares borders with the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the canton of Bern, the canton of Neuchatel, the canton of Solothurn, and the French régions of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaud</span> Canton of Switzerland

Vaud ,(German; Kanton Waad) more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts, and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canton of Fribourg</span> Canton of Switzerland

The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French spoken by more than two thirds of the citizens and German by a little more than a quarter. Both are official languages in the canton. The canton takes its name from its capital city of Fribourg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal Party of Switzerland</span> Political party in Switzerland

The Liberal Party of Switzerland was a political party in Switzerland with economically liberal policies. It was known as a party of the upper class. On 1 January 2009 it merged with the larger Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) to establish FDP.The Liberals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franco-Provençal</span> Gallo-Romance language spoken in France, Italy and Switzerland

Franco-Provençal is a language within the Gallo-Romance family, originally spoken in east-central France, western Switzerland and northwestern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuchâtel</span> Swiss town

Neuchâtel is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel. Since the fusion in 2021 of the municipalities of Neuchâtel, Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux, and Valangin, the city has approximately 33,000 inhabitants. The city is sometimes referred to historically by the German name Neuenburg; both the French and German names mean "New Castle".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipalities of Switzerland</span> Smallest government division in Switzerland

Municipalities are the lowest level of administrative division in Switzerland. Each municipality is part of one of the Swiss cantons, which form the Swiss Confederation. In most cantons, municipalities are also part of districts or other sub-cantonal administrative divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romandy</span> French-speaking part of Switzerland

Romandy is the French-speaking historical and cultural region part of Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 million people, or 22.8% of the Swiss population, lived in Romandy. The majority of the romand population lives in the western part of the country, especially the Arc Lémanique region along Lake Geneva, connecting Geneva, Vaud, and the Lower Valais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Röstigraben</span> Cultural boundary between German- and French-speaking Swiss

Röstigraben is a term used to refer to the cultural boundary between German-speaking and French-speaking parts of Switzerland, the latter known in French as the Suisse romande. There is also the term Polentagraben, referring to the boundary between German-speaking cantons, and the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiss people</span> Citizens of Switzerland, people of Swiss ancestry

The Swiss people are the citizens of the multi-ethnic Swiss Confederation (Switzerland) regardless of ethno-cultural background or people of self-identified Swiss ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romansh people</span> Ethnic group

The Romansh people are a Romance ethnic group, the speakers of the Romansh language, native to the Swiss canton of Grisons (Graubünden).

Television in Switzerland was introduced in 1950, with regular broadcasts commencing in 1953. People who live in Switzerland are required by law to pay a television licence fee, which is used to finance the public radio and television service SRG SSR. Since 1 January 2021, the Licence fee cost in all the linguistic regions of Switzerland is 355 CHF per year or 83.75 CHF quarterly, counting both radio and television licences. All licence fee payers are entitled under the law to services of equal quality. The fee is charged per household and not per person, with empty dwellings being exempt. The fee is determined by the Federal Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German-speaking Switzerland</span> Part of Switzerland

The German-speaking part of Switzerland comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland.

Arabs in Switzerland are Swiss citizens or residents of Arab ethnic, cultural or linguistic heritage from Arab countries, particularly North Africa, Levant, and Iraq, also small groups from Palestine, Yemen, and Sudan, who emigrated from their native nations and currently reside in Switzerland.

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