By Sarah-Claire Jordan
Switzerland is famous for many things, from its policy of neutrality to its chocolate and watches. However, its location in Europe between so many huge European powers has influenced the culture of the country in ways that make Switzerland unique. One of these ways is the fact that it has four national languages, along with the many minority and immigrant languages spoken there as well.
Nestled between France, Italy, and two German-speaking countries (Germany and Austria), three of the official languages of Switzerland are French, German, and Italian. They all have a Swiss twist to them, however, and differ from the dialects spoken in the neighboring countries. The fourth official language is unique to Switzerland and spoken only in certain zones. Let’s take a look at each of Switzerland’s official languages:
1. Swiss French
The French-speaking area of Switzerland is to the west, along the border with France. Standard Swiss French is basically the same as the Standard French of France, but there are some differences in terms of vocabulary mostly. However, the vernacular of the area is more like a mix of the langue d’oïl and Occitan, making it and Standard French much less mutually intelligible. This Swiss French vernacular is mostly spoken by the older generations, with the younger generation tending towards a dialect more similar to Standard French.
2. Swiss Italian
In the southeastern region of Switzerland, you can find the Swiss Italian speakers. This variety of Italian is similar to Standard Italian, but is distinctive in that it has many characteristics that show the influence of French and German. The main differences are in the vocabulary, however, and not so much in the grammar or pronunciation. Swiss Italian also has much fewer cognates (“false friends”) with English than Standard Italian does, mostly due to the borrowing of words from French and German.
3. Swiss German
The German spoken by the Swiss is interesting in that no one identifies necessarily as “Swiss German”. Rather, the German-speaking Swiss think first of the canton, or administrative zone, that they come from, which tend to have their own particular German dialects. This is even more interesting if you take note of the fact that there is no standard form of Swiss German; it ends up being the name of a group of dialects that happen to be spoken in Switzerland. 17 of the 26 cantons of Switzerland have German as the only official language.
4. Romansh
Of all the languages native to Switzerland, Romansh is probably the most unique. It is a descendant of the spoken Latin used in the time of the Roman Empire, though has been influenced by German and other languages that are spoken in Switzerland. Romansh is spoken mostly in the canton of Graubünden, which is officially trilingual, with German and Italian being the other two languages used there. The earliest writings that have been found so far in Romansh date back to 10th century, or possibly the 11th century.
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