Breaching the divide between French and German speaking Switzerland.
This content was published on
1 minute
Julie worked as a radio reporter for BBC and independent radio all over the UK before joining swissinfo.ch's predecessor, Swiss Radio International, as a producer. After attending film school, Julie worked as an independent filmmaker before coming to swissinfo.ch in 2001.
Switzerland is divided along language lines with the German speakers in the north and the French-speaking minority in the southwest. But when you step over the divide, the so-called Röstigraben, it’s not only the language that changes, as three exchange students from Winterthur discovered. (swissinfo, Julie Hunt 2007)
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Switzerland no longer wants to foot the bill for ‘suicide tourism’
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
German newcomers struggle with Swiss German
This content was published on
On the other hand, Germans who have been here for a while say dialect opens up the secret places of the Swiss heart. Recently, there has been a wave of German immigration to Switzerland, mainly because of the EU-Swiss agreement allowing free movement of people to take up jobs. One now meets Germans everywhere in…
This content was published on
The Swiss often impress outsiders – justifiably – with their knowledge of languages, but within the country there are sometimes tensions between them. German and French speakers, the two largest groups, regard each other sceptically over the “rösti ditch” that separates them; some people resent Romansh because of the subsidies it gets simply to keep…
This content was published on
Even in parliament, many members struggle to follow what their colleagues from other language regions are saying. Radical party member Ruedi Noser tells swissinfo.ch about the reasons for his decision to spend a year in the French part of the country. Noser sits in the House of Representatives for the centre-right party. An engineer by…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.