Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Learning to speak

Language is considered important to ensure a foreign national’s integration. But is it fair to expect everyone living in Switzerland to learn the local language?

Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga regrets that some foreign executives cut themselves off entirely from society, and don’t learn a Swiss language. But many top earners with international companies say learning a language and getting involved in their local community is not practical: their companies use English, and they are likely to move on after just a few years. They have little spare time and have trouble connecting with their Swiss neighbours.

Have you experienced difficulties in integration – from either side of the divide? What do you think about the language issue?

Switzerland has four national languages: French, German, Italian and Romansh. English, though not an official language, is often used to bridge the divides.

German is spoken by about 64 per cent, French by about 20 per cent, Italian by about seven per cent. Romansh is spoken by less than one per cent of the total population.

The most notable linguistic fact about German-speaking Switzerland is the use of dialect for spoken communication and standard German for written communication. French is spoken in the west of the country, while Italian is spoken in Ticino and the south of neighbouring Graubünden, and Romansh is spoken only in Graubünden. However, there are language minorities from elsewhere in all the major cities.

The three main languages are, accordingly, shared with the surrounding countries.  Even Romansh is not really unique to Switzerland – there are similar Rhaetoromanic languages spoken by minorities in the South Tyrol and the Friuli region of northern Italy.

English is believed to be the language of no more than one per cent of speakers, but as a language of international communication it has taken on a major profile in recent years.

Swiss of all language groups are eager to learn it because of its importance in business. English speakers who come to Switzerland find no shortage of people who can speak English – at least in the cities. English is even coming to be used as a lingua franca between French- and German-speaking Swiss in business settings.

More

More

Integration reform faces state funding hurdles

This content was published on The increased role of the government and the financial support for the mooted steps as well as what is considered a certain vagueness of the measures could become stumbling blocks for necessary legal reform. “Switzerland can and must do more to integrate foreigners even if it we do not have major integration problems,” said Justice…

Read more: Integration reform faces state funding hurdles
More

More

Zurich bans locals from international schools

This content was published on The ruling from the canton’s education minister Regine Aeppli has added another chapter to the ongoing debate about preserving local culture and language in the face of an ever increasing flood of foreign workers. Zurich has effectively overruled a 1998 decision to allow anyone to attend international schools without having to give justification. Some local…

Read more: Zurich bans locals from international schools
More

More

Foreign families trust Swiss boarding schools

This content was published on There are some 100,000 students enrolled in private Swiss schools, according to the Swiss Federation of Private Schools (SFPS). They come from all over – in particular Russia, Germany, France, Britain and the United States, as well as Switzerland. Within the boarding schools, about 80 per cent of the students are foreign and the rest…

Read more: Foreign families trust Swiss boarding schools
More

More

Identity at stake in war of words

This content was published on At the moment, one third of teaching is supposed to be in dialect, one third in “high German”, the standard language of Germany, and the other third at the discretion of the teachers, according to the situation. Supporters of the “Yes to dialect in the kindergarten” campaign suspected that the aim of the education authorities…

Read more: Identity at stake in war of words
More

More

Basel tries to break down integration barriers

This content was published on Basel, with its multinational pharmaceutical companies, is attracting more and more skilled workers from abroad. Indeed, expats – people who come to work on a short-term (two to four years) basis – now account for eight per cent of Basel’s population and make an important contribution to the local economy. The figure looks set to…

Read more: Basel tries to break down integration barriers

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR