Europe in miniature, or What is the official language of Switzerland

Located in the heart of Europe, Switzerland differs somewhat from its immediate environment in its inherent individual traits. Included in the Schengen zone, this country, however, is not a member of the European Union. Actively participates in the union economy - and does not enter into the customs union. In addition, it is one of the few in Europe that have their own currency. But that is not all. A separate topic is the state language. Before making a trip to Switzerland, each of us will probably ask ourselves the questions: "How will I communicate with the locals? And in what language are they generally spoken there? "So, what is he, after all, the official language of Switzerland?

The main normative legal act regulating the language situation in the country is the Constitution, according to which the Swiss Confederation recognizes German, French and Italian as official languages, and also assigns a special status to the Romansh language. In this case, each canton (administrative unit of the country) independently establishes in its territory language as an official language. Moreover, immigrants from foreign-speaking regions when applying to regional authorities should use the language that is common in this canton. The presence of four legally recognized languages does not at all mean who each resident is required to know all the official languages of Switzerland. In most cases, one or two are enough.

The official language of Switzerland, which is spoken by the majority of the population (approximately 65%) is German. It is worth noting that this is not the German language spoken in neighboring countries. Rather, it is a dialect, which some even consider an independent language. There are several of its adverbs, and speaking, in general, in one language, the Swiss sometimes perceive their interlocutors as foreigners. The porters write on the so-called High German version of the language, which is accepted as a literary language in all countries speaking German. On it there are news. The rest of the TV and radio programs are in Swiss-German dialect.

Another official language of Switzerland, which is spoken by about 20% of Swiss is French. Distributed in the western regions of the country (Geneva, Lausanne, Sion, Friborg). In Italian, about 8% - mostly in southern Switzerland (in the Canton of Ticino), and in Romansh, even less - 1% (in Graubunden). In other languages that do not have the status of a state, about 6% of the population speaks.

But even if you do not know any official language of Switzerland, there is nothing to worry about, you will always find an alternative way of communication. In this country is very popular English. All Swiss people study it at school and understand it well. And English is so popular that it is used in advertising, writing warning labels, etc. Even graffiti on the walls - and those do in English. Therefore, knowledge of English when visiting Switzerland can even come in handy. However, and not only in Switzerland ...