Located in the very center of Europe, Switzerland is somewhat different from its immediate surroundings with its unique features. Included in the Schengen zone, this country, however, is not a member of the European Union. Actively participates in the union economy - and is not a member of the customs union. In addition, she is one of the few in Europe having her own currency. But that is not all. A separate topic is the state language. Before making a trip to Switzerland, each of us will surely ask ourselves questions: “How will I communicate with the locals? And what language do they generally speak there? ” So, what is it all the same - the official language of Switzerland?
The main legal act regulating the linguistic situation in the country is the Constitution, according to which the
Swiss Confederation recognizes the official German, French and Italian languages, and also assigns a special status to the
Romansh language. Moreover, each canton (the administrative unit of the country) independently establishes a language in its territory as an official language. Moreover, immigrants from foreign speaking areas when applying to regional authorities should use the language that is common in this canton. The presence of four legally recognized languages does not mean at all who every resident is required to know all the official languages of Switzerland. In most cases, one or two is enough.
The official language of Switzerland, which is spoken by the majority of the country's population (approximately 65%), is German. It is worth noting that this is not the German that is spoken in neighboring countries. Rather, it is a dialect that some even consider an independent language. There are several of its dialects, and Swiss, speaking, in general, in one language, sometimes perceive their interlocutors as foreigners. Doormans write in the so-called High German version of the language, which is accepted as a literary language in all German-speaking countries. On it there is news. The rest of the television and radio broadcasts are in the Swiss-German dialect.
Another official language of Switzerland, spoken by about 20% of Swiss, is French. Distributed in the western regions of the country (Geneva, Lausanne, Sion, Friborg). Italian is spoken by about 8% - mainly in the south of Switzerland (in the canton of Ticino), and in Romansh even less - 1% (in Graubunden). Other languages that do not have state status are spoken by approximately 6% of the population.
But even if you are not familiar with any official Swiss language, there is nothing to worry about, you will always find an alternative way of communication. English is very popular in this country. All Swiss study him at school and understand him well. Moreover, English is so popular that it is used in advertising, warning labels are written, etc. Even graffiti on the walls - and they do in English. And therefore - knowledge of English when visiting Switzerland can be very useful. However, and not only Switzerland ...