Multilingual Switzerland

I’ve often been asked if I was able to talk Swiss, as I’ve lived there for a long time. Even if this kind of comment seems funny to those who live in or close to Switzerland, it is quite a common assumption among people coming from other continents, that Swiss talk Swiss, like Swedish people speak Swedish, Italians speak Italian, Germans speak German etc.

(© wikipedia, Marco Zanoli)

Switzerland is a multilingual country with four national languages: German, French, Italian and Rumantsch (you can find it transcribed also as Romansh, Romansch, Rhaeto-Romanic or Rhaeto-Romance etc.). But only German, French and Italian maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation.

According to the federal census of 2000, 63.7% of the Swiss population speaks German, 20.4% French, 6.5% Italian, 0.5% Rumantsch and 9.0% speaks other languages.

People talk German in the German Region (Deutschschweiz) that would be northern, central and eastern Switzerland. In the Romandie (French Region), in western Switzerland, people speak mainly French, whereas Italian is spoken in the Svizzera Italiana, the Italian Region in southern Switzerland. Rumantsch is the native language of the population in Graubünden (Grisons) in southeastern Switzerland.

The cantons of Fribourg, Bern and Valais are officially bilingual (French-German), whereas Graubünden is officially trilingual (Rumantsch-German-Italian).

Why is Switzerland multilingual?

The Swiss do not form a single ethnic group, they are a confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica: CH).

Historically, the Swiss derive from an amalgamation of Gaulish or Gallo-Roman, Alemannic and Raetic stock.

In the German speaking region (Deutschschweiz) we find the Alemannic German, historically amalgamated from the Gallo-Roman population and the Alemannii and Burgundii, including subgroups like the Walser. The term „Swiss“ from the 16th and 18th centuries referred to this group exclusively and only with the expansion of the Swiss confederation following the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) the term was applied to non-Alemannic territories. Closely related German speaking people are the inhabitants of Alsace, Vorarlberg and the Swabians.

In the French speaking region (Romandie) people speak Franco-Provençal dialects. Today these dialects are assimilated to the standard Swiss French and amalgamated from the Gallo-Roman population and Burgundians (the historical Upper Burgundy). These dialects are closely related to the French (especially those of Franche-Comté).

In the Svizzera Italiana, people speak a variety of the Lombard language,Ticinese, partly assimilated to the standard Swiss Italian language, amalgamated from Raetians and Lombards. They are closely related to the Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont.

The Rumantsch is a Rhaeto-Romance language, closely related to the French, Occitan and Lombard. It was spoken in a larger territory in the early Middle Ages, that reached from the Grisons (Canton Graubünden) to the Lake Constance, whereas today, it’s limited to some parts of Graubünden.

The Majority of Swiss are Multilingual

With nearly two-thirds regularly using more than one language in daily life, Swiss resudents are multilingual. 
According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, 63% of people in Switzerland speak or use multiple languages. About 37% of the population speaks two languages and 25% speaks three or more. Only 37% use just one language. 
Multilingualism is much higher among younger people as over 80% of young adults aged 15 to 24 use multiple languages on a daily basis, compared to fewer people in older age groups (i.e. over 60ish).
People who stay in their home regions they do not speak (or need) all four national languages fluently, but children must learn at least one other national language in school. Students must learn a second official Swiss national language during their compulsory school years and English is taught as a core subject alongside the second national language, typically starting during primary school. 
All public school students must learn two foreign languages during compulsory school. One must be another national language (German, French, or Italian), and the other is English. The order of introduction depends on the region: 

• German regions: Most cantons teach English first (starting in Grade 3) and French second (starting in Grade 5).
• French regions: Students learn German first (Grade 3) and English second (Grade 5).
• Italian/Romansh regions: Students typically learn French or German first, followed by English.

By Language Region and Canton Group

German-speaking Cantons (English as 1st Foreign Language):

• Cantons such as Zurich, St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Thurgau, Schaffhausen, Nidwalden, Lucerne, Uri, and several others, prioritize English as the first foreign language (usually starting in the 3rd primary school year), moving the second national language (French) later or to secondary levels. 

German-speaking Cantons (National Language as 1st Foreign Language):

• Some German-speaking cantons like Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, and Bern have traditionally prioritized a second national language (French) as the first foreign language in primary school, introducing English later. 

French-speaking (Western) Cantons:

• In cantons like Geneva, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Fribourg, Jura, and Bern (French-speaking parts), German is universally taught as the first compulsory foreign language. 

Italian-speaking Canton:

• In Ticino, French is given priority as the first foreign language.

Multilingual Canton:

• In Graubünden, the first foreign language depends on the specific municipality’s primary language region, choosing between German, Italian, or Romansh as the required community-neighboring or national tongue. 

References:

EURYDICE

EDK

SWI