What languages ​​are spoken in Switzerland? State languages ​​of the country

Switzerland - multinational developeda state in which representatives of the most diverse nationalities live. This, as well as geographical assimilation influenced the language environment of the state. From this article you can learn about the languages ​​spoken in Switzerland, get acquainted with the peculiarities of the country and many others. I would like to note right away that, in addition to the official languages, there are a number of dialects and dialects that a considerable part of the population owns.

German

If we talk about what language in Switzerlandmost popular, it is, of course, German. Most of the population of this state lives in the cantons (administrative unit) in which they speak it, or rather in its Swiss dialects.

French

This language is much less common, howeverand it is spoken in four French-speaking cantons located in the west of the country, that is, in the Romance region. These regions include Jura, Geneva, Nevshantel and Vaud. In addition, three cantons have a bilingual population, these are Bern, Wallis and Friborg.

Italian language

The official languages ​​of Switzerland also includeItalian. Even though it is very rare here, it was recognized as official. Used Italian in the canton called Ticino and some southern regions of the canton of Graubünden.

Romansh

The least of all in Switzerland is the native speakers of this language. Their number varies according to different data from 0.5 to 0.6% of the total population of the state. The Romansh is spoken exclusively in the canton of Graubünden, in which the native speakers of Italian and German also live. In total there are five subgroups of this language, of which one common language was created called Rumantsch Grischun.

State languages ​​of Switzerland

The fact that as many as four languages ​​are recognized incountry officially, is due to several factors. First of all, this is immigration. For many centuries, citizens of not only neighboring countries with a lower standard of living are striving to get to Switzerland, but also visitors from far abroad. For example, a census conducted in 2000 showed that about 1.4% of the country's population are emigrants from the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

German, French, Italian andRomansh - that's what languages ​​they speak in Switzerland. However, according to the country's constitution, the first three of the above languages ​​are considered to be national, and it is on them that state documents, legislative acts and so on are drawn up. This is due to the fact that there are too few speakers of Romansh language in Switzerland. Nevertheless, it is often used in official meetings, and it can be contacted by the authorities.

Such rules are in place to ensure thatThe minority did not feel restrained. Here the "principle of territoriality" works, according to which, language boundaries should be observed in official institutions. The fact that the four languages ​​are officially recognized here does not at all indicate that every resident of the country owns them.

Language proficiency

Often, people in Switzerland own their basic,native language, to a small extent another one of state and English. Unwillingness to learn all the official languages ​​can be simply explained by the fact that English is much more popular around the world, and his knowledge opens up much more opportunities. This makes Switzerland from "four-lingual" in "two and a half lingual" country.

Spread of languages

Now you know what languages ​​are spoken inSwitzerland. It's time to learn about how the language status of each canton is determined. The authorities of each region have the right to determine independently which language will be the main language on their territory. For example, French-speaking cantons choose German for studying in schools, and vice versa. As a second foreign language in this case, Italian or English is offered. And in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticil, for example, the study of German and French is mandatory.

State VS English

Statement of the head of the head of educationone of the cantons, made in 2000, was criticized because he wanted to establish English as the first foreign language, and thus the state language would move to secondary positions in this area. The official referred to the fact that English is more common in the world, pupils in future it will come in handy more than French. Opponents of innovation have decided that such changes can lead to a deterioration in the national unity of the country.

Conclusion

In fact, it is difficult to say how muchstate languages ​​in Switzerland, because many foreigners live there, the percentage of which is about 9%. This figure is constantly changing with the influx of new migrants. This makes it even more difficult to determine what languages ​​are spoken in Switzerland.