Language Diversity in Switzerland Fritzi Wittmann IB German 5 Quarter 1

Facts Article: Swiss urged not to forget language diversity Switzerland has four nationally recognized languages: French, German, Italian, and Romansh. Due to the global popularity of English Switzerland’s multilingual culture is under attack. Due to immigration and migration of language itself, Switzerland is, in many ways, more multilingual than before. When polled, 80% of students attending a high school in Geneva agreed that it is important to be multilingual. While all German speaking students in schools are taught French as a second language it does not mean that the students are fluent throwing the legitimacy of being “multilingual” in to question.

Romansh, a Latin based language, accounts for approximately 0.5% of the populations language of choice.

Facts Article: Switzerland's Linguistic Landscape Other minority languages spoken in Switzerland Serbian, Croatian, Spanish, and English. While, for the most part, Switzerland’s linguistic boarders are clearly defined there are definite areas of overlap. July 1 st, 2011 the Ordinance on National Languages and Understanding between the Linguistic Communities came to be. Each language is urged to promote multilingualism in order to preserve their own culture. The most popularly spoken language in Switzerland is German (63.7%) followed by Italian (9%) and French (6.5%)

This sign exemplifies the multilingual aspects of the Swiss culture.

Facts Article: A Study on Linguistic Diversity The Swiss National Science Foundation recently began a study on linguistic diversity and language competency. Language is pre-assigned to each territorial division of Switzerland. Approximately 25% of the Swiss population are foreigners. Schools focus primarily on teaching German and French to their pupils. The SNSF is likely to use their collected data to produce new guidelines for schools to follow in the upcoming years.

This book illustrates how “Swiss” is truly a compilation of distinct languages yet is has managed to make them its own.

QUIZ! 1. What percent of Swiss speak Romansh? a) 10% b) 2 % c) 0.5% d) 7% 2. What percent of Students in Geneva believe that being multilingual is very important? a) 75% b) 20% c) 15% d) 80%

Answers: 1. C; It is estimated that 0.5% of the population speaks on of the several dialects of Romansh. 2. D; When polled, 80% of students acknowledged the importance of multilingualism.

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