Speaking French, German, Italian or Romansh in Switzerland

Last activity 20 February 2017 by 4langi.h

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PriscillaViP25 January 2017 12:28:50

42358

Hi everyone,

It is widely agreed that speaking French, German, Italian or Romansh is essential for a successful integration in Switzerland. Do you agree? Share your experience!

Do you speak one of those languages? If so, where did you learn it? Where can one attend a language course in Switzerland?

If not, how do you cope with daily activities? Is it easy to communicate in a different language with Swiss?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

TwanContributor30 January 2017 05:28:19

132

German (about 60%), French (about 25%), Italian (about 8%) and Romansh (about 0.6%) are the official languages of Switzerland. Romansh is only spoken in 5 valleys in Graubünden, and all Romansh speaking people will speak German and/or Italian as well.
Though English is widely understood and spoken, speaking the local language of the region where you live is essential for participating in society. Don't expect English to be a language at any firm - with the exception of multinationals and large international institutions like the United Nations. Similarly, it will be hard to find a job if you cannot manage the local language at least at basic level.

Dialects are widespread particularly in the German speaking part of the country. Though standard German is understood anywhere, and it is considered rude to speak dialect when there are people around that cannot understand it, dialect is the standard everywhere: not only at home or in the pub, but also at work and on television.
Foreigners are not expected to learn to speak the Swiss German dialect (though it is usually appreciated if you do so), but if you're living for a longer time in the German speaking area, you'll be frowned upon if you cannot at least understand the local or most common dialects.

Boston2014New member30 January 2017 09:05:34

Bénédict Schule www.benedict.ch is where I had gone in 2004.
I found it to be extremely helpful.

jambangMember30 January 2017 09:11:19

Yeah i speak French and English

drew85New member30 January 2017 16:48:07

Es spielt keine rolle was für eine Sprache du lernst oder sprichts. Du wirst nie exseptiert .... sorry. Du wirst immer die Amerikaner die Deutsch speche können bleiben. Deine Kinder werden als Schweizer angesehen. Vielleicht...

LG
Drew

ChristineViP31 January 2017 06:54:10

42879

Hi Drew > Can you please write in English in this English speaking forum?

Thank you
Christine
Expat.com

amypondNew member31 January 2017 12:20:51

It depends on where you live. I live in the German-speaking part of Switzerland so obviously I need to speak German. If I lived in Geneva it would be French, in Ticino, it would be Italian. Learn the language of your region.

4langi.hNew member20 February 2017 06:01:21

Hello, thanks for your reply to my email.
unfortunately I can't speak these languages and i think difficult to learn them here in Iran.

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