A study recently released by ch-x shows that only 28.2% of young people in the academic stream (Gymnase) at high school in French-speaking Switzerland speak German. On the German-speaking side of the rösti graben 40.6% of the same group speak French, still far from a majority. The number speaking a national language, other than their […]
Must a second Swiss language be taught at school? No says commission.
24 Heures. The long running battle over which languages should be taught at Swiss primary schools, took another twist this week. Swiss cantons largely decide for themselves which languages they teach at school, with minimal interference from the Federal government in Bern. This makes a lot of sense given Switzerland’s linguistic diversity – Switzerland has […]
French-speaking Swiss, Nidwalden loves you!
Voters in Nidwalden last Sunday rejected a UDC Nidwalden sponsored initiative that would have resulted in French being dropped from the canton’s primary school curriculum. 61.7% voted “No”. The parliament of Nidwalden rejected the initiative ahead of the vote on the grounds it would negatively impact national cohesion and advised voters to vote against the […]
No French please. We’re Swiss…..
Two recent stories are reminders of the cultural and political importance of language in Switzerland. Choosing to learn English as a second language makes sound practical sense in an increasingly global world, however in Switzerland it is not that simple. Switzerland, a country with four national languages (German, French, Italian and Romanche), has to juggle […]
