A stay in the breathtaking landscape of Switzerland’s countryside begs the question: What language is spoken in Switzerland? There are, in fact, four languages recognized by the Government of Switzerland, each with its own unique dialect.
The nation’s dedication to neutrality, combined with its geographic location nestled between several European nations, is the reason for Switzerland’s multilingualism. Find out who speaks what, and where, in Switzerland and learn about dialects like Swiss French to expand your linguistic knowledge.
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Languages spoken in Switzerland
So, what language do they speak in Switzerland? Given the multiculturalism of Switzerland, it comes as no shock to hear there is no “one” spoken language. Rather, there are four officially recognized languages in Switzerland
Switzerland’s official languages
- German
- French
- Italian
- Romansh
If you happen to speak one of these languages, you might not be as ready to speak to a native Swiss as you might think.
While Romansh is only primarily spoken in Switzerland, the nation has its own dialect for German, French and Italian called Swiss German, Swiss French, and Swiss Italian, respectively. Easy to remember!
Other languages spoken
Close to a quarter of the Swiss population, 23.4% to be exact, have a non-national language as their main language. English, Portuguese, and Albanian are the most widely spoken of these.
- English
- Portuguese
- Albanian
- Spanish
- Serbian
- Croatian
Swiss German
Around 61.8% of Swiss speak either German or Swiss German as their first language.
Of the languages spoken in Switzerland, there are numerous German dialects that fall under the umbrella ofSchweizerdeutsch (Swiss German) spoken there.
In reality, Swiss German is considered only a spoken dialect, as any written communication between Swiss German cantons is only done in Standardhochdeutsch (Standard High German).
Swiss German vs. Standard High German
Children in Swiss schools begin learning Standardhochdeutsch around age five. Because of this, Switzerland is considered one of six German-speaking countries around the world.
Schweizerdeutsch differs more profoundly from Standardhochdeutsch than most European dialect-standard pairings, to the point that Schweizerdeutsch is often unintelligible to native German speakers.
Not only does everyday vocabulary differ between the two, such as for food and daily life, but many loanwords from French transform Schweizerdeutsch into a language unique from its German origins.
How Swiss German pronounces vowels and diphthongs
The Swiss German dialect often shortens diphthongs from Standard German into a single, long vowel. This difference is the primary reason that Swiss German sounds so different compared to Standard German.
| Swiss German Pronunciation | Standard German | English Translation |
| Hüs | Hause | house |
| lut | laut | loud |
| min | mein | my |
| Schwiz | Schweiz | Switzerland |
Consonant differences in Swiss German
Consonants in Swiss German are typically pronounced more harshly than in Standard German. Though the German language is infamous for harsh-sounding words, Swiss German takes this to an extreme, with consonants like k transforming from a “kuh” sound in Standard German to a deep, throaty “ch” noise that almost comes across as a guttural hiss. The Standard German “st” sound often becomes “scht” in Swiss German, furthering the guttural sound of the dialect.
| Swiss German Pronunciation | Standard German | English Translation |
| cho | kommen | to come |
| choch | Koch | to cook |
| fascht | fast | almost |
| ischt | ist | to be |
Unique Swiss German vocabulary
Below is a comparison of common vocabulary compared between Swiss German and Standard German, highlighting the stark differences between how the two dialects of German sound and are spoken:
| Swiss German | Standard German | English Translation |
| Brötli | Brötchen | bread roll |
| Herdöpfel | Kartoffel | potato |
| Natel | Handy | cell phone |
| schaffe | arbeiten | to work |
| Velo | Fahrrad | bicycle |
| Zmorge | Frühstück | breakfast |
Swiss French
Around 22.8% of people speak French in Switzerland. Swiss French is a French dialect spoken in the country and is close enough to Standard French that the two dialects can communicate rather effortlessly.
Switzerland belongs to the list of five French-speaking countries worldwide, proving that linguistic borders are not as set in stone as borders drawn on the map.
Understanding Swiss French vs. standard French
Grammatical structures, verb conjugations, and core vocabulary are shared between the two dialects, making it easier to learn Swiss French if you’re already comfortable speaking the official dialect of French.
Swiss French has its own numerical system
The greatest difference between Swiss French and Standard French is their numerical systems. While counting can be a hurdle to learn for English speakers learning Standard French, Swiss French has ditched this historically formed system in favor of a more logical and approachable one.
When counting above 60, Standard French begins incorporating complex systems for number names. For example, 80 in Standard French is quatre-vingts (four-twenties), while Swiss French simply calls it huitant (eighty).
| Swiss French | Standard French | English Translation |
| huitant-et-un | quatre-vingt-un | eighty-one |
| nonant | quatre-vingt-dix | ninety |
| septant | soixante-dix | seventy |
Vocabulary differences in Swiss French vs. Standard French
See the table below for common vocabulary in Swiss French and Standard French and notice how similar the two dialects are, with differences in terminology being minimal:
| Swiss French | Standard French | English Translation |
| bonjour | bonjour | hello |
| maison | maison | house |
| merci | merci | thank you |
| natel | portable | cell phone |
| oui | oui | yes |
| travail | travail | to work |
Swiss Italian
Of Switzerland’s population, around 7.8% speak Italian. Swiss Italian is largely the same as the Italian spoken officially in Italy, with the only differences being in some localized, lexical influences from the French and German spoken in Switzerland. This helps the Italian-speaking Swiss to seamlessly understand the official Italian language.
Differences between Swiss Italian and Italy’s Italian
Much like an American recognizing a British native by their accent, an Italian native can often only tell the difference between the two by their accent differences.
Speakers of Swiss Italian tend to place stress differently on multisyllabic words, leading to a more even rhythmic intonation compared to the sing-song quality of Standard Italian accents.
Swiss Italian vocabulary compared to Standard Italian
Vocabulary differences between Swiss Italian and Standard Italian are few and far between, with most lexical divergence being rooted in administrative terms borrowed from French and German:
| Swiss Italian | Standard Italian | English Translation |
| autostrada | autostrada | motorway |
| contravvenzione | multa | parking ticket |
| licenze di condurre | patente di guida | driver’s license |
| maturità | diploma | diploma |
| natel | cellulare | cell phone |
| velo | bicicletta | bicycle |
Romansh
According to National Geographic, the Swiss census counts around 60,000 people as speaking this language today, all of whom almost exclusively call the canton of Graubünden home.
However, the number of people who speak Romansh in Switzerland amounts to only around 0.5% of the population.
What exactly is Romansh?
Romansh, also known as Rhaeto-Romansh, is a descendant of Latin and is an official language of Switzerland despite only being spoken by half a percent of the population.
There are five recognized varieties of Romansh:
- Sursilvan
- Sutsilvan
- Surmiran
- Puter
- Vallader
In contrast to the other official languages of Switzerland, Romansh is almost entirely spoken only in Switzerland. That means you wouldn’t call this language “Swiss Romansh,” but rather just “Romansh.”
Beginning vocabulary in Romansh
Though not a wide-spread language, Romansh is kept alive today by the people of Graubünden as a piece of cultural history. Learn some starter words in Romansh from the chart below:
| Romansh Term | Pronunciation | English Translation |
| allergra | al-LEH-gra | hello |
| aua | AH-oo-ah | water |
| bun di | boon dee | good day |
| chasa | KHAH-sa | house |
| gea | GAY-ah | yes |
| gratias | GRAH-tee-as | thank you |
| lavur | lah-VOOR | to work |
| na | nah | no |
| paun | pah-oon | bread |
| per plaschair | per PLAS-shair | please |
Other minority languages spoken in Switzerland
In addition to Switzerland’s four officially recognized languages, there are a number of other commonly spoken languages due, in large part, to immigrant communities.
- English
- Portuguese
- Albanian
- Spanish
- Serbian
- Croatian
The most frequently spoken non-national languages are English, Portuguese, and Albanian.
English
English is the most commonly spoken foreign language in Switzerland with an estimated 6.1% of the overall population of Switzerland speaking the language.
It is also growing in significance as it is used more and more often in business and to bridge the gap between speakers of the national languages.
Portuguese
Portuguese is another frequently spoken foreign language with 3.4% of the Swiss population speaking the language.
Albanian
According to Swiss federal authorities, Albanian language speakers also make up 3.4% of the population.
How long does it take to learn the Swiss dialects?
Interested in speaking with a Swiss in their own language? Below are timelines you can use as a rule of thumb to find out how long it would take you to learn a Swiss dialect if you already know the official dialect of each language, and how long they would take you to learn if you’re starting from scratch as an English speaker.
Learning Swiss German
For learners who already speak Standard German, getting familiar with Swiss dialects can still be a challenge given the lack of standardization of the language and that the two dialects are not mutually intelligible. Around two years of intensive study will be needed for you to achieve everyday fluency.
Someone who is brand new to Germanic dialects will need to dedicate significantly more time, since the easier to learn Standard German requires around 828 hours of study to reach proficiency, according to the U.S. Foreign Services Institute.
Time required to learn Swiss French
Given the closeness and similarity between Swiss French and Standard French, it would only take you a matter of a few weeks to get comfortable speaking and writing in Swiss French if you already understand Standard French. Starting from scratch, however, would require closer to the 600-750 classroom hours recommended to speak Standard French.
Swiss Italian fluency timeline
Similar to Swiss French, Swiss Italian is not much different at all from Standard Italian. Beyond the 600-750 classroom hours you’d need to learn Italian from scratch, you’d only need a few more months of study to get used to the German and French loanwords that Swiss Italian incorporates into its dialect.
Learning Romansh
Romansh is a language unique from its surroundings, so learners almost always start from the beginning when picking this language up. You can expect to spend around two years studying Romansh intensively before you reach conversational proficiency that could carry you through a pleasant dinner, for example.
The reason behind Switzerland’s multilingualism
The driving forces behind what languages are spoken in Switzerland are geography, history, and political compromise. Because the nation was stationed at the crossroads between Germanic and Romance Europe, the territory that would one day become modern Switzerland absorbed linguistic influence from many neighboring nations.
Thanks to the surrounding mountain ranges, like the Alps, communities within the country were not only separated from the power of the nations from whom they drew linguistic influences, but were also made distant from each other. This allowed multiple communities within Switzerland to form independently of each other, allowing many languages to develop and flourish within the nation.
Independent Cantons forming multiculturalism
Equally important to the formation of modern multilingualism in Switzerland is the political structure of the nation. The Swiss Confederation was formed as a union of autonomous cantons, which could be thought of like states in America.
Each canton had its own culture and language it wanted to preserve as it integrated into the Confederation. As a political compromise, the government of Switzerland made the four primary languages from the canton’s official languages, setting multiculturalism as a core component of their governance.
Where each official language is spoken in Switzerland
While there’s naturally some overlap in linguistic borders in Switzerland, the preservation of the cultural identities of the cantons within the country creates regions where you can mostly find one native language spoken.
- Swiss German takes the largest slice of Switzerland’s geographic pie with 19 out of 26 total cantons speaking it officially in central and eastern Switzerland.
- The next largest sector, Swiss French, comprises most of western Switzerland which is commonly known as the Romandie region.
- The second smallest language by population, Swiss Italian, can be found spoken in the south east of the nation in a canton called Ticino and some southern valleys of Graubünden.
- Finally, Romansh is only spoken in some parts of the canton called Graubünden in the far east of the nation. It is known, however, that over two-thirds of the population over 15 years of age regularly speak more than one of these languages regardless of their location.
Switzerland languages FAQ
Switzerland is a country of diverse culture and lifestyles with four officially recognized languages. Here are the three most frequently asked questions about languages spoken in Switzerland:
Is English spoken in Switzerland?
Yes, English is the most commonly spoken foreign language in Switzerland, ahead of Portuguese and Albanian. You’re more likely to find proficient English speakers in major cities like Zurich than you are in the countryside, however.
It is estimated that around only 6.1% of the overall population of Switzerland speak English, so a trip there might warrant a bit of study of their native languages to ensure consistent communication.
Are Swiss more German or Italian?
According to Swiss federal authorities, around 61.8% of Swiss speak either German or Swiss German as their first language. Compared to only 7.8% of the population speaking Italian, it’s clear that the Swiss are, as a whole, much more culturally German than they are Italian.
Given the multilingualism and multiculturalism inherent to the identity of Switzerland, however, there are many Swiss who speak both Swiss German and Swiss Italian.
What is ‘hello’ in Swiss?
Given the four official languages spoken in Switzerland, there isn’t one set way that the Swiss say “hello.” The most prevalent way to say “hello” in Switzerland is the Swiss German grüezi (greetings) or hallo (hello).
Otherwise, you can expect to be greeted with a bonjour (good day) in Swiss French regions, ciao (hello) from Swiss Italians, and allegra (hello) from the Romansh-speaking natives.
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