Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. English, though not an official language, is often used to bridge the divides, and a significant proportion of official documentation is available in English.
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Switzerland is made up of four different linguistic areas, namely a German-speaking part, a French-speaking part, an Italian-speaking part and a Romansh-speaking part. Three cantons (Bern, Fribourg andValais) and two cities (Biel/Bienne and Fribourg) are officially bilingual. Graubünden is the only officially trilingual canton.
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Switzerland’s four languages
This content was published on In Switzerland, over two-thirds of the population aged 15 or over in Switzerland regularly use more than one language.
Read more: Switzerland’s four languagesAccording to the Federal Law on National Languages, the official languages of Switzerland are German, French and Italian, as well as Romansh in dealings with people who speak this language. Romansh is a Rhaeto-Romance languagewith Latin roots and is widely spoken in the canton of Graubünden.
The most notable linguistic fact about German-speaking Switzerland is the use of dialect for spoken communication and standard German for written communication. This makes the task of language-learning in German-speaking areas more challenging for foreigners. Complicating matters further, there is not just one Swiss German dialect but several, which can differ significantly from one canton to the next.
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English as a common language in Switzerland: a positive or a problem?
This content was published on It’s not unusual to hear Swiss people from different parts of the country chatting away in English. But what does it mean for national identity?
Read more: English as a common language in Switzerland: a positive or a problem?Over 60% of the population speaks German (both standard German and Swiss German) as their main language, while over 20% speaks French, around 8% Italian and under 1% Romansh. Over 20% of residents have another language as their mother tongue, primarily English, Portuguese and Albanian.
Proportionately, the number of speakers of French and non-national languages is increasing, to the detriment of German, Italian and Romansh. Swiss German is the most widely spoken language at the workplace, followed by standard German, French, English and Italian.
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French flourishes in Switzerland
This content was published on While French is spoken more and more, fewer and fewer Swiss speak German regularly. The main reason for this is migration.
Read more: French flourishes in SwitzerlandAbility to speak a national language remains important for integration. Language courses, from weekly classes to intensive courses, are widely available in every region. Prices and methods vary, so it is worth shopping around.
For more information on multilingualism in Switzerland, see:
– official languages and their dialects on the website of the foreign ministryExternal link.
– statistics on languages spoken on the website of the Federal Statistical OfficeExternal link.
– Federal Law on National LanguagesExternal link
– Forum HelveticumExternal link, a resource centre promoting cultural and linguistic understanding between the different regions of Switzerland.
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The Swiss become even more multilingual
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Swiss researcher finds new ways to discover dialects
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Romansh-speakers call for more government support
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Has migration changed the Swiss language map?
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How many Swiss regularly use at least four languages?
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Reports of death of minority language greatly exaggerated
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Making sense of the language confusion
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Learning to speak Swiss
This content was published on The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) issued its final report on language and language competence in Switzerland, the fruit of five years’ work, under the provocative English title “Do You Speak Swiss?” It looks at the complex situation in Switzerland, which has four national languages – German, French, Italian and Romansh – protected by the…
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Breathing new life into an old language
This content was published on The participants had come to the small western Swiss town from France and Italy as well as Switzerland – places where they speak, or used to speak, the language commonly known as patois. The stalls in the hall where they met were selling CDs of songs in patois, patois dictionaries and books about patois –…
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