When you’re visiting Switzerland, you may find yourself wondering what language is spoken there? The answer to this question is that while the country has four official languages, one of them is a particularly common one used by most Swiss people.
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The Official Languages of Switzerland:
Switzerland is a multilingual country, with four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Let’s have look at them a bit closer.
German
German is spoken mostly in Central and Eastern Switzerland, with a total of 65.5% of the population speaking it. Swiss German is a variant of standard German, with the biggest difference being additional phonemes – and yes, this means that Swiss people make it sometimes impossible for German-speakers from other countries to understand them (unless they’re fluent in Swiss German or extremely patient to decipher it!).
French
This language is mostly used in the western Switzerland and around 22% of the population is talking it. French dialects vary a lot, with up to 16 different dialects all depending on the region. Make sure you listen closely and pick up on details when you’re talking to Swiss people in French!
Italian
Italian is spoken primarily in the Swiss-Italian area, and only 8% of the Swiss population here speaks it. The Ligurian dialect of Italian is the most common one in Switzerland, and even though this is the closest dialect to the Italian you may learn at school, tread lightly, as Swiss Italian , like Swiss German, has its own particularities.
Romansh
And last but not least, Romansh is spoken by about 0.5% of the population, mostly in Graubünden and parts of other cantons. It’s the last remnant of the original languages of Switzerland and the only one that isn’t from the Indo-European linguistic group.
What Language is Mostly Spoken in Switzerland?
So with four official languages, you’ll more than likely encounter at least one of them while you’re in Switzerland. However, one of them stands out as the most widely spoken, and if you know it, you’ll be able to communicate with most Swiss people – and not just the ones located around the language’s area of influence.
We’re of course talking about Swiss German – which has an additional benefit of being a mix of dialects from Austro-Bavarian, Alemannic and even Swiss Italian! Swiss German is spoken by almost the entire country, so if you want to make sure you’re communicating with most Swiss people, then you should definitely learn Swiss German.
But don’t worry, if you’re not a fan of Swiss German – or just don’t have the time to learn it – English is also widely spoken and English-speakers (yes, including Americans) can easily find their way around most parts of Switzerland.
So in conclusion, when you’re in Switzerland, you’ll definitely find that Swiss people speak Swiss German – but that doesn’t mean you have to learn it. As you’ll find, English is also pretty widely used, so you should be able to find your way around most parts of the country. Just be sure to greet people politely in whichever language you choose to use, as politeness is a big part of Swiss culture!