The entertaining audio and visual tour explores the historical and cultural development of Switzerland’s national languages and dialects.
Historical events have had a major impact on the development of language, the National Museum wrote on Thursday. During the Reformation, for example, the Alemannic figurehead Ulrich Zwingli translated and published the Bible in “Landspraach”, a written language close to the German spoken in the Zurich region. In what is now western Switzerland, the Reformers did not speak the regional dialect, but the French of the middle class in northern France.
Several centuries later, the regional dialects of French-speaking Switzerland have all but disappeared, while Swiss German dominates everyday life across the River Sarine and in the Upper Valais. Several factors explain these developments: repression, prohibition, romanticisation, delimitation and mythification.
Even today, language remains a political and emotional issue, from the Rösti Divide to the Jura Question, from language teaching to the language of young people.
On an audio tour scripted by the Vaud-based humourist and political scientist Vincent Kucholl, visitors to the exhibition will discover explanations, details of objects, recordings and audio tracks taken from videos.
Two fictional characters, a tourist guide (dubbed by presenter Vincent Veillon in the French version) and his companion Beat (played by Vincent Kucholl), present the content of the exhibition through entertaining dialogue.
The floor is also given to people living in Switzerland whose mother tongue is not a national language, but Albanian, Arabic, Portuguese or sign language. These different perspectives show that language can be a resource as well as an obstacle and is sometimes ignored.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Climate solutions
Switzerland turns train tracks into solar power plants
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
US says Switzerland at ‘front of queue’ for trade deal
This content was published on
Switzerland's good offices between the US and China appear to have been positive for its own trade deal talks with the US.
Zurich council insists on Bührle art collection provenance research
This content was published on
The Zurich Cantonal Council has insisted that the Zurich Art Society and the Bührle Foundation clarify the provenance of all paintings.
Kosovo President to make first state visit to Switzerland
This content was published on
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani Sadriu is coming to Switzerland on a state visit at the invitation of the federal government.
Basel authorities clarify threatening gestures against Israel at Eurovision
This content was published on
The Basel cantonal police are investigating the alleged threatening behaviour of an anti-Israel demonstrator at the Eurovision parade.
Swiss army tests weapons systems for long-range defence
This content was published on
The Swiss army is examining the acquisition of weapons systems and ammunition to defend the country's borders over longer distances.
Trump’s promise to lower drug prices rattles Swiss pharma stocks
This content was published on
US President Trump wants to make medicines cheaper in the US, which could mean huge losses for drugmakers, including those in Switzerland.
Trial opens in Switzerland for murder case of school caretaker
This content was published on
The trial of a man who allegedly killed a 41-year-old man with three shots in the Maggia Valley in May 2023 begins on Monday.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.