Two out of three people in Switzerland use more than one language daily

In addition to the national languages, English is used most frequently. Keystone-SDA

Two out of three people in Switzerland regularly use several languages in their everyday lives. These are often the national languages. The most-widely spoken non-national language is English.

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Most multilingual people live in French-speaking Switzerland, namely 66%, the Federal Statistical Office revealed on Thursday. And younger people use several languages at work, in the family or on the internet more often than do older people.

Multilingual families

Among those surveyed, 81% of 15 to 24-year-olds use several languages, compared to just 38% of people aged 65 and over. For some, multilingualism starts at an early age: 38% of children and young people under the age of 15 hear at least two languages at home. Around one in five children speak several languages with their parents.

In addition to the national languages, English is used most frequently. In German-speaking regions, more people use English rather than French, while in French-speaking Switzerland, people speak English more often than German. According to the Statistical Office, a good half of 15 to 64-year-olds rate their own active knowledge of English as good or very good.

Spanish and Portuguese are particularly widespread in French-speaking Switzerland. Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian, on the other hand, are spoken more in German-speaking Switzerland.

Around a quarter learn languages

Nearly a quarter of the population aged 25 and over learn one or more languages. English, German and French are learnt or improved most frequently. In the case of German and French, this is mainly for professional reasons. In contrast, people tend to want to learn English for holidays and travelling.

+ What are Switzerland’s four national languages?

According to the survey, French is mainly learnt at school. German, on the other hand, is mainly learnt at work or in language courses.

Translated from German with DeepL/gw

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