English and other foreign languages on rise in Switzerland
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English and other foreign languages on rise in Switzerland
The proportion of people in Switzerland whose main language is not one of the four national languages – German, French, Italian or Romansh - has risen significantly in recent years, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
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German was the most widely spoken language in Switzerland in 2023, followed by “other languages”, with French in third place, the office said on Monday.
Almost two-thirds (66%) of permanent residents speak German as their main language, while 24% use a non-national language. In German-speaking Switzerland, people speak in dialect but write in standard German.
French is spoken by 23%, followed by Italian (8%) and Romansh (0.5%).
While the percentage of French-speakers has risen over the last five years, German, Italian and Romansh have slipped.
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What language is spoken in Switzerland?
In total, 17% of people in Switzerland speak two or more main languages, 39% do so at work and 44% of children in Switzerland are in contact with several languages at home.
Do you speak English?
Among the non-national languages, English stands out. In 2023, 6% of the permanent resident population said English was their main everyday language, compared with 4% in 2010.
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English as a common language in Switzerland: a positive or a problem?
Meanwhile, 3% said their main language was Portuguese or Albanian, followed by Spanish and Serbian/Croatian (all 2%).
English is also an important language in the workplace. In 2023, 23% of the working population spoke English at work. This was almost as much as French (28%) and well ahead of Italian (8%), according to the statistics office.
Translated from French with DeepL/sb
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