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Language summit attracts 70 countries representing 200 million French-speakers worldwide

Although Switzerland has a German-speaking majority, a French-language summit in Montreux is significant for the whole of the country, says Micheline Calmy, the Swiss foreign minister. A brief history of this international club of French-speaking countries. RSR-swissinfo.ch

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En garde! French language faces substitution

This content was published on In practice, however, English has become essential. Ahead of the summit of French-speaking nations, held in Montreux in October, swissinfo.ch looks at whether this is welcome pragmatism or a regrettable lack of diversity. Since the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, a prominent French-speaker has been assigned to observe the role of French during the Olympic…

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Time takes its toll on old Swiss language

This content was published on They used dialects of the language group now known as Franco-Provençal, which today have all but disappeared. Scholars are working against the clock to gather information about them, while enthusiasts are doing their best to keep the flame alive. Traditionally there has been something of the idea that these dialects, commonly referred to as patois,…

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Foreigners helped to speak the same language

This content was published on But help is at hand in the form of an innovative language learning aid produced by Fribourg University. Hapless foreigners can not only learn to understand what is going on, but can have fun doing so. They may at first be baffled even by the name of the course: “Chunsch druus?” is a way of…

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR