Swiss perspectives in 10 languages
Login
Life & Aging

Colourful language: how English is invading German

Three pairs of women s pants for sale are arranged on mannequins
Even the correct “new arrival” might annoy pedants – why not just “new”? swissinfo.ch

You’re never far from an English word in Switzerland. What do the Swiss think of this “language creep”? Is there anything that can be done? Will there be “ein Backlash”?

This content was published on

Born in London, Thomas was a journalist at The Independent before moving to Bern in 2005. He speaks all three official Swiss languages and enjoys travelling the country and practising them, above all in pubs, restaurants and gelaterias.

swissinfo.ch

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunesExternal link to ensure that you don’t miss the next one.

​​​​​​​

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.

Read more
Opinion

More

Life as a bilingualism researcher in Switzerland

This content was published on Looking back on my research career which has spanned several countries, and many decades, I realize that Switzerland has had a major influence on it.

Read more: Life as a bilingualism researcher in Switzerland

More

Swinglish spoken here

This content was published on Swiss people can’t leave the house without being bombarded by English – with some words being “Englisher” than others.

Read more: Swinglish spoken here

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

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