Editing Switzerland (section)

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Switzerland}}
[[File:Karte Schweizer Sprachgebiete 2017.png|thumb|National languages in Switzerland (2016):<ref name="LangStat">{{Cite news |date=28 March 2018 |title=Sprachen / Lingue / Lingue |url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/sprachen.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114204354/https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/sprachen.html |archive-date=14 November 2018 |access-date=5 December 2018 |publisher=Swiss Federal Statistical Office FSO |language=de, fr, it |type=official site |location=Neuchâtel, Switzerland |last1=Statistik |first1=Bundesamt für }}</ref>
{{legend|#f7c5b4|German (62.8%)}}
{{legend|#d9d4e9|French (22.9%)}}
{{legend|#b6ddc7|Italian (8.2%)}}
{{legend|#fffcc8|[[Romansh language|Romansh]] (0.5%)}}]]

Switzerland has four [[national language]]s: mainly German (spoken natively by 62.8% of the population in 2016); French (22.9%) spoken natively in the west; and Italian (8.2%) spoken natively in the south.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 January 2018 |title=CC 101 Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999, Art. 4 National languages |url=https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html#a4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621000507/https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html#a4 |archive-date=21 June 2016 |access-date=5 December 2018 |publisher=The federal Council |type=official site |location=Bern, Switzerland}}</ref><ref name="LangStat" /> The fourth national language, [[Romansh language|Romansh]] (0.5%), is a [[Romance languages|Romance language]] spoken locally in the southeastern trilingual [[canton of Grisons]], and is designated by Article 4 of the Federal Constitution as a national language along with German, French, and Italian. In Article 70 it is mentioned as an official language if the authorities communicate with persons who speak Romansh. However, federal laws and other official acts do not need to be decreed in Romansh.

In 2016, the languages most spoken at home among permanent residents aged 15 and older were [[Swiss German]] (59.4%), French (23.5%), [[Standard German]] (10.6%), and Italian (8.5%). Other languages spoken at home included English (5.0%), [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] (3.8%), [[Albanian language|Albanian]] (3.0%), Spanish (2.6%) and [[Serbo-Croatian|Serbian and Croatian]] (2.5%). 6.9% reported speaking another language at home.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 March 2018 |title=Die am häufigsten üblicherweise zu Hause gesprochenen Sprachen der ständigen Wohnbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren – 2012–2014, 2013–2015, 2014–2016 |url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/kataloge-datenbanken/tabellen.assetdetail.4842942.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202070614/https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/kataloge-datenbanken/tabellen.assetdetail.4842942.html |archive-date=2 December 2018 |access-date=5 December 2018 |publisher=Swiss Federal Statistical Office FSO |language=de, fr, it |type=official site |format=XLS |location=Neuchâtel, Switzerland}}</ref> In 2014 almost two-thirds (64.4%) of the permanent resident population indicated speaking more than one language regularly.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 October 2016 |title=Personen nach Anzahl Sprachen, die sie regelmässig verwenden – 2014 |url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/sprachen.assetdetail.1902120.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202070626/https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/sprachen.assetdetail.1902120.html |archive-date=2 December 2018 |access-date=5 December 2018 |publisher=Swiss Federal Statistical Office FSO |language=de, fr, it |type=official site |location=Neuchâtel, Switzerland}}</ref>

The federal government is obliged to communicate in the official languages, and in the federal parliament simultaneous translation is provided from and into German, French and Italian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Parliamentary Services |url=http://www.parlament.ch/e/service-presse/parlamentsdienste/aufgaben/Pages/default.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113234418/http://www.parlament.ch/e/service-presse/parlamentsdienste/aufgaben/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=13 November 2009 |access-date=29 July 2015 |publisher=The Federal Assembly |location=Bern, Switzerland}}</ref>

Aside from the official forms of their respective languages, the four linguistic regions of Switzerland also have local dialectal forms. The role played by dialects in each linguistic region varies dramatically: in German-speaking regions, [[Swiss German]] dialects have become more prevalent since the second half of the 20th century, especially in the media, and are used as an everyday language for many, while the [[Swiss Standard German|Swiss variety of Standard German]] is almost always used instead of dialect for written communication (cf. [[Diglossia|diglossic usage of a language]]).<ref name="dialhls">{{Cite web |title=Dialekte |url=http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D24595.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613092220/http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D24595.php |archive-date=13 June 2015 |access-date=31 July 2015 |publisher=Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz |language=de |location=Bern, Switzerland}}</ref> Conversely, in the French-speaking regions, local [[Franco-Provençal]] dialects have almost disappeared (only 6.3% of the population of Valais, 3.9% of Fribourg, and 3.1% of Jura still spoke dialects at the end of the 20th century), while in the Italian-speaking regions, the use of [[Lombard language|Lombard]] dialects is mostly limited to family settings and casual conversation.<ref name="dialhls" />

The principal official languages have terms not used outside of Switzerland, known as [[Helvetism]]s. German Helvetisms are, roughly speaking, a large group of words typical of [[Swiss Standard German]] that do not appear in [[Standard German]], nor in other German dialects. These include terms from Switzerland's surrounding language cultures (German ''Billett''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Billette Schweiz. |url=http://www.sbb.ch/abos-billette/billette-schweiz.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704011118/https://www.sbb.ch/abos-billette/billette-schweiz.html |archive-date=4 July 2015 |access-date=31 July 2015 |publisher=SBB CFF FFS Swiss Federal Railways |language=de |location=Bern, Switzerland}}</ref> from French), from similar terms in another language (Italian ''azione'' used not only as ''act'' but also as ''discount'' from German ''Aktion'').<ref name="CHDuden">{{Cite book |url=http://www.duden.de/presse/weder-fisch-noch-vogel |title=Duden Schweizerhochdeutsch |publisher=Bibliographisches Institut GmbH |year=2012 |isbn=978-3-411-70417-0 |location=Berlin, Germany |language=de |access-date=31 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121000102/http://www.duden.de/presse/weder-fisch-noch-vogel |archive-date=21 January 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Swiss French]], while generally close to the French of France, also contains some Helvetisms. The most frequent characteristics of Helvetisms are in vocabulary, phrases, and pronunciation, although certain Helvetisms denote themselves as special in syntax and [[orthography]]. [[Duden]], the comprehensive German dictionary, contains about 3000 Helvetisms.<ref name="CHDuden" /> Current French dictionaries, such as the [[Petit Larousse]], include several hundred Helvetisms; notably, Swiss French uses different terms than that of France for the numbers 70 (''septante'') and 90 (''nonante'') and often 80 (''huitante'') as well.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clyne |first=Michael G. |url={{GBurl|id=wawGFWNuHiwC|p=164}} |title=Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1992 |isbn=978-3-11-012855-0 |location=Berlin, Germany |pages=164–165 |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref>

Learning one of the other national languages is compulsory for all Swiss pupils, hence many Swiss are supposed to be at least [[Multilingualism|bilingual]], especially those belonging to linguistic minority groups.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Multilingualism |url=http://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/gesellschaft/sprachen/mehrsprachigkeit.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904015059/https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/gesellschaft/sprachen/mehrsprachigkeit.html |archive-date=4 September 2015 |access-date=31 July 2015 |publisher=Presence Switzerland, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA, The Federal Administration |location=Bern, Switzerland}}</ref> Because the largest part of Switzerland is German-speaking, many French, Italian, and Romansh speakers migrating to the rest of Switzerland and the children of those non-German-speaking Swiss born within the rest of Switzerland speak German. While learning one of the other national languages at school is important, most Swiss learn English to communicate with Swiss speakers of other languages, as it is perceived as a neutral means of communication. English often functions as the de facto [[lingua franca]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stephens |first=Thomas |date=4 April 2021 |title=English as a common language in Switzerland: a positive or a problem? |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/english-as-a-common-language-in-switzerland--a-positive-or-a-problem-/46494332 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412050626/https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/english-as-a-common-language-in-switzerland--a-positive-or-a-problem-/46494332 |archive-date=12 April 2023 |access-date=8 February 2023 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |language=en}}</ref>