Quadrilingual Switzerland and Identity

29 June 2022

The Confederation of thirteen sovereign cantons (1513-1798) was a German-speaking alliance. Fribourg was the only bilingual (French and German) canton. Multilingual Switzerland was a creation of the French occupier in 1798.

The hegemony of German disappeared. The Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) recognised the equality of the Italian, French and German languages. Laws and decrees were published in German, Italian and French. Switzerland was the first trilingual nation-state in Europe.

Die Saane/la Sarine ou le/oder der Röstigraben, Foto/Photo: TES.

Multilingual Switzerland has been an essential asset of the national identity since the Federal Constitution of 1848. It is inextricably linked to solidarity between the cantons and communities.

The idea of a quadrilingual Switzerland, including the Romansh language, came up in the second half of the 19th century. The Romansh movement took shape, and the Lia Rumantscha (the Romansh League) was founded in 1919.

Romansh became an official language on 20 February 1938 after approval in a referendum (92% of citizens and all cantons voted in favour). It was a message to the Italian and German dictators: no support for an Anschluss, Heim ins Reich or Irredentismo.

Today, the main concern is the lack of knowledge of the national languages. Communication is sometimes in English because citizens do not know each other’s languages.

(Bron: J. Ribeaud, La Suisse plurilingue se délingue. Plaidoyer pour les quatres langues suisses,, Neuchâtel 2010).