What language would I learn on an extended visit to Switzerland?

Question

Predominant language is Swiss-German, next French, followed by Italian, and the older Romanesch.

Answer 1

In my experience, none. (I've lived in Switzerland six years.)

But yeah, if you want to, I think French is the easiest to learn in Switzerland, because the French speakers tend less to want to speak English than the German speakers, and they speak pretty much the same French you will learn in class and see on tv. The main French places are Geneva and Lausanne, plus all along Lake Geneva and along the French border (Jura, Neuchatel), including Basel a bit. And then up in the mountains of Valais until about Sion.

Italian is probably the same story as French, in terms of speakers preferring not to speak English and the language being relatively standard, but the Italian part of Switerland is fairly small. It is stunning though. I like Locarno in particular. There are also lots of Italian speakers (mostly Italians, not Swiss) in Zurich and Geneva.

German is a whole other story. Swiss-German, which is what the natives speak, is very different from standard German. But if you take classes, they will almost certainly be in standard German, and if you learn to read and write, that will have to be. And, a lot of Swiss-Germans would rather speak English than standard German. So if you move to Zurich Basel, Bern or St. Gallen, you might learn some German, but you'd have to go out of your way to learn a lot.

Romansch is only spoken by 10000 or so people, and they're pretty much all bilingual or trilingual, so I think it's unlikely you'd just pick it up. But I think if you go to the Engadin you will find someone to teach it to you, and likely plenty of people who'd be happy to let you practice on them.

Answer 2

I would pick German. Most of the French Swiss will know a bit of High German (the same as people in Germany speak and the same as you would learn) and essentally all of the Swiss Germans too.

It is often said that some Swiss German speakers may prefer to speak English, but there are many that do not speak English and then German is the best choice. I haven't actually come across many Swiss who have switched to English because they prefer the language - usually it's because my German is sub-standard. (Might be different when they deal with native German speakers).

That said, if you think French might be a better language for you to know AFTER you've been in Switzerland, it could be an option. But the German speaking population is three times bigger than the French speaking one, so it is generally more useful here. Reading menus, signs etc...

When I go to the Italian parts, I usually just speak German there too.

Answer 3

Well, I don't live in Switzerland, but we had an exchange student from there, and I have a co-worker who was married to a Swiss woman. Switzerland has the strictest immigration laws on earth. It is incredibly difficult, practically impossible, to immigrate there. My co-worker married a Swiss woman, had 2 kids with her, and then they got a divorce. He as immediately informed that he had 60 days to leave the country. He said, "what? I want to be near my daughters." No citizenship. No longer married to a Swiss citizen. No way he could stay. It is really bad for him because he rarely gets to see his kids. Having said all that, if this is your dream, see what you can do to make it happen. Very rarely, they do allow in outsiders, to work, when they can prove that no one in the country is capable of doing the work. So get a highly specialized job that is in demand in Switzerland. Frankly, you may be allowed to stay there while you are working, or if you marry someone from there, as long as you are married, but getting citizenship is practically unheard of. Zurich is beautiful, though an expensive place to live. Frankly I was much more enchanted by some of the more rural areas, like Lucern. Most Swiss speak English. There are 4 offical languages in Switzerland - German, French, Italian and Romanish (similar to Italian, only spoken there). The part of Switzerland near Germany (like Zurich) speaks German (though a dialect). The part near France, speaks French. The part near Italy speaks Italian. If you want to live in the Zurich area, learning German would be very useful. Something to consider - it might be easier say to move to Germany, and live near the border and just go to Switzerland on a frequent basis, as a visitor.

Answer 4

I would say German. In Northern, Central and Eastern Switzerland it is the main language. Ignore Rumantsch. It is spoken only in the region Grischun/Graubünden. I'm often there: When they are alone, they speak Rumantsch. When a stranger asks them something, they speak perfectly German. When tourists are near them, they speak only German to each other. If you speak Rumantsch to them, they recognize you are a stranger and say to you that they can't speak one word in Rumantsch. Very interesting people:)
The main places of Switzerland are all in the German speaking regions: Zürich, Basel, Bern, the lakes. And in Geneva or Neûchatel, German is also widely spread.
I recommend you not to learn any kind of dialects. Everybody knows, that Swiss have a nice dialect, but a terrible one. Usually they speak (kind of a) proper German, too.

So then, have fun with learning German!

Answer 5

It all depends on where you go. I haven't studied Switzerland for a while, but from what I remember, the North is more German, being next to Germany, the South is more Italian, being next to Italy, and the West is more French.

Answer 6

If it where me, i would chose German since it will open more doors for you in the future.