Classroom lesson · Switzerland's four languages · 🇨🇭 Switzerland

Switzerland's four languages

One country, four official languages - on the same coin

What is it?

Switzerland is one of the very few countries in the world with four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Different parts of the country speak different ones. Most Swiss children learn at least two of them at school, and many learn three.

Tell me more

About two-thirds of Swiss people speak Swiss German (a special version of German that even Germans find tricky). Around one in five people speak French - mostly in the west, near the border with France. About one in fifteen speak Italian, mostly in the sunny south near the Italian border. And a tiny number, about 1 in 200, speak Romansh, an ancient language found only in the mountain valleys of one region called Graubünden.

All four languages appear on Swiss money and on official documents. The country's official name has four versions: 'Schweiz' in German, 'Suisse' in French, 'Svizzera' in Italian and 'Svizra' in Romansh. To avoid arguments about which one to use, the country also has a fifth, Latin name on its coins and stamps: 'Helvetia'.

Switzerland's car number plates have 'CH' on them, which stands for 'Confoederatio Helvetica' (Helvetic Confederation in Latin). That way, no one has to pick a favourite language. The football team's shirts also say 'Helvetia' for the same reason.

Most Swiss children study a second national language from primary school onwards. A child in Zurich (German-speaking) might be learning French at age 8. A child in Geneva (French-speaking) might be learning German. By the time they leave school, many Swiss young people can chat with classmates from any part of their country.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01What might it feel like to live in a country where each region speaks a different language?
  2. 02Why might Switzerland have decided to use Latin (Helvetia) for some official things instead of choosing one of the four languages?
  3. 03How could learning the language of your neighbours change the way you get on with them?
Try this

Classroom activity

Learn the Swiss greetings together as a class: 'Grüezi' (Swiss German), 'Bonjour' (French), 'Buongiorno' (Italian) and 'Allegra' (Romansh). Practise saying each one in pairs. Make a poster for the classroom with all four greetings on it.