Not to be confused with Swiss migration to France or Swiss French people.
Swiss French
French of Switzerland
français de Suisse(French)
Native to
Romandy, Switzerland
Native speakers
2.1 million in Romandy (2020)[1]
Language family
Indo-European
Italic
Latino-Faliscan
Romance
Italo-Western
Western Romance
Gallo-Romance
Oïl
French
Swiss French
Early forms
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Italic
Old Latin
Vulgar Latin
Proto-Romance
Gallo-Romance languages
Old French
Middle French
Writing system
Latin (French alphabet) French Braille
Language codes
ISO 639-3
–
Linguasphere
51-AAA-if
IETF
fr-CH
The French-speaking part of Switzerland is shown in green on this map.Map of the Franco-Provençal area, historical language spoken in Romandy, with place names in arpitan and historic political divisions.
Swiss French (French: français de Suisse or suisse romand) is the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, the others being German, Italian, and Romansch. In 2020 around 2 million people, or 22.8% of the population, in Switzerland spoke French as their primary language, and 28% of the population used French most often at work.[1]
Clara, a speaker of Swiss French
The French spoken in Switzerland is very similar to that of France or Belgium. The differences between the French of Switzerland and of France are mostly lexical, influenced by local substrate languages. This contrasts with the differences between Standard German and Swiss German, which are largely mutually unintelligible.
Swiss French is characterized by some terms adopted from Arpitan, which was formerly spoken widely across the alpine communities of Romandy, but has far fewer speakers today. In addition, some expressions have been borrowed from both Swiss and Standard German. Although a standard form of French is taught in schools and used in the government, the media and business, there is no uniform vernacular form of French among the different cantons of Switzerland. For example, some German terms in regions bordering German-speaking communities are completely unused in the area around Geneva, a city by France's border with Switzerland.[2]
^ ab"Languages". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
^"L'aire de diffusion de l'arpitan, en France, en Italie et en Suisse". NotreHistoire.ch (in French). Archived from the original on 2013-07-23.
SwissFrench (French: français de Suisse or suisse romand) is the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy...
Romandy (French: Romandie or Suisse romande; Arpitan: Romandia) is the French-speaking historical and cultural region part of Switzerland. In 2020, about...
independent Old Swiss Confederacy collapsed from the invasion and simultaneous internal revolts called the "Helvetic Revolution". The Swiss ancien régime...
Confederation (Switzerland) regardless of ethno-cultural background or people of self-identified Swiss ancestry. The number of Swiss nationals has grown...
The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. German, French, and Italian maintain equal status as official languages...
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France...
The Swiss franc , or simply the franc (Swiss German: franken; French: franc; Italian: franco; Romansh: franc), is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland...
long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper ("folded Jura", Faltenjura) is located in France and Switzerland, the range continues...
and Linux, only SwissFrench and Swiss German are available, and on iPadOS, the only layout for Switzerland is Swiss German. As Swiss German does not...
the French regiments of the Royal Guard. In 1616, Louis XIII of France gave an existing regiment of Swiss infantry the name of Gardes suisses (Swiss Guards)...
re-established Swiss independence and the European powers agreed to permanently recognise Swiss neutrality. At this time, the territory of Switzerland was increased...
associated with Standard French. It is now seen as a variety of French alongside Acadian French, Belgian French, Quebec French, SwissFrench, etc. In Paris, nasal...
tire sur la foule" [Geneva, 9 November 1932 The Swiss army fires on the crowd]. Le Temps (in SwissFrench). Retrieved 28 August 2023. "Une tragédie à Zurich"...
such as Meridional French. In Europe outside France there are Belgian French, SwissFrench, and in Italy Aostan French. In Canada, French is an official language...
Ticino. Languages of Switzerland Italian immigration to Switzerland Italy–Switzerland relations SwissFrenchSwiss German Swiss Standard German Ticinese...
between the Swiss and the French population amongst whom they were garrisoned. On the eve of the French Revolution the log-book of one Swiss regiment expressed...
western Switzerland. Their previous languages have fallen into disuse in favor of the standard French language. They are referred to by Swiss Germans...
(official statistics) (in German, French, and Italian). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Swiss Confederation. 19 September 2019...
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate...
that comprise Swiss German must not be confused with Swiss Standard German, the variety of Standard German used in Switzerland. Swiss Standard German...
Swiss migration to France has resulted in France being home to one of the largest Swiss-born populations outside Switzerland. Migration from the Switzerland...
French). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016. Alfred Lüthi: Aarau in German, French and...
French Sign Language (French: langue des signes française, LSF) is the sign language of the deaf in France and French-speaking parts of Switzerland. According...
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