Switzerland is a small but incredibly beautiful country located at the foot of the Alps. Here they carefully preserve traditions and honor the cultural characteristics of ethnic groups, of which there are many on the territory of the country. It is thanks to the ethnic diversity in the register of the state languages of Switzerland there are not two or three, as in many countries, but as many as 4 languages.
Switzerland is a small but incredibly beautiful country located at the foot of the Alps. Despite its not too impressive size and poverty in natural resources, it is rightfully considered the record holder in terms of production. This state is known all over the world as a synonym for quality and reliability. It is in Switzerland that the powerful of this world keep their savings, all the mechanics of the planet envy the accuracy of Swiss watches. The most demanding gourmets are delighted with chocolate and the special taste of Swiss cheese. Popular all over the world health resorts are located here, and the quality of service and health care has also become the talk of the town. The architecture of Switzerland is also a separate topic for conversation. Completely toy houses and castles, as if descended from illustrations to fairy tales, beckon to touch their secret.
Descendants of the Alemans
This beautiful country has two more features. First, little Switzerland has four influential neighbors - France, Germany, Italy and Austria. And one tiny but proud Liechtenstein. And secondly, there are four official state languages. Most of the inhabitants speak Alemannic (one of the dialects of the German language). Almost a third of the population speaks French, mainly living in the cantons (provinces) bordering France. Another part of the Swiss prefers the melody of the Italian language. The official languages also include Romansh, a completely unique language that is actually a mixture of Latin, French and Italian. It is only spoken by people living in the alpine province of Gribünden. Given the reverent attitude of the Swiss towards small ethnic groups, it is believed that Romansh became one of the official languages for this very reason.
Political neighborhood
If you look at the political map of the world, the reason for such an abundance of state languages becomes immediately clear. According to historical chronicles in the distant past, Switzerland was literally torn apart by foreign invaders. In the North and in the East of the country, the Germans dominated, respectively, here and speak German. From the side of France, there are French cantons, but in the south, in the mountainous provinces, there are speakers of Italian and Romansh. These conventional boundaries are carefully guarded. Unfortunately, not all Swiss speak four languages. As a rule, they speak two - the native language of their province and English. Despite the linguistic and religious differences of the main ethnic groups, Switzerland's strength lies in the unity and friendship of peoples. This national unity is a source of pride and a good example to follow.
