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The majority of Switzerland? s people live in cities and towns. Bern is the country? s capital. Zurich is Switzerland? s largest city.
Other large Swiss cities include Basel, Geneva, and Lausanne. Language. The Swiss Constitution provides for three official languages and four national languages. The official languages are German, French, and Italian. As a result, Switzerland has three official names?
Schweiz (in German), Suisse (in French), and Svizzera (in Italian). All national laws are published in each of these three languages. The Federal Tribunal, Switzerland? s highest court, must include judges who represent each language group.
The four national languages are the three official ones plus Romansh, which is closely related to Latin. Romansh is spoken only in the mountain valleys of the canton of Graubunden, by about 1 percent of the total Swiss population. About 70 percent of the people speak a form of German that is called Schwyzerdutsch (Swiss German). They live in the northern, eastern, and central parts of Switzerland. Schwyzerdutsch is almost a separate language, and even people who speak German find it hard to understand. The language and its name vary from place to place.
For example, it is called Baseldutsch in Basel and Zuridutsch in Zurich. However, wherever Schwyzerdutsch is spoken, standard German is used in newspapers, books, television and church sermons. French, spoken in western Switzerland, is the language of almost 20 percent of the people. Italian is used by nearly 10 percent of the people, in the south. Both these languages, as spoken by the Swiss, are much like their standard forms in France or Italy. One difficulty, especially for visitors, is that many place names in Switzerland vary by language.
The most complicated example? the city known as Geneva to English-speaking people? is called Get in German, Geneve in French, and Geneva in Italian. English-speaking people know almost all other Swiss cities and towns by their French or German name. Religion.
Switzerland has complete freedom of religion. About half the people are Roman Catholics, and about 45 percent are Protestants. Of the 26 cantons and half-cantons in Switzerland, 15 have a Roman Catholic majority, and 11 are chiefly Protestant. The Protestant Reformation took a special form in Switzerland. Calvinism developed there and spread to France and many other countries during the 1500? s.
As a result, the Protestant movement split into two major camps, Calvinists and Lutherans. Education. Swiss children are required by canton law to go to school, but the age limits vary. In most Cantons, children must attend school from 6 through 14. Instruction is held in the local national language, and each child also has the opportunity to learn one of the other national languages. Students who plan to attend a university may go to one of three kinds of high schools.
These schools specialize in (1) Greek and Latin, (2) modern languages, or (3) mathematics and science. Other students go to trade or technical schools while serving an apprenticeship. An increasing number of people take adult education courses in order to achieve their career goals. Switzerland has seven universities and various other schools of higher learning. The oldest, the University of Basel, was founded in 1460. The University of Zurich, with about 16, 000 students, is the largest.
All universities are public institutions. Their students pay no tuition. Arts. Most Swiss literature has been written in German. Famous books include two children?
s classics, Heidi by Johanna Spy and The Swiss Family Robinson by the Wyss family. Major Swiss authors of the 1800? s were Jeremias Gotthelf, Gottfried Keller, and Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. Carl Spitteler won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1919 foe his epic poetry and other writings. Later writers of the 1900?
s include Max Frisch and Friedrich Durrenmatt, whose plays have been preformed in Many countries. Charles Ferdinand Remus wrote novels in French. Tourism. Since the early 1800?
s, large numbers of tourists have come to Switzerland. Today, more than 11 million tourists visit yearly. Switzerland has thousands of hotels and inns for tourists. Sports centers in the Alps, including Davos and St. Martin, attract many vacationers.
Skiing is especially popular. Most of the ski runs are free of trees because they are higher than the elevation at which trees stop growing. In summer, guides take tourists mountain climbing. Many visitors come for the healthful clear, dry, mountain air, as well as to enjoy the beauty of the Alps. Water sports on Lake Geneva and other lakes are also popular vacation attractions.
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Research essay sample on Cities And Towns Official Languages
