THE EXPAT BLOG
SWISS GERMAN,
FRENCH, ITALIAN OR ROMANSH?
(click on the red links in the text to read the expat blogs)
Learning the Language is often the biggest and most difficult hurdle an expat
faces when they move to a new country. And in a country that has 4 official languages,
this is sometimes 4 times as hard. Let's hear what all of our favorite expats
have said about diving in and learning how to communicate with the locals.
Christine on Expatica.com reveals that Swiss German is
not actually a dialect of German, but a spoken language with similar vocabulary
and grammar. She goes
on to talk a little bit about the differences in
the two along with some tips for learning German and Swiss German. Note:
it's
trendy to text in Swiss German.
Kathy, in Zurich agonizes over whether she should
learn High
German, or Swiss German or both?
Just to get you started, though, try Jess's tips on Swiss
German greetings.
What about the French side? Do they have a special Swiss French? FYI, if you
didn't already know, it's pretty
much the same.
Princess Cat's Pajamas, in Geneva, explains that even
if you know French pretty well, you can't help but resort
to English sometimes.
Jessica, in Geneva, gives a little bit of French
slang.
And Italian? Ok, so it's not an expat in the Italian part of Switzerland. But
Jennifer in Italy talks about her love
affair with the Italian language and the process of learning the language.
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| XIAOLU ZHANG Born: Changchun, China, 1979 Family: Husband Peter, son Julian (2) Occupation: Researcher, Universität Luzern |
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Characteristics:One would think an expat blog
is what it is by virtue of the writer being abroad (and by abroad, I
mean away from one's home
country), but it isn't so.
An expat blog requires some exposition on "Why
do the citizens of (current country) do things this way when we do it
this way in (home country)?" or "This is how I managed to do
this traditionally simple thing that has turned out to be a huge pain
in the butt because I live in (current country).
This kind of blog is
fantastic to:
1) scope out the gossip on a new location if you're moving
there soon, or thinking about it,
2) network with other expats, and
3) get ideas on places to go once there.
In fact, that is my favorite thing
about expat blogs, especially ones about Switzerland: just getting some
ideas about how to explore a country that is normally a little intimidating.
Oh, and the lovely pictures throughout.