Swiss French
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Swiss French (Template:Langx or Template:Lang) 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.<ref name=speakers>Template:Cite web</ref>
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 most noticeably lexical, influenced by local substrate languages. While substantial phonological differences exist, as the French of Switzerland preserves many distinctions lost elsewhere, the phonetic qualities are often quite close, such as with the existence of long vowels or the distinction between /ɛ̃/ and /œ̃/. 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Phonology
- The nasal vowels are pronounced like in France. Template:IPA → Template:IPA, Template:IPA → Template:IPA, Template:IPA → Template:IPA. Conversely, the nasal vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA are kept separate in much Swiss French speech, where much speech in France has merged them. For example, Template:Lang (stalk) and Template:Lang (brown) are still pronounced differently, like in Quebec and Belgium, unlike in Paris.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite book</ref>
- As in Belgium, the distinction between the vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA is maintained in Switzerland, but they have merged in France. For example, Template:Lang (put) and Template:Lang (master) are still pronounced differently, unlike in France.
- The distinction between mid vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA has also been maintained in final open syllables, as well as that between Template:IPA and Template:IPA. For example, Template:Lang (skin) and Template:Lang (jar) are still pronounced differently, unlike in France and Quebec. For that reason, Template:Lang (entered; past participle of the verb Template:Lang) and Template:Lang (third-person singular of Template:Lang in the imperfect indicative) are differentiated, just like in Standard French.<ref name="auto"/>
- There is a stronger distinction between long and short vowels in Switzerland:
- Long vowels are allowed in open syllables, even at the end of a word: Template:Angbr, Template:Angbr Template:IPA, Template:Angbr Template:IPA, Template:Angbr Template:IPA, Template:Angbr Template:IPA and Template:Angbr Template:IPA. As a result, almost all feminine adjectives are still phonetically distinct from their masculine counterparts, unlike in France and Quebec.<ref name="auto"/>
- Speakers also differentiate masculine from feminine adjectives phonetically, including in final closed syllables, although the spelling only partially bears out this occurrence, e.g. Template:Lang is pronounced Template:IPA, whilst the feminine Template:Lang is pronounced Template:IPA. Other minimal pairs are similarly differentiated, like Template:Lang and Template:Lang (third-person singular in the present indicative of Template:Lang, to lead).<ref name="auto"/>
- The marginal phoneme Template:IPA is usually pronounced Template:IPA, meaning Template:Lang (paws) and Template:Lang (pasta) are differentiated. Similar to the process described above, the circumflex also affects vowel length when used above a vowel, meaning Template:Angbr is pronounced Template:IPA, Template:Angbr as Template:IPA, Template:Angbr as Template:IPA, Template:Angbr as Template:IPA and Template:Angbr Template:IPA.<ref name="auto"/>
Examples of words that differ between Switzerland and France
| Swiss French | Metropolitan French | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| action | promotion | special offer | Germanism, from "Aktion" ("promotional campaign"). |
| adieu<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> | salut | hello/goodbye | In French, "adieu" means "farewell" and is generally never used except in cases where the people concerned will not meet again. In Switzerland it is used as an informal general form of greeting when people meet or leave each other. |
| attique | dernier étage | top floor (attic) | |
| bancomat | Distributeur automatique de billets | ATM | Germanism(?), from Bankomat (Bankautomat) |
| bobet<ref name=":0" /> | crétin (noun) or bête/stupide (adjective) | idiot (noun) or stupid (adjective) | |
| boguet | mobylette | moped | |
| bonnard | sympa or bien | nice | Informal term. |
| bonne-main | pourboire | tip (gratuity) | Literally "good-hand". |
| borne hydrante | bouche d'incendie | fire hydrant | |
| bourbine | suisse-allemand | Swiss-German | This word is considered pejorative. |
| carnotzet | cave à vin/cellier/fumoir | Wine cellar | This expression can sometimes be found in France, in places close to Switzerland. |
| chenis <ref name=":0" /> | désordre | mess | |
| chiquelette | chewing-gum | chewing-gum | |
| collège (Genève, Valais, Fribourg) or gymnase (Vaud) | lycée | high school | |
| crousille | tirelire | piggy bank | |
| cornet | sac en plastique | plastic bag | In France, "cornet" would typically designate an ice cream cone. |
| cutips | coton-tige | cotton bud/swab | Antonomasia from the brand Q-tips which phonetically becomes "cutips" when pronounced in French. |
| cycle (Genève, Fribourg, Valais) | collège | middle school | |
| déjeuner<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> | petit-déjeuner | breakfast | Meal names have shifted in the French of France, where déjeuner is now the name for lunch, and dîner now refers to dinner. Swiss French (like those of Belgium and Québec) has retained the older meanings. |
| dîner<ref name=":2" /> | déjeuner | lunch | Meal names have shifted in the French of France, where déjeuner is now the name for lunch, and dîner now refers to dinner. Swiss French (like those of Belgium and Québec) has retained the older meanings. |
| duvet | couette | comforter / duvet | "Duvet" comes from the fact that comforters used to be filled with down feather (duvet). "Duvet" in France means sleeping bag, for similar reasons. |
| s'encoubler | se prendre les pieds dans quelque chose/trébucher | to trip over | |
| s'énuquer | se briser la nuque | to break one's own neck | |
| étude d'avocats | cabinet d'avocats | law firm | |
| fœhn | sèche-cheveux | hairdryer | Germanism, from der Föhn (the hairdryer); both names ultimately derive from the Foehn wind. |
| fonds | terrain or champs | field | |
| fourre | dossier/housse | folder | In French, "fourrer" means "to stuff". |
| Frouze / frouze | Français / français | people from France / French | This word is considered pejorative. Used also in Belgium. |
| galetas | grenier | attic | Also used in Alpine regions of France, down to Dauphiné. |
| giratoire | rond-point, giratoire | roundabout | Comes from "carrefour à sens giratoire" which would translate to "circular crossroads". |
| gouille | flaque | puddle | |
| huitante<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> | quatre-vingts | eighty | In Swiss French, as opposed to the French of France, the words for seventy, eighty and ninety are similar in construction to the ones used for thirty up to sixty. Huitante is only heard in Vaud, Valais and Fribourg. |
| linge | serviette | towel | Swiss French still uses the generic uncountable word “le linge” to define “laundry”, but the countable word “un/le/les linge-s” (which has no meaning in the French of France) means “une/la/les serviette-s”. Furthermore, the use of “serviette” is exclusively for “napkin” in Swiss French, whereas in regular French it could mean both “towel” or “napkin”. |
| lolette<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | tétine | pacifier/teat | |
| maman de jour | assistante maternelle | day care assistant | |
| mascogner | tricher aux examens | cheat during exams | |
| maturité | baccalauréat | high-school final examination | From German "Maturitätsexamen", "Matura". |
| mutr | mère | mother | Comes from the German word for "Mother", "Mutter". |
| natel<ref name=":1" /> | (téléphone) portable | mobile phone | |
| nom de bleu ! | nom de dieu ! | in the name of god!/god dammit! | |
| nonante<ref name=":1" /> | quatre-vingt-dix | ninety | In Swiss French, as opposed to the French of France, the words for seventy, eighty and ninety are similar in construction to the ones used for thirty up to sixty. |
| panosse<ref name=":1" /> | serpillière | floorcloth or mop | |
| papier ménage | papier essuie-tout | paper towel | |
| pive | pomme de pin | conifer cone | |
| poutzer | nettoyer | to clean | Comes from the German verb "putzen" which means "to clean". |
| Procès verbal d'examen (PV) | bulletin de note | report card | |
| réclame | publicité | advertisement | "Réclame" is an older disused word for advertising in French. |
| régie | agence immobilière | real estate agency | |
| roye | pluie | rain | |
| royer | pleuvoir | to rain | |
| sans autre | sans plus attendre | without delay | |
| santé | à tes/vos souhaits | bless you (when someone sneezes) | In France, santé, in particular by itself, as an exclamation (Santé !), is always interpreted as a drinking toast (À votre/ta santé !, meaning "[here's] to your health"). |
| septante<ref name=":1" /> | soixante-dix | seventy | In Swiss French, as opposed to the French of France, words for seventy, eighty and ninety are similar in construction to the ones used for thirty up to sixty. |
| service | je t'en/vous en prie | you're welcome | From "à votre service" meaning "at your service". |
| services | couverts | cutlery | |
| signofile/indicateur | clignotant | indicator/turn signal (motor vehicle) | |
| souper<ref name=":2" /> | dîner | dinner | Meal names have shifted in the French of France, where souper has been replaced by dîner (which historically referred to lunch). Swiss French (like those of Belgium and Québec) has retained the older meanings. |
| tablard | étagère | shelf | |
| uni (short for université) | fac (short word for faculté) | university | |
| votation | scrutin | voting | |
| vatr | père | father | Comes from the German word for "Father", "Vater". |
See also
- Demographics of Switzerland
- Linguistic geography of Switzerland
- Swiss Standard German
- Swiss German
- Swiss Italian
Notes and references
External links
- French (Swiss) DoReCo corpus compiled by Mathieu Avanzi, Marie-José Béguelin, Gilles Corminboeuf, Federica Diémoz and Laure Anne Johnsen. Audio recordings of narrative texts with transcriptions time-aligned at the phone level, translations, and time-aligned morphological annotations.
Template:Languages of Switzerland Template:Switzerland topics Template:French dialects by continent Template:Gallo-Romance languages and dialects Template:Portal bar