Swiss French

Swiss French (French: français de Suisse) 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. As of 2015, around 2 million people in the country (24.4% of the population) spoke French as their primary language, and around 29.1% of the population has working knowledge of French.[1]

Not to be confused with Swiss migration to France or Swiss French people.

The French-speaking part of Switzerland is shown in green on this map.

Map of the Arpitan language area, historical language spoken in Romandy, with place names in arpitan and historic political divisions.

The French spoken in Switzerland is very similar to that of France or Belgium due to historical French policy of education in Francien French only in schools after the French Revolution. It has only minor, mostly lexical, dialectal differences influenced by its 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 the Arpitan language, which was formerly spoken widely across the alpine communities of Romandy but only by a few today. Also, expressions have been borrowed from both Swiss and Standard German. Although Standard 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 near the border with France.[2]

Phonology

Oral   Front Central Back unrounded rounded Close i/iː y/yː u/uː Close-mid e/eː ø/øː ə o Open-mid ɛ/ɛː œ ɔ Open a ɑː

Nasal Front Back unrounded rounded Mid õ Open æ̃ œ̃ ɒ̃

• The nasal vowels are pronounced like in France. /ɑ̃/ → [ɒ̃], /ɛ̃/ → [æ̃], /ɔ̃/ → [õ]. Conversely, the nasal vowels /ɛ̃/ and /œ̃/ are kept separate in much Swiss French speech, where much speech in France has merged them. For example, brin (stalk) and brun (brown) are still pronounced differently, like in Quebec and Belgium, unlike in Paris.[3]
• As in Belgium, the distinction between the vowels /ɛ/ and /ɛː/ is maintained in Switzerland, but they have merged in France. For example, mettre (put) and maître (master) are still pronounced differently, unlike in France.
• The distinction between mid vowels /o/ and /ɔ/ has also been maintained in final open syllables, as well as that between /e/ and /ɛ/. For example, peau (skin) and pot (jar) are still pronounced differently, unlike in France and Quebec. For that reason, entré (entered; past participle of entrer) and entrait (third-person singular of the verb entrer in the imperfect indicative) are differentiated, where Français de référence tends to merge them.[3]
• There is a stronger distinction between long and short vowels in Switzerland:
  • Long vowels are allowed in closed syllables, even at the end of a word: ⟨ée⟩, ⟨aie⟩ [eː], ⟨ue⟩ [yː], ⟨ie⟩ [iː], ⟨oue⟩ [uː] and ⟨eue⟩ [øː]. As a result, almost all feminine adjectives are still phonetically distinct from their masculine counterparts, unlike in France and Quebec.[3]
  • Speakers are also wont to differentiate masculine from feminine adjectives phonetically, including in final closed syllables, although the spelling only partially bears out this occurrence, e.g. mental is pronounced /mɑ̃.tal/, whilst the feminine mentale is pronounced /mɑ̃.tɑːl/. Other minimal pairs are similarly differentiated, like amen and amène (third-person singular in the present indicative of amener, to lead).[3]
  • The marginal phoneme /ɑ/ is usually pronounced [ɑː], meaning pattes (paws) and pâtes (pasta) are differentiated. Similar to the process described above, the circumflex also affects vowel length when used above a vowel, meaning ⟨î⟩ is pronounced [iː], ⟨ê⟩ as [ɛː], ⟨û⟩ as [yː], ⟨oû⟩ as [uː] and ⟨eû⟩ [øː].[3]

Differences from French of France

Many differences between Swiss French and the French of France are due to the different administrative and political systems between Switzerland and France. Some of the distinctive lexical features are shared with Belgian French (and some also with Quebec French):

• The use of the word septante for seventy and nonante for ninety as opposed to soixante-dix (literally 'sixty-ten') and quatre-vingt-dix (literally 'four twenties-ten') of the "vigesimal" French counting system.
• The use of the word déjeuner for "breakfast" ("lunch" in France, which uses petit déjeuner for "breakfast"), and of the words le dîner and le souper for "lunch" and "dinner" respectively (in French of France, déjeuner and dîner respectively), much like the varying uses of dinner and supper throughout the English-speaking world.

Other examples which are not shared with other varieties of French:

• The word huitante is sometimes used for eighty instead of quatre-vingts (literally 'four twenties'), especially in the cantons of Vaud, Valais and Fribourg; the term octante (from the Latin octaginta) is now considered defunct.
• The word canton has a different meaning in each country; in Switzerland, a canton is a constituent state of the Confederation, but in France, it is a grouping of communes. In Belgium, it is a group of municipalities, but in Quebec, it is a township municipality.
• In France, a post office box is called a boite postale (BP),[4] but in Switzerland (as in French Canada), it is called a case postale (CP).[5]
• In colloquial Swiss French, the word natel is used for "mobile phone": "I didn't take my phone" becomes Je n'ai pas pris mon natel. France uses either portable or téléphone.

Examples of words that differ between Switzerland and France

Swiss French	Standard French	English	Notes
action	promotion	special offer	Germanism, from "Aktion" ("promotional campaign").
adieu	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
bancomat	Distributeur automatique de billets	ATM
bobet	crétin (noun) or bête/stupide (adjective)	idiot (noun) or stupid (adjective)
boguet	mobylette	moped
bonnard	sympa or bien	nice
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	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	petit-déjeuner	breakfast	Meal names are shifted in Swiss French, meaning that the name for lunch is used for breakfast, the one for dinner is used for lunch and the French equivalent of the word "supper" is used for dinner.
dîner	déjeuner	lunch	Meal names are shifted in Swiss French, meaning that the name for lunch is used for breakfast, the one for dinner is used for lunch and the French equivalent of the word "supper" is used for dinner.
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 a neck
étude d'avocats	cabinet d'avocats	law firm
fœhn	sèche-cheveux	hairdryer	The name "fœhn" comes from the Foehn wind.
fonds	terrain or champs	field
fourre	dossier/housse	folder	In French, "fourrer" means "to stuff".
frouz	les Français	people from France - French	This word is considered pejorative.
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	quatre-vingts	eighty	In Swiss French, as opposed to French, the words for seventy, eighty and ninety are similar in construction to the ones used for thirty up to sixty.
linge	serviette	towel	In French, "linge" is a generic word that refers to clothing, bed sheets and towels.
lolette	tétine	pacifier/teat
maman de jour	assistante maternelle	day care assistant
mascogner	tricher aux examens	cheat during exams
maturité	baccalauréat	high-school final examination
mutr	mère	mother	Comes from the German word for "Mother", "Mutter".
natel	(téléphone) portable	mobile phone
nom de bleu !	nom de dieu !	in the name of god!/god dammit!
nonante	quatre-vingts-dix	ninety	In Swiss French, as opposed to French, the words for seventy, eighty and ninety are similar in construction to the ones used for thirty up to sixty.
panosse	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 word "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 agent
roye	pluie	rain
royer	pleuvoir	to rain
sans autre	sans plus attendre	without delay
santé	à tes/vos souhaits	bless you (when someone sneezes)
septante	soixante-dix	seventy	In Swiss French, as opposed to French, the 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	dîner	dinner	Meal names are shifted in Swiss French, meaning that the name for lunch is used for breakfast, the one for dinner is used for lunch and the French equivalent of the word "supper" is used for dinner.
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 German
• Swiss Italian

Notes and references

1. "Swiss census, 2012". Archived from the original on October 30, 2007.
2. "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.
3. Knecht, Pierre (2004). Dictionnaire suisse romand (in French). Éditions Zoé. ISBN 9782881825088.
4. "Ouvrir une boite postale". La Poste (in French).
5. "Case postale". Swiss Post (in French).