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SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

Seven ways Swiss-French is different to French-French

French is the main language is several Swiss cantons but it's not quite the same as the French spoken over the border in France.

Seven ways Swiss-French is different to French-French
Photo: Dylan Cantwell

Swiss-German may be the dominant language in Switzerland, but nearly a quarter of the population say French is their main language.

In fact, French is the main language spoken in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, and Jura, while it shares official language status with German in the cantons of Bern, Valais and Fribourg.

But while there are a great many commonalities, the French spoken in Switzerland is not the same as that spoken in the ‘Hexagon‘.

Read also: The 21 most annoying false friends in French

From Swiss people’s super-clear pronunciation (their long vowels make it sound like they are talking more slowly) to their much more straightforward way of saying any number over 70, there are many things the francophone Swiss could teach their neighbours over the border.

1. Numbers are so, so much easier

Enough with having to make a mental calculation before you can say 93 in French. While Parisians grapple with quatre-vingt-treize (four twenties and 13), the Swiss cut to the chase with nonante-trois (ninety-three). So follow their lead and scrap the French soixante-dix (70), quatre-vingt (80) and quatre-vingt-dix  (90) for septante, huitante, nonante (Note there are regional differences among French-speaking cantons of Switzerland when it comes to these numbers).

2. Franglais works

The Swiss are partial to a spot of franglais, just like the rest of us. No need to garer your car in Switzerland, you can parquer instead. Then perhaps pop into a tea room.

3. You can look forward to things

Yet to devise a satisfactory way of saying they are looking forward to doing something, we can only conclude that the French don’t really look forward to much at all. But the Swiss do, employing je me rejouis de… to express their happiness at a forthcoming event.

4. You can order a coffee upside down

Well, not literally. But the Swiss word for a café au lait (a coffee with milk) is the cute renversé, which specifies that the milk should be put in first, much in the manner of old-fashioned English tea drinkers.

5. Service is service

Admittedly, service in Switzerland isn’t always the best, or to everyone’s taste, but while their actions may not be the quickest, politest or happiest, Swiss bartenders, shop workers and waiters are certainly quick and polite when it comes to acknowledging your merci. Instead of the ultra-formal French Je vous en prie, you’ll often hear the simple Service (meaning “at your service”). Sometimes you even get a smile with it.

6. There’s nothing small about breakfast

The French-speaking Swiss don’t have a petit-déjeuner for breakfast but a full-on hearty déjeuner – which the French call lunch. Just to confuse those over the border a bit further, come to Switzerland for dîner and you’ll be having lunch not dinner, while a Swiss evening meal is closer to the British supper, souper. And if you’re in the countryside around tea time, you might just get invited for a quatre-heures, a sort of high tea at – you guessed it – 4pm.

7. They speak clearly

Newcomers may not understand everything they say all the time, but at least you can hear the words (check out the video below). Unlike typical French mumbling, French-speaking Swiss speak noticeably more clearly. So while you may not know what a natel, a cornet or a carnotzet* are, you could probably spell them.

*a mobile phone, paper/plastic bag and a wine cellar

Member comments

  1. Great article. Couldn’t agree more about the numbers.

    Quick point, I think that a carnotzet is a separate room, often in the cellar, for eating melted cheese. This supposedly keeps the odors out of the rest of the house.

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SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

‘Il fait bon chaud’: Geneva reveals how different French is in Switzerland

It is a well-known fact that the Swiss German language is totally different from ‘regular’ German. But what about the French spoken in Switzerland?

'Il fait bon chaud': Geneva reveals how different French is in Switzerland

Overall , the language of the Suisse Romande (the French part of Switzerland) is pretty similar to the one spoken in France.

In any case, it is not so different that the Swiss and the French don’t understand each other (so this can’t be the reason why the two sometimes look down on one other.)

READ ALSO: How the Swiss see their French neighbours — and vice versa

Here are some examples.

During the Francophone Week, which was held in French-speaking nations and regions of the world from March 14th to 23rd, the city of Geneva took to social media to highlight six typically Swiss-French expressions.

They are:

Ca va, le chalet?

This literally means, ‘how is your chalet?’ but in the Suisse Romande  it means ‘are you crazy?’

The same  expression in France is ‘tu es fou?’

Il n’y a pas le feu au lac 

No, this is not someone telling you the lake is on fire (which makes no sense whatsoever).

Instead, it expresses that something is not urgent — a message a French person would convey as ‘il n’y a pas d’urgence.’

Il fait bon chaud

Instead of saying simply ‘il fait chaud’, as any French person would, the Swiss prefer to interject the work ‘bon’ into this sentence — just because.

READ ALSO: Seven hacks you’ll need for life in French-speaking Switzerland

Remettre l’église au milieu du village 

You may think this means the intention to re-build a village church but, here too, you shouldn’t take this sentence literally.

In Switzerland, this means to put something in order or, as a French person would say, “remettre les choses en ordre.

Ça joue ou bien?

This means ‘is everything ok?’, or, if you only speak French-French, it’s simply ‘ça va?

Deçu en bien

For a Swiss person this phrase conveys that someone is pleasantly surprised — or ‘être agréablement surpris’ if you come from across the border.

But wait, there is more

The Swiss are not necessarily known for their penchant for simplicity, but when it comes to double-digit numbers, they opted for the less complex and tongue-twisting way than their French counterparts.

In France, for instance, 93 is quite a mouthful: quatre-vingt-treize (four twenties and 13), but the Swiss cut to the chase with nonante-trois (ninety-three).

Ditto for the number 70 (soixante-dix), 80 (quatre-vingt), and 90 (quatre-vingt-dix).

The Swiss-French equivalents, on the other hand, are the breezy septante, huitante, and nonante.

Other notable differences are, for example, collège or gymnase (high school) in French-speaking cantons, and ‘lycée’ in France.

Then there is la panosse (mop) in Switzerland, while the same thing is called la serpillière in France.

And another one is ‘Nom de bleu’, it is basically ‘dammit’ (pardon our French) — which is ‘nom de dieu’ in France.

READ ALSO: The Swiss French words which help you sound like a local

This is by no means is an exhaustive list, though many people may find it exhausting nevertheless.

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