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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

11 things the Swiss get tired of hearing abroad

Which cliches are real and which are, well, cliches? These are some of the stereotypes or beliefs that the Swiss get tired of hearing.

Published: 28 September 2016 11:21 CEST
Updated: 22 February 2022 11:16 CET
Swiss people in traditional clothing. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
The Swiss people in traditional clothing. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP - don't make them wait in the cold. Photo: Lara de Salis

Lara de Salis was born in Lausanne and grew up in the canton of Vaud. When studying languages in the UK at Cambridge University, she explained why she’s sick of hearing foreigners spouting these old clichés about the Swiss.

1.  “You’re basically French, right?”

To most foreigners I encounter, French-speaking Swiss are basically French, Italian-speaking Swiss are basically Italians, and German-speaking Swiss are basically German. No, no, no. I wouldn’t assume that people who speak English all share England’s culture, so don’t do that to the Swiss! While we’re on the subject, there is no Swiss German, but many unwritten Swiss German dialects. And no, the official language of Switzerland is definitely not Swedish.

2.  “The Swiss are always punctual and efficient (just look at the trains!)”


Punctuality is a “heavy moral burden”. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Yes, ok. But this can be a heavy moral burden, forcing Swiss people to maintain standards of punctuality abroad that often mean they’re left waiting for tardy foreigners. Sometimes in the cold. However often this may occur, we are physically unable to arrive later next time. As for the trains, they’re not always punctual. Just 99 percent of the time…

‘The pleasure of punctuality’: Why are the Swiss so obsessed with being on time?

3.  “You’re used to the cold!”

When foreign friends triumphantly arrive several minutes later, their excuse usually is “but you’re used to the cold!” Rumour has it that Swiss people enjoy the cold and don’t mind a spot of chilly weather.

Yes, we’re used to cold winters, but summer is actually a very warm season here. When a bunch of English friends came over to Switzerland this summer they were stunned by how hot and sunny it was. Turns out lobsters do occasionally show up in Swiss lakes after all…

4. “The Swiss are all rich.”

Whilst Switzerland is a prosperous and stable country, we’re not all multi-millionaires. That’s why we never say we’re Swiss before paying for something abroad (we say we’re French/German/Italian instead).

5.  “Have you got a Swiss army knife handy?”


The Swiss: knifeless when travelling. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Yes, the Swiss like to be over-equipped for anything – including natural disasters – wherever we travel to. However, sadly, these days we’re not allowed to take our favourite knife abroad if only travelling with hand luggage, which means we’re condemned to let smug foreigners open our beer while suffering in silence, thinking about the bottle opener on the beloved red multitasking knife that we were forced to leave behind.

6.  “Switzerland has a dodgy banking system and is a tax haven”

This is particularly irritating.

Firstly, banking secrecy has now been abolished in Switzerland. Secondly, the recent case involving Apple reminds us that other West European countries such as Ireland could just as easily be called tax havens for big businesses.

ANALYSIS: Is Switzerland actually a tax haven?

7.  “You must be an amazing skier”

Yes, Switzerland is known for its mountains and lakes. To many foreigners, that means every Swiss kid basically masters skiing before they can even walk.

While Switzerland is a very sporting nation, this stereotype is only partly true. Some of my Swiss friends have skied way less often than English friends. After all, Verbier is practically an English colony…

8.  “The Swiss love cleaning”

It’s true we like cleaning so much we do it as a sport (it’s called curling). Switzerland is a clean country with efficient sanitation.

However, I don’t like to admit it, because it gives foreign flatmates the perfect excuse to take advantage of their Swiss companions when arguing about house chores.

9.   “The Swiss only eat cheese and chocolate”


Chocolate fondue: ” a crime”. Photo: Denis Dervisevic

As a matter of fact, we do have chocolate very often… and cheese. But certainly not together, and not all the time.  What’s more, some purists think you shouldn’t eat melted chocolate from a pan like a cheese fondue. One of my Swiss teachers actually referred to chocolate fondue as a crime. So don’t do it.

10.  “Zurich is the Swiss capital”

No, wait, is it Geneva? Come on guys! Our capital is, of course, Bern.  That’s where parliament is. And where tourists come to see a couple of bears.

READ MORE: Why is Bern the ‘capital’ of Switzerland?

11. I’m not called Heidi

A version of this article was first published in September 2016.

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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

REVEALED: How Switzerland’s native-English speakers are growing in number

Some Swiss cities have higher concentrations of foreign residents than others. A new study reveals where most of them live and interestingly how more and more of them are native English-speakers.

Published: 23 April 2024 15:21 CEST
REVEALED: How Switzerland's native-English speakers are growing in number

Foreigners who move to Switzerland like to settle in the cities.

This is what emerges from a new study published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Tuesday.

Surprisingly, the municipality with the highest number of foreign residents is not Zurich or Geneva, but Kreuzlingen in canton Thurgau, where 56.3 percent of the population are foreigners.

Next is Rorschach in St. Gallen, where just over half (50.6 percent) of residents are foreign.

In terms of regions, however, more towns in the French-speaking part of the country have a high proportion of non-Swiss.

In the first place is the Lausanne suburb of Renens, where 49.3 percent of inhabitants are foreign.

It is followed by Geneva (49.2 percent) and its districts Meyrin (45.4 percent) and Vernier (44.8 percent). Next are Vaud municipalities of Montreux (44.2 percent) and Yverdon (37.7 percent).

The study doesn’t indicate why exactly so many immigrants move to these particular towns, but generally new arrivals tend to settle in or near places where they work.

Another interesting finding: English language is gaining ground

“If we consider non-national languages, it is striking to see that English has developed significantly,” FSO reports.

“It is today the main language of 8.1 percent of the resident population.”

This has also been shown in another FSO study in March, which indicated that  English is not only the most prevalent foreign language in Switzerland, but in some regions even ‘outperforms’ national languages.

In French-speaking Geneva, for instance, 11.8 percent of the population speak English — more than 5.7 percent who speak Italian. And in the neighbouring Vaud, 9.1 percent of residents speak English, versus 4.9 percent for both German and Italian.

In Basel-City, where the main language is German, 12.5 percent speak English, 6.1 percent Italian, and 5 percent French.

And in Zurich,10.8 percent speak English, versus only 5.8 percent for Italian and 3.2 percent French.

The ‘ winner’ however, is the German-speaking Zug, where 14.1 percent of the population over the age of 15 has English as their primary language. 

READ ALSO : Where in Switzerland is English most widely used? 

What else does the study reveal?

It shows to what extent Switzerland’s population ‘migrated’ from rural areas to cities over the past century.

While only a third of the country’s residents lived in urban regions 100 years ago, the 170 Swiss cities and their agglomerations are now home to three-quarters of the population.

As a result of this evolution, “new cities sprang up, many political and spatial boundaries were moved, and the country became increasingly urban.”

With a population of 427,000, Zurich is still the most populated city, followed by Geneva (204,000) and Basel (174,000).

And there is more: Fewer people practice religion

The proportion of people who feel they belong to a traditional religion is generally falling, FSO found.

This downward trend concerns all religions, but it is strongest among people of the Reformed Evangelical faith.

In six towns in particular — Bussigny, Crissier, and Ecublens (VD), Kloten, and Opfikon (ZH), as well as Oftringen (AR) — the drop was of more than 70 percent.
 
 READ ALSO: Why so many Swiss are quitting the church and taking their money with them

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