Swiss Review 4/2021

Swiss Review / August 2021 / No.4 5 Mailbag Swiss multilingualism is on the rise It pleases me to read that Switzerland is becoming more multilingual. Un- derstanding and speaking other lan- guages enhances one’s quality of life. Every language you learn is like an ex- tra room in the house, offering a dif- ferent angle and outlook on the world. I read material in Ger- man, English, Russian and French on a daily basis, thanks to the internet. WALTER ZWEI FEL, WELL INGTON, NEW ZEAL AND You can talk about Switzerland and its four languages, but it’s a shame that German isn’t on the school curriculum from a young age in French-speaking Switzerland. I live in Norway, and my two children speak French with me and Finnish with their mother. Norwegian and English are taught from kinder- garten. JEAN-CL AUDE BURRI , NORWAY I am extremely grateful about being able to switch easily bet- ween four languages – Italian, French, German and English! It has definitely widened my horizons. I don’t understand Swiss-German (sorry!) andwould prefer it if standardGerman were spokenmore often on television and radio at least. MARIA LUISA KUPKA , MUNICH, GERMANY I have lived in Copenhagen for over 50 years, I ammarried to an Englishman, and we mainly speak English and Danish at home. But I have not forgottenmy BerneseGerman. And French remains my second native tongue, which I still use at the Alli- ance Française in Copenhagen. We Swiss are very fortunate to be able to use all the languages we have. MARGRI TH MOODY-ZUMSTEIN, DENMARK When people ask which Swiss language I talk, I always say the fifth language, English. So thanks for the validation! After 33 years in the U.S. I confuse myself with what is South African, British or American English.We all understand all the dialects. ERIKA WHI TE, USA Learning a language means you can relate to the mentality and way of thinking of the people who speak it, and that is always good on a human level… EL ISABETH HOFFMANN, FRANCE Many Swiss write in excellent German, but unfortunately few can articulate themselves fluently and correctly when they open their mouths. That’s not good! We should talk in standard German to people with other languages – even if these people understand a bit of Swiss German. Should the Italian, French and Romansh speakers in German-speaking Switzerland really have to cope with all the dialects? When we travel to Italy, we expect the Italians to speak to us in pro- per Italian, not in some indecipherable patois. MENA CEBOLL A-HUONDER, MAL AGA , SPAIN Why Swiss politicians considered silencing the scientists on Covid Reading this article made me feel very uneasy. Any political decision in a democracy needs to be made transparently. For a start, the unfortu- nate practice of consulting behind closed doors is anything but democratic, in my view. Don’t politicians have the guts to come out and exp- lain their decisions? If they can’t be open, why should they tell us what to do? This attempt to muzzle the scientists is a case in point. ANDREAS MÜLLER, ELLWANGEN, GERMANY It seems basic common sense to me to listen to the scientists, especially about a problem of the scale we are currently expe- riencing. Politics, by definition, is about serving the people and that’s how it needs to stay. That means politicians should al- ways give due consideration to the scientific perspective regar- ding an issue outside their field of influence. RALF UDO KREBS, PASTO, COLOMBIA IMPRINT: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss Abroad, is in its 47 th year of publication and is published in German, French, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 431,000, including 253,000 electronic copies. Regional news appears four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertisements and promotional inserts. This content does not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. EDITORS: Marc Lettau (MUL), Editor-in-Chief; Stéphane Herzog (SH); Theodora Peter (TP); Susanne Wenger (SWE); Consular Directorate, Innovation and Partnerships, responsible for the “Notes from Parliament Building” section. EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Sandra Krebs TRANSLATION: SwissGlobal Language Services AG; LAYOUT: Joseph Haas, Zürich; PRINT: Vogt-Schild Druck AG, 4552 Derendingen POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial office, advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Berne, Tel.: +41313566110. Account: IBAN CH97 0079 0016 1294 4609 8 / KBBECH22 Email: revue@swisscommunity.org COPY DEADLINE for this edition: 16 June 2021 All Swiss Abroad who are registered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe to the magazine for an annual fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / abroad: CHF 50). Subscribers are sent the magazine direct from Berne. www.revue.ch CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consulate. Do not write to the editorial office in Berne.