language check

There are three main languages in Switzerland: German, French, and Italian. A small population speaks a language called Romansch. Most people are bilingual, trilingual, and on up!

At our office, we speak English and French, depending on the speakers, the context, and the flow of conversation. Four members of the office are trilingual. Often, someone making a phone call first asks, "Parlez-vous francais?" or "Do you speak English?"

At the conference in Mendrisio, the local language was Italian, but many attendees were from German-speaking Zurich, while the common language of the conference was English. Our group was the only one based in a francophone region of Switzerland, and three of us were the only ones who did not speak German.

In Lugano and Bellinzona, some hotel and restaurant staff spoke English with me, and some French, but Italian and then German were the main languages. On the train ride home, I traveled through Italian and German speaking regions before arriving home in francophone canton Vaud, in only 5 hours!