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Language and identity in Switzerland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2010

Keith Davidson
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Abstract

A proposal for Federal status for English as a Swiss language. I have written previously on the role of English as a vehicular language in plurilingual Switzerland (ET42, April 1995) and more recently on the cachet of English in the Swiss media (ET95, September 2008). Switzerland sits at the heart of Europe, not as a member of the European Union but with continually negotiated bi-lateral arrangements and now relatively open borders. As elsewhere in Europe English is widely used in academia, administration and the big corporations, but there is a surprising suggestion from the Swiss scientific community that English should now be given formal recognition as a Swiss language.

Type
Original Article
Information
English Today , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 15 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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