Before Today Posted November 6, 2022 Posted November 6, 2022 And to an extent, Quebec, I've always wondered what it feels like to be sharing sovereignty yet speaking different languages. Does it not feel weird? Like you're from the same country but have to speak English to fellow countrymen. Feels like talking to a foreigner
SOSOxoxo Posted November 6, 2022 Posted November 6, 2022 I'm from the french part of Switzerland (and funny enough in Quebec for a month ). Let me tell you, I can't even speak german so I don't even communicate with other Swiss. Having different languages definitely create some sort of cultural borders that manifests in so many different ways but we're used to it so it's not that weird after all.
Pendulum Posted November 6, 2022 Posted November 6, 2022 I was kinda flabbergasted when my Dutch-speaking Belgian oomf told me learning French in school is compulsory but French-speaking Belgians don't have to learn Dutch what is this inequality?
greeneyedsoul Posted November 6, 2022 Posted November 6, 2022 I was so confused when I read that the lingua franca in Switzerland is English.
Peep Show Posted November 6, 2022 Posted November 6, 2022 Most people in Switzerland speak German, it's just some areas that don't. I guess it's more of a problem if you happen to live in one of those areas.
Before Today Posted May 14, 2023 Author Posted May 14, 2023 On 11/6/2022 at 11:49 AM, SOSOxoxo said: I'm from the french part of Switzerland (and funny enough in Quebec for a month ). Let me tell you, I can't even speak german so I don't even communicate with other Swiss. Having different languages definitely create some sort of cultural borders that manifests in so many different ways but we're used to it so it's not that weird after all. Yeah I heard many people from the Swiss German part don't interact with the Swiss French at all and vice versa unless it's military related. Swiss Italians at least travel a bit. And y'all vote for the exact opposite things in politics On 11/6/2022 at 1:45 PM, Pendulum said: I was kinda flabbergasted when my Dutch-speaking Belgian oomf told me learning French in school is compulsory but French-speaking Belgians don't have to learn Dutch what is this inequality? Isn't the King's first language French?
SOSOxoxo Posted May 14, 2023 Posted May 14, 2023 6 hours ago, Before Today said: Yeah I heard many people from the Swiss German part don't interact with the Swiss French at all and vice versa unless it's military related. Swiss Italians at least travel a bit. And y'all vote for the exact opposite things in politics Isn't the King's first language French? this particualarly. Minus Zurich, they're the right wing side of the country usually
abeille Posted May 15, 2023 Posted May 15, 2023 Nnn I'm a black person in Belgium and I can say the country is rather unique in how evenly its major linguistic groups are split, with each including all social classes, etc. While French, Flemish and German are official languages, the only official language in Wallonia is French (save for the German-speaking area) and the only official language in Flanders is Dutch (or Flemish). Belgians from these communities mostly carry identification in both languages, but IDs issued to Walloons are in French and English, while IDs issued to Flemings are in Dutch and English. Only Brussels is "bilingual", having been historically a Dutch speaking city, but this shifted in the beginning of the 19th century. Nowadays it's largely French speaking. Tensions do occur, especially politically, but for the most part Belgians seem to get along in spite of the cultural differences. Though it's worth noting Walloons have a reputation for being insular due to being mostly monolingual unlike the Flemings. I can't speak to Switzerland, but I know that their religious divisions (Catholic vs Calvinist) contribute to even greater cultural and linguistic disparities there. Belgium is wholly Catholic.
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