Why is Swiss French so similar to Standard French, but Swiss German so different from Standard German?

Quora.com – where questions are asked and answered by a community of users.

Martin Strohmeier says “it is more about culture and attitude towards the countries than the languages itself….by the time of WW1, Swiss German proved to be a useful way of differentiation from other German speakers and to establish their own identity.”

Richard Russell says, “I understand that France was unified far earlier than Germany, and the growth of Parisian French occurred at the same time. This homogenisation of French extended to Switzerland. Even within Germany, many dialects of German still exist – Bavarian being a prime example of this.“

Jason Keller says “In addition to the “high class and bourgeois” preference for Parisian French, during Louis XVIII’s reign and again after the French Revolution, great pains were taken to eradicate every kind of patois and “purify” the French language.  (see L’Académie Française)  This was a politically-motivated policy, but some of the arguments from the time sound almost racial.”

Click here for full Quora discussion (in English)

For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook