language

• Nordic Language Only!

The Nordic Youth Council (UNR = Ungdomens Nordlska Råd) decided earlier this year to use English as its working language whenever it s not possible to understand each other in one of the Nordic languages (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic). The decision was heavily criticized recently by Bertel Haarder, the Danish Minister of Education, who pointed out that the decision works against the Nordic Language Declaration. "Using English at their meetings is completely out of the question. It is incompatible with the very concept of Nordic co-operation," Haarder told the Danish paper Politiken.

• Nordic Reach
• Vol. 21 Num. 25, Septembre 2008
• What Where When Who

• The language of learning: exposure to new languages and cultures at a young age is valuable, offering children a range of significant advantages in later life. For parents, deciding on the school and manner of education for your child can often be daunting. Swiss News looks at the options on offer in Switzerland ...

It is one of the most important decisions expatriate parents will make--and one that will have a lasting effect on the lives of their children: choosi...

• Swiss News
• Num. 2011, Janvier 2011

• The language of laughter: over the past 100 years, English has steadily been creeping into the mouths and minds of people all over Europe. Within Switzerland, the ascension of the English-language can especially be seen in the amount of Anglo theatre and stand-up comedy on offer, and its continued popularity.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There's an old saying that when three English people get together, they form a drama club. Whether that's actually the case i...

• Swiss News
• Num. 2011, Janvier 2011

• Sweden and Finland - Language and Class Identity

The Swedish Government has declared 2009 a Memorable Year. It is 200 years since Finland was separated from Sweden. The two countries had been one realm for approximately 600 years, but the union ended in 1809. In an article in the daily Dagens Nyheter in January, Maria Wetterstrand, a spokesperson of the Green Party in the Swedish Parliament, urged Sweden to offer Finland an official apology for historical wrongdoings. "The lack of Swedish respect for the Finnish language and culture jeopardizes our relations with Finland. In particular there is a negative class perspective to the Finnish speaking minority in Sweden," writes Wetterstrand.

• Nordic Reach
• Vol. 22 Num. 27, Février 2009
• News

• Romansh: sparks vocal debate: despite being declared the official written version of Switzerland's fourth national language by both the Swiss Confederation and the canton of Graubunden, Rumantsch Grischun continues to be opposed by locals in some areas. Swiss News visits the Lower Engadine, to find out more about the controversy.

The Romansh language--spoken by a mere 60,000 inhabitants of Switzerland's only trilingual canton--could be considered an endangered tongue. To make t...

• Swiss News
• Num. 2011, Janvier 2011

• Le Bosquet--the importance of speaking a foreign language.

Founded over 30 years ago, Le Bosquet is the biggest language school in Canton Vaud. Principal Daniel Favre discusses the importance of speaking a for...

• Swiss News
• Num. 2009, Janvier 2009

• Learning from German--los geht's! It is estimated the English language comprises 600,000 words, yet there are times when its paucity is hard to ignore. This usually happens when you learn a new word in the (more compact) German language for which there's no English equivalent. German speakers know how this confounds us, and describe that smug sense of satisfaction with the useful word Schadenfreude.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Other words we have no equivalent for include Geisterfahrer (lit. ghost driver)--when a car drives the wrong direction along ...

• Swiss News
• Num. 2011, Janvier 2011

• Going local: to English-language parents with children in the early years of the Swiss school system, the key concern is usually if and how well their children are learning the local language--be it French, German or Italian.

But the real effort--warn experienced English-language parents of children who have already grown up in the Swiss system--will actually be maintaining...

• Swiss News
• Num. 2008, Avril 2008

• The language balance: Switzerland's multilingual tradition makes bilingualism very common, but very few Swiss cities have been federally designated as bilingual cities. One is Biel/Bienne--where French and German reign as equals.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Helena is a French Swiss who lives in Biel/Bienne. Sitting around one of the tables of the cafe La Rotonde, she explains how ...

• Swiss News
• Num. 2008, Avril 2008

• JIHAD LANGUAGE CORNER.

As a reaction to an article about the Palestinian conflict I have recently written in German, a Muslim objected to my erroneous terming jihad as "holy...

• Swiss News
• Num. 2001, Juin 2001