Abbreviations deciphered: nothing is more frustrating than listening to a conversation and suddenly losing the thread because of a mysterious abbreviation or acronym. Here's an alphabetical list of often-heard Swiss-German shorthand.
| Auteur | Hays, Kim |
| Fonction | Expat Advice |
Did you see GC on SF2 last night? He belongs to TV-Urswil. She gets IV since the accident. He's away doing his UOS.
These kinds of sentences are annoying for us foreigners. We understand German (or French or Italian) fairly well, but what on earth are these people calking about?
The same thing happens when we read a newspaper article that refers to EDA and DEZA or skim a report peppered with odd groups of letters like z.B. and d.h. Hopefully, the list below will help to solve a few puzzles.
AG = Aktiengesellschaft
Refers to a company that is traded on the stock market. In French and Italian, the "A" stands for anonymous. French: SA, Italian: SA
AHV = Alters- und Hinterlassenversicherung
This is the Swiss old age insurance that both employer and employee contribute to. French: AVS, Italian: AVS
BAG : Bundesamt fur Gesundheltswesen
The Federal Ministry of Health is referred to as "Bahg" not the B-A-G. French: OFSP, Italian: UFSP
BIZ = Berufsberatung- und Informationszentrum
Refers to one of the publicly funded career counselling centres that can be found throughout Switzerland, French: OP, Italian: OSP
BSV = Bundesamt fur Sozialversicherung
The Federal Social Insurance Department is responsible for retirement pensions and other types of social welfare payments. French: OFAS. Italian: UFAS
BUWAL = Bundesamt fur Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft
Like BAG, BUWAL is referred to as a word, not a list of letters. The Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape remains very active, despite recent budget cuts. French: OFEFP. Italian: UFAFP
BVG = Berufliche Vorsorge Gesetz
This is how German-speaking Switzerland refers to the compulsory company pension funds to which both employer and employee contribute. Also called "the second pillar" of retirement. French: LPP, Italian: LPP
CS = Credit Suisse
The bank calls itself CS in all the Swiss languages and in English.
CVP = Christlich-demokratische Volkspartei
The Christian Democratic People's Party guards its two seats on the Federal Council (presently filled by Ruth Metzler and Joseph Deiss) against the jealous claims of the Swiss People's Party (SVP). Traditionally a conservative Catholic party, the CVP today tends to be relatively liberal on issues having to do with social services and is less conservative than the SVP. French: PDC, Italian: PPD
d.h. = das heisst
Or "in other words." Used in German where we might use i.e.
DEZA = Direktion fur Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit.
The Swiss Agency, for Development and Cooperation is the branch of the Swiss foreign ministry that promotes and carries out projects to help developing countries. French: DDC, Italian: DSC
DRS = (Radio der) deutschen und rathoromanischen Schweiz
The radio service for German- and Romansch-speaking Switzerland. The French-language counterpart is RSR; the Italian, RSI.
EDA = Eidgenossisches Departement fur auswartige Angelegenheiten
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs is currently headed by Federal Councilor, Micheline Calmy-Rey. French: DFAE, Italian: DFAE
EG = Erdgeschoss
You will see EG on an elevator button, meaning "ground floor." And don't forget UG, which stands for Untergeschoss or basement.
ETH = Eidgenossiche Technischehochschule
Literally, this translates into "technical high school," but in fact it refers to one of the federal institutes of technology, the...
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