| Swiss Italian | |
|---|---|
| Italiano svizzero (Italian) | |
 An old sign inFaido printed in Italian text | |
| Native to | Switzerland |
| Ethnicity | Swiss |
Native speakers | 720,000 (2019 census)[1] L2: 2 million[2] |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Switzerland |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| IETF | it-CH |
 A map showing the Italian-speaking areas ofSwitzerland: the two different shades of blue denote the two cantons where Italian is an official language; dark blue shows areas where Italian is spoken by the majority of the population. | |
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Swiss Italian (Italian:italiano svizzero,Italian:[itaˈljaːnoˈzvittsero]) is thevariety of the Italian language taught in the Italian-speaking area ofSwitzerland. While this variety is mainly spoken in the canton ofTicino and in thesouthern part of Grisons (about 270,000 native speakers), Italian is spoken natively in the whole country by about 700,000 people: Swiss Italians, Italian immigrants and Swiss citizens with Italian citizenship.[3][4]
The Swiss variety of Italian is distinct from the traditional vernaculars of the Italian-speaking area, which are classified as varieties of theGallo-ItalicLombard language.
Italian, as the third Swiss national language, is spoken in Italian-speaking Switzerland (Ticino and thesouthern part of Grisons). It is an official language both at the federal level and in the twocantons of Ticino and Grisons.
Italian is also one of the most spoken languages inGerman-speaking Switzerland, and used as an idiom by Italian immigrants and their children. Italian is also used as alingua franca between foreign workers of different nationalities, including Portuguese, Spanish, etc.[5]
At the time of post-World War IIItalian immigration to Switzerland, Italian was transmitted as alingua franca in factories and on construction sites to non-Italian ethnic groups of foreign workers who subsequently settled in Switzerland. Italians were the pre-existing majority linguistic group, and the language was easy to learn for Spanish-speaking immigrants, leading to Italian becoming the dominant language among foreign workers.[6] Later, Italian was also acquired by populations of other ethnic groups, for example by Greek speakers or groups fromYugoslavia, encouraged by the greater ease of learning in informal contexts[7] and also by the fact that the knowledge of Italian by German-Swiss and French-Swiss is generally much higher than the knowledge of Italian inGermany orFrance. Today, the use of Italian as a lingua franca among workers in Switzerland is in decline.[8]
There are some variations between Swiss Italian and the Italian language in Italy. While the use oflocal minority languages and dialects leads to distinct regional differences within languages, Swiss Italian is generally quite similar to the Italian language in Italy, with differences that are easy to trace and understand. SomeHelvetisms have recently been included in the dictionaries of the Italian language.[9] Linguistic misunderstandings between Italians and Swiss Italians are generally rare, but possible.
The presence ofcalques fromFrench andGerman means that there are some differences in vocabulary between the standard registers of the Italian language used in Italy and Switzerland. An example would be the words for driving licence: in Italy, it is called apatente di guida but in Swiss Italian, it becomeslicenza di condurre, from the Frenchpermis de conduire. Another example is the interurban bus: in Italy it would beautobus orcorriera but in Switzerland, it is theAutopostale orposta.
Another notable difference is the use of the wordgermanico to refer to German people, instead oftedesco.[10] However, as in Italy, the wordtedesco is used to refer to the German language.[11] In Italy, the wordgermanico is used in the same sense as the word "Germanic" in English, referring, for example, toGermanic languages in general.[12]
Radiotelevisione Svizzera di lingua Italiana is the main Swiss public broadcasting network in the Italian speaking regions of Switzerland. TheUniversity of Lugano is the major university of the Italian speaking part of Switzerland.
There are almost no differences in the vowels of Swiss Italian and mainland Italian.
Swiss Italian, similar to varieties of Italian innorthern Italy andSan Marino, lackssyntactic gemination.[13]
Some examples of Ticinese words that are different from Italian are:
| Swiss Italian | Standard Italian | English Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| azione | promozione,offertaspeciale | special offer, sale | fromGermanAktion |
| bucalettere | cassetta postale | mailbox, letter box | |
| chifer | brioche,croissant, cornetto | croissant | from Old High Germankipfa, orchipf |
| classare | classificare | to classify | |
| comandare | ordinare | to order (at a bar or restaurant) | fromFrenchcommander |
| evidente | facile | easy | fromFrenchévident |
| fotbalino | calcio-balilla | table football | |
| fuoco | focolare | hearth | |
| grippe | influenza | flu, influenza | from bothGermanGrippe andFrenchgrippe |
| guidovia | guardrail,guardavia,sicurvia,guardastrada | guardrail, crash barrier, traffic barrier | perhaps derived fromEnglishguiderail.[citation needed] |
| isolazione | isolamento | insulation | |
| laborantina | laboratorista | laboratory assistant, technician | |
| licenza di condurre | patente di guida | driver’s/driving license | |
| licenziato | laureato | graduated(from a university) | false friend: in Italianlicenziato meansdismissed from a job, fired |
| medicamento | medicinale,farmaco | drug, medicine | fromFrenchmédicament |
| messaagiorno | aggiornamento | update | fromFrenchmise à jour |
| natel | smartphone | smartphone | Is a generic trademark used in bothSwitzerland and inLiechtenstein for 'mobile phone'. |
| nota | voto | grade(accomplishment in school) | false friend: in Italiannota meansschool reprimand,notice ornote (music) |
| ordinatore | calcolatore | computer | FromFrenchordinateur. |
| permesso di dimora | permesso di soggiorno | residence permit | |
| pigionemoderata | equocanone | rent control | fromFrenchloyermodéré |
| riservare | prenotare | to book, reserve | fromFrenchréserver |
| ritorno | resto | money change | from Frenchretour |
| segno di valore | francobollo, marca da bollo | postage stamp | |
| soluzionare | risolvere | to solve | |
| vignetta | bollino,contrassegno | tag(a label to exhibit, typically in a car) | fromFrenchvignette |
There are about 720,000 residents who declare Italian as their main language, partly residing in the Italian-speaking linguistic area located south of theAlps and the rest scattered throughout the rest of the national territory, amounting to around 8.4% of the national population.[14] Furthermore, 15% of the Swiss population uses it every day.[15] Added to the latter are the more than two million people who, with often variable skills, speak or understand Italian as second language or foreign language.[2]
| Categories | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 6,011,469 | 6,160,950 | 6,640,937 | 7,100,302 | 7,944,566 | 8,041,310 |
| German | 66.1% | 65.5% | 64.6% | 64.1% | 63.5% | 63.3% |
| French | 18.4% | 18.6% | 19.5% | 20.4% | 22.5% | 22.7% |
| Italian | 11% | 9.6% | 7.7% | 6.5% | 8.1% | 8.1% |
| Romansh | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Other languages | 3.7% | 5.5% | 7.7% | 8.5% | 21.7% | 20.9% |
The data relating to the years 2013 and 2014 exceeds 100% because the interviewees had the possibility to indicate several languages spoken;[17] for the same reason, a comparison with the previous data is not possible. The 2013 survey is the result of the new approach of the Federal Statistical Office, which by implementing the new population census plan integrates the decennial censuses with the structural surveys, to be carried out every three to five years. The aforementioned survey focuses on themother tongue or mother tongues of bilingual subjects.[18] InTicino, the Italian language continued to enjoy good health, recording, among other things, a slight increase from the 1990 census to the 2000 census.[13]
However, the decline in the teaching of Italian as a foreign language in the French- and German-speaking cantons is particularly striking. By way of example, it should be remembered that Italian, in theCanton of St. Gallen, is chosen as a subject by only 5% of high school students. In February 2011, the parliament of this German-speaking canton came to have to express itself on the almost total abolition of Italian as a foreign language in high schools. The proposal was ultimately rejected[19] with consequent relief from the Council of State of Ticino.[20]
