Switzerland is pretty small. It would easily fit in Wisconsin, and there would still be room left over in the cheese state. However, small doesn't mean uncomplicated. For example, there are four official languages in this country. But, as if that weren't enough, there are also several dialects that are thrown in to make us Americans who only speak one language feel that much better about ourselves. The official languages are: German, French, Italian, and Romansch. Most Swiss people (around 50-60%, I think) speak German (dictated by region). However, the caveat here is that although everything is written in "high German", language is spoken in Swiss-German. What is Swiss German you ask? Well, it just so happens to be a dialect of German that, as luck would have it, changes based on which Canton (think county) you live in. This means that Swiss people in two of the largest cities (Zurich and Bern) speak different Swiss German dialects! It really makes tackling the language seem very intimidating and honestly, a little hopeless. Thankfully, that only goes for Chris and I and our old, inflexible neuron circuitry. Our trooper Luke at the local school hears instruction all day in German, but then on the playground hears all of his friends speaking Swiss German. Talk about sensory overload!! He seems to be picking both up, though! The other weekend, at a dinosaur museum, we ordered some lunch. They gave us our number, and we sat down. Chris and I agreed on what we should be listening for in German, but after a few minutes Chris thought to ask Luke how you would say the number in Swiss German. It was a completely different word, and sure enough, they called our number in Swiss German! If it was just Chris and I, we might have been sitting there for a while…it's nice to know that we are putting all of our translation trust into our 7 year old. Keep up the good work, Luker!
