Mike K
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I live in Zürich, where the official language is German (some other cantons vary, of course). While it's possible to get by with only English (people will always find someone who can speak English if they can't speak it themselves), I think you'd be missing out. Firstly, as a British expat myself I find it rather embarrassing to see people not even *trying* to speak German (it seems to me that if you want to live somewhere you should at least attempt to speak the local language), and secondly if you find yourself in a situation where you really need to communicate urgently (an accident, for instance) and there's nobody there who can speak English you're in trouble. Thirdly, being able to at least read German is very useful as all the correspondence you'll get from people like the local city authorities will be in the local language.
There's a flipside, however. Swiss people don't speak what you'd call "standard German" - they speak a wide variety of dialects that are known as Schwyzertüütsch, or Swiss German. While everyone can speak "standard" German, in conversation Swiss people will speak their own dialect and even fluent German speakers will find it hard if not impossible to understand it. You need to be prepared for the fact that if you take German classes outside Switzerland you are still quite likely not to be able to understand many conversations. However, people don't mind speaking standard German, and if you address them in it they'll use it with you.
In summary, I think you will miss out on some things if you don't speak at least some German, but at the same time while you're living in Switzerland is a great time to spend some time learning the language.
Viel Glück! |
asl151e
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I spent a month in Basel (sept-oct). I managed quite well with a limited vocabulary.
It really depends what you will be doing. most tourist places have english speaking people. and you will be able to get help almost anywhere you go in the city.
Kids now study english as a third language. people in health care, banking, restaurants and similar things have some english
suggest you do a short course(i did not) or get a bit of computer based training(i did) |
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