Swiss French is the name used for the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 known as Romandy. Swiss French is not to be confused with Franco-Provençal/Arpitan

Franco-Provençal language

Franco-Provençal , Arpitan, or Romand is a Romance language with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue d'Oïl and Langue d'Oc. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G.I...

 or Romansh, two other individual Romance languages

Romance languages

The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...

 spoken in areas not far from Romandy.

The differences between Swiss French and Parisian French

Standard French

Standard French is an unofficial term for a standard variety of the French language...

 are minor and mostly lexical: a Swiss French speaker would have no trouble understanding a French speaker, while a French speaker would encounter only a few unfamiliar words while listening to a Swiss French speaker. Swiss French, when compared with French of France, has a somewhat "sing-song" effect. Swiss French differs from the French of France to a far lesser extent than Swiss German

Swiss German

Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...

 differs from standard German

Standard German

Standard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...

. This was not always the case, as most of the dialects spoken in the Romandy died out and thus are no longer spoken or used.

There is not a single standardized Swiss French language: different cantons

Cantons of Switzerland

The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...

 (or even different towns in some cases) will use different vocabulary, often derived from the local regional language

Regional language

A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a federal state or province, or some wider area....

 or from German, since Switzerland is predominantly German-speaking.

Many Standard French

Standard French

Standard French is an unofficial term for a standard variety of the French language...

 terms are used in certain cantons

Cantons of Switzerland

The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...

 such as Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 due to their proximity to the French border.

Differences between Swiss French and standard French

Many differences between Swiss French and French are due to the different administrative and political systems between Switzerland and France. Some of its distinctive lexical features are shared with Belgian French

Belgian French

Belgian French is the variety of French spoken mainly in the French Community of Belgium, alongside related minority regional languages such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois and Gaumais. The French spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, which were formerly Belgian...

 (and some also with Quebec French

Quebec French

Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....

), such as:

• The use of the word for seventy, for eighty (regional) and for ninety as opposed to (literally 'sixty-ten'), (literally 'four twenties') and (literally 'four twenties-ten') of the "vigesimal
  Vigesimal
  The vigesimal or base 20 numeral system is based on twenty .- Places :...
  
  " French counting system.
• The use of the word for "breakfast" ("lunch" in French of France, which uses petit déjeuner for "breakfast"), and of the words le dîner and le souper for "lunch" and "dinner" respectively (in French of France, déjeuner and dîner respectively), much like the varying uses of dinner
  Dinner
  Dinner is usually the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon culture, dinner may be the second, third or fourth meal of the day. Originally, though, it referred to the first meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still occasionally used for a noontime meal, if it is a large or main...
  
  and supper
  Supper
  Supper is the name for the evening meal in some dialects of English - ordinarily the last meal of the day. Originally, in the Middle Ages, it referred to the lighter meal following dinner, where until the 18th century dinner was invariably eaten as the midday meal.The term is derived from the...
  
  throughout the English-speaking world.

Other examples which are not shared with Belgian French:

• The word is sometimes used for eighty instead of (literally 'four twenties'), especially in the cantons of Vaud
  Vaud
  Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
  
  , Valais
  Valais
  The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
  
   and Fribourg
  Canton of Fribourg
  The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is Fribourg. The name Fribourg is French, whereas is the German name for both the canton and the town.-History:...
  
  ; the term (from the Latin ) is now considered defunct.
• The word canton
  Canton (subnational entity)
  A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared to other administrative divisions such as counties, departments or provinces. Internationally the best-known cantons, and the most politically...
  
   has a different meaning in each country.
• In France, a post office box is called a , whereas in Switzerland, it is called a .

Examples of words that differ between Swiss French and Standard French

Swiss French	Standard French	Translation
déjeuner	petit-déjeuner	breakfast
dîner	déjeuner	lunch
souper	dîner	dinner
services	couverts	cutlery
panosse	serpillière	floorcloth
dent de lion	pissenlit	dandelion
fœhn	sèche-cheveux	hairdryer
action	promotion	special offer
natel	(téléphone) portable	mobile phone
boguet	mobylette	moped
bonnard	sympa, bien	nice
cornet	sac en plastique	plastic bag
fourre	dossier	folder
linge	serviette	towel

See also

• Swiss German
  Swiss German
  Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...
  
  
• Swiss Italian
• Linguistic geography of Switzerland
  Linguistic geography of Switzerland
  The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Only three of these languages, however, maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation: German, French, and Italian.Native speakers...
  
  

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.