Cantonal Identity and the Question of English as an Intra-National Language

The article offers an account of the Swiss language situation from the cantonal perspective. Many Swiss regard the cantons where they live as their small fatherlands. In Swiss mentality canton comes first before the state. Every Swiss is the citizen of a canton and, in the second rank, the citizen of the Federation. This attitude has its roots and justification in the historical tradition from which follows that it was the cantons that created the Federation and not the other way round. Therefore a cantonal community is much more than a geographical locale. For the Swiss it is the prime source of personal identity. Since cantons decide on the language to be officially used within their territories and, as a result they are largely monolingual, they may be additionally viewed as speech communities where language is the salient identity symbol. The relatively complex linguistic situation in Switzerland is additionally confounded by the steadily growing encroachment of English. At present no explicit policy has been worked out by cantonal authorities concerning this language which begins to play an increasingly important role on the intra-national level in the multilingual Switzerland. Therefore, it will also be worth making an attempt to reflect on the presence of English in the Swiss public space.