Svájc él a nyelveiben is, avagy Svájc a nyelveiben is él
Switzerland Lives also in its Languages, or: Swiss Life Seen through its Languages

Summary/Abstract: The author served as ambassador of Hungary in Switzerland for four years. This experience made it possible for him to approach the characteristics of Swiss life through the peculiarities of the German language used in Switzerland – characteristics that seem to be present also in the French and Italian language spoken in the country. The author argues that several words and concepts used in Switzerland carry meanings that are unknown for the rest of German-speaking people, because they reflect a very specific way of life, that of the people living in Switzerland. Characteristics of Swiss democracy can be understood through the specific language and are difficult to be transferred anywhere else unless people are made aware of this characteristic. The paper summarizes the experience of writing a whole book on the topic in German, Helvetismen, sums up its main ideas and presents some of its echoes in the German-speaking world.

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