four/five languages: SWISS-german 63%, french 24%, italian 12%, romantsch 1% and 99.9% english.

Some philosophers say: that language-diversity is the reason why, since 1291, there was no big discussion about separation - they argue: even people speaking the same language never understand each-other, but those will fight over their misunderstandings - and we Swiss just know and have a reason to accept, that we will never understand".

SWISS-german: 23 very different dialects (our northern neigbours call it "cockney" - they don't understand a word). In Switzerland, since the second world-war started, a politician (living in the swiss-german speaking part) would never be elected if he would speak the so-called high-german ("Hochdeutsch"). Our TV-stations present the news in SWISS-german-dialects.

My mother (born in Germany, that's why my first-name is Rudi and not the swiss "Ruedi"), married my swiss father in 39. She was the exception and learned swiss-german very, very fast - because nobody in our shops ever served here as long as she spoke "high german".