Afrikaans native speaker wanted, Italian doesn't want to die in Switzerland, Elvish in German

Three quick things today:

A job posting for a native speaker of Afrikaans. The job is to listen to something in Afrikaans and type it out, and get paid for the amount done. The site advertising the position has an Afrikaans spelling test for those that register for the job, and though I couldn't be bothered to register to take it for fun it could be interesting to do for a serious student of the language, considering how relatively few places there are to use and test oneself in the language.

A lobby for the defense of Italian in Switzerland, article in French. It's about the Gruppo interparlamentare per l'italianità and how it intends to keep Switzerland from being a de facto bilingual country (German / French) by 2020. Italian is the only national language there (except for Romansh) that is spoken less at work than at home, though by just a bit. They show a lot of sympathy for Romansh as well.

An article in German about Elvish, suggested by a helpful comment on the About page. The person interviewed for the article wants to see Elvisth spoken worldwide: „Ich freue mich auf den Tag“, schreibt Lucia dazu, „an dem Quenya oder Sindarin auf der ganzen Welt gesprochen wird.“

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Should Portuguese be taught in Geneva? 200+ comments have an opinion too.

The articles I manage to find on which part of which country may or may not learn which language are usually quite bereft of comments - not so this one, about the possibility of teaching Portuguese in Switzerland. The reason for the comments is because it's not just the idea of giving the option to learn it in schools, but rather a petition asking Portuguese to be put into the curriculum in Geneva due to the large number of ethnic Portuguese there:

"We are the canton where is found the largest number of Portuguese in Switzerland, some 50,000 people...Our children represent 10% of schoolchildren, and so we hope to give them the possibility to learn their language, as is the case with Spanish or Russian children in certain schools."

Most of the comments in the article seem to be negative, for two reasons: 1) taxation (paying for education in a non-official language), and 2) opening the door to more and more languages such as Albanian and Serbian and whoever else is able to gather enough signatures and support to make the case for their language. Positive comments tend to stress the importance and opportunity of Portuguese as a world language.

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Languages the Swiss speak at home vs. work

An article here in French with some census numbers from Switzerland has an interesting comparison at the end showing which languages are spoken at home vs. at work. German dominates with Hochdeutsch showing a huge increase compared to that spoken at home, French is spoken a bit more at work than at home, Italian interestingly almost maintains the same percentage, and English shows a huge increase in relative terms.

Swiss German: 61.3% at home, 66.9% at work
German / Hochdeutsch: 9.6% at home, 32.3% at work
French: 23.2% at home, 29% at work
Italian: 9.0% at home, 8.8% at work
English: 4.1% at home, 16.5% at work

Romansch also has a place in the article, but not the home vs. work part: according to the census it is spoken by 0.6% of the population.

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Parents in Ticino (Switzerland) may not send daughter to English private school

From here in French:

The federal court dismissed parents from Ticino who wanted to enrol their daughter in a private English school. The court said that linguistic freedom, guaranteed under the federal constitution, was not absolute. The official language of Ticino is Italian and teaching there is done, with rare exceptions, in that language.

Though the third national language is not threatened with extinction, the necessity to protect it against the growing importance of German was acutely felt a number of decades ago, said the court. One bill even aimed to formally ban the establishment of German-language schools.

Legislation in Ticino on compulsory education, which requires teaching in Italian to children of school age, still reflects these concerns. It is an instrument of "integration" and "safeguarding" of Italian in the face of a large number of Germanophone inhabitants.

The unsuccessful parents, who have dual Swiss-Italian nationality, will have to pay 2000 francs for their legal costs. In support of their application they said that their daughter would not have any disadvantage in going to an English school since she already spoke Italian.

In other cantons they would have had less difficulty: a spokesman for the department of Vaud said that the canton of Vaud does not have regulations similar to those in Ticino.

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Pope gets 26 new Swiss guards

Perhaps not much geopolitical importance here, but interesting nonetheless:

26 new Swiss Guards will take the oath on 6 May this year: 16 German, 5 French, and 5 Italian speakers (Canton of Ticino - the only canton in Switzerland where Italian is the sole official language).

Ticino is also where Hermann Hesse lived.

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Swiss teacher teaches German using two tables (charts)

An article here features a teacher that has been teaching German for five years, who apparently gives his students two tables to refer to that unite all the basic grammar:

"To understand German, one must solve a simple equation, combining conjugation, grammar and vocabulary" explains the 35-year-old teacher. His students have only two tables to learn by heart to know all declensions and agreements of the German language.

He has not published these methods or tried to sell them yet so it's impossible to say what they look like - also how large these two tables are that are to be learned by heart.

The article itself is not about PR for the teacher, however; it's about teaching methods in Switzerland and how much leeway teachers have to use their own methods. Apparently this teacher's methods are not entirely welcome.

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Demonstration in Geneva against cuts to Portuguese-language programs

Another demonstration against cuts by the Portuguese government to its Portuguese language teachers abroad has taken place, this time in Geneva (Switzerland).

Around 200 people demonstrated Saturday against Portuguese budgetary cuts. This economic program has hit the language courses financed by Lisbon.

The protestors called on Switzerland to put pressure on the Portuguese authorities for the maintenance of language courses for their children. The economic program threatens the language courses on behalf of children of the Portuguese community, the third-largest in Switzerland with 224,171 citizens.

The demonstration also denounced the "untenable position" for the 200 Portuguese state employees in Switzerland. The employees of the embasy and consulates as well as language teachers earn about 40% less than they did three years ago. They receive salaries below the level of minimum subsistence.

Not sure if these programs are only available for / popular with Portuguese descendants or whether there is a benefit to the rest of Switzerland in them.

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Second Confucius Institute in Switzerland to begin in September 2012, in Zürich

A bit from this article in German:

In autumn in Zurich a Confucius Institute is to open its doors. Some professors from the University of Zurich voted against the project for fear of Chinese influence.

Since the government of the People's Republic of China made the decision seven years ago to promote the Chinese language and culture in the world, over 90 Confucius Institutes have been established in Europe alone...in November 2011 the first Confucius Institute on Swiss soil was founded in Geneva, and now Zurich is to get one of its own, with a planned opening date of September 2012.

There is great interest on the Chinese side. "Sino-Swiss relations have experienced a rapid, profound development in recent years" says Liang Jianquan, Consul General of China in Zurich. "We are pleased to be able to develop these relationships based on mutual respect and benefits to both sides."

The meeting of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zurich (Fakultätsversammlung der Philosophischen Fakultät) is not quite so euphoric. The group, with 136 professors and representatives, had to first approve the statutes. A third of those present in October reportedly voted against the project, a number the dean's office will not confirm. "There was a certain amount of reluctance from some members, who expressed concerns about possible political complications", admitted Peter Fröhlicher (Dean of the Faculty of Arts).

At the Confucius Institute itself will be likely no events that deal with critical themes such as the human rights situation in China. "The Institute will not be a place where politics is driven", said Liang. The Tibet question is for the PRC "an artificial issue", whose discussion does not belong at such a place.

In spring contract negotiations are to take place between Zurich and Beijing. Important issues such as the financing of the institute will then be discussed. It is usual to get start-up financing through the Chinese Confucius Institute sponsor Hanban, which is subordinate to the Chinese Ministry of Education, and financing of such institutes is usually a shared cost (matching fund principle) between institutes of two nations. How much the Chinese side is to pay is still open.

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Hear Alemannic German (south Germany, Switzerland etc.) spoken

One more Wikipedia deserves a mention after yesterday's posts on spoken Wikipedia articles in Persian and Turkish, the Wikipedia in Alemannic German. There are only five articles in the whole list (see here) but that may still be one of the best resources online to hear and study it. They've done a much better job categorizing the files as you can just click on Version to go to the version of the article used to make the recording, so no searching through the history to find the right one.

The articles are Bunschueh-Bewegung (the Bundschuh Movement, peasant rebellions from the late 15th to early 16th century), Kanal Ratte (a radio station in Schopfheim that broadcasts in Allemanic), Linzgau (a region in southern Germany), Pal Engjëlli (a bishop who wrote the first known sentence in Albanian), and Rheinfelden (a city in southern Germany).

I listened to the first one and if I didn't know beforehand I would have said it was a guy from Bergen speaking German, but then again I know very little about both German and Norwegian accents.

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Movement for the defense of French created in Montérégie, Quebec

Radio Canada has an article on the subject here, with a total of 76 comments so far. Here's what the article says:

A group for the protection of French has been created in Montérégie. Connected to the Mouvement Montréal français, the Mouvement Montérégie français intends to fight against the anglicization of the southern suburb of the metropolis.

"The Island of Montreal is being anglicized, and this is flowing over the border (into other regions). French is losing ground in many areas, in Brossard, in Châteauguay, in Delson, in La Prairie, in Longueil", says the spokesman for the group, the author Yves Beauchemin.

The movement intends to promote French in this region by participating in welcoming and francization of new arrivals.

Montérégie is the region with the third largest number of immigrants in Quebec. If the group sees a link (to immigrants and a weakening of French), it does not blame them, however.

"It is our attitude to French that is the problem. Quebec almost always uses English with newcomers. It's the softness of the Charest government in defending and promoting French", says Yves Beauchemin.

He also lays blame on the decisions of the Supreme Court, where the last one invalidated Law 104. That law, passed in 2002, closed the door to allophone children who entered English public schools after a stint in a private school.

"This decision is the 200th change, or nearly so, that the Supreme Court has imposed on Law 101, and there it affects the language of instruction."

The Mouvement Montérégie français will be officially launched on Sunday  by a rally denouncing this decision of the highest court in the country.

Some of the comments below blame the quality (grammar, proper usage) of French in Montreal and Quebec for immigrants not learning it (that's definitely not true). One interesting comment has been written by someone from Switzerland about how Switzerland handles linguistic policy.

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29 November 2009: A majority in Switzerland vote to ban the construction of minarets

Well, that was certainly a surprise. You can see the results by canon in German here. Every canon except four voted for the ban. The canon that was most opposed to the ban was Geneva, and the one most in favour of it was Glarus.

Now, as for the international reaction: it will depend on the way other countries treat religious minorities in their own land. Those in which apostasy or the construction of other religious buildings is forbidden for example don't really have a leg to stand on, but perhaps others might. I'm not up to date with the specific regulations in each country though so I can't really say.

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Swiss citizens to vote on a minaret ban in two days; interview with one of the initiators of the referendum

Meneame (kind of like Reddit or Digg but in Spanish) is currently discussing an article here featuring an interview with Ulrich Schlüer (shown on the right), one of the initiators of the referendum that will be voted on in two days. Items can be put to Swiss citizens in a referendum if over 100,000 signatures are received to support it. Here's most of the interview.

More than 110,000 signed the petition of the SVP (Swiss People's Party) to hold a binding referendum to prohibit the construction of minarets. The posters of the yes campaign have offended the more than 400,000 Muslims who live in this state in the centre of Europe. In them is shown a violent and aggressive image of the religious community that, in Switzerland's case, comes mainly from Turkey and the Balkans.

Ulrich Schlüer is a member of the SVP and the leader of the initiative against minarets. His controversial remarks have generated a heated debate in the country.

Q: - Why has a referendum been arranged to prohibit the construction of minarets in Switzerland?

A: - Minarets open the door to sharia (Islamic law) in Switzerland. We see them as a symbol of political Islam.

Q: - Listening to this it would seem that Switzerland is full of minarets, but in reality there are only four. Moreover, they are only used to call the faithful to prayer. Can you really talk of Islamization?

A: - We do not have the same situation as in Berlin, Paris or London. In Switzerland the problem is just beginning, which is when it can be solved. It's true that we have few minarets, but on the other hand there are 17,000 women that are forced to marry their husbands, and this is against our constitution. We do not accept any other law, because our laws do not come from heaven nor are they proclaimed by a dictator. Anyone can come to Switzerland at any time as long as they respect our laws.

Q: - But a minaret is just a tower of cement joined to a mosque, is it not?

A: - A minaret is a construction but is also a symbol. The political message of a minaret, which has no religious significance, is: "We want to implement Islamic law", and there are mosques in Switzerland in which this is openly said.

Q: - You have no problem with the faithful of other religion, but you do with Muslims. So why not propose a total prohibition of Islam in place of the minarets?

A: - No, Islam as a religion must be respected. In Switzerland we have religious freedom. Here we have Hindus, Buddhists...but we have no intention to change our law.

Q: - But even if the construction of minarets is forbidden, there will still be forced marriage, burkas will still be worn...

A: - Yes, this is true. We cannot change the situation into another in one day. But keep in mind how democracy functions in Switzerland. If politicians see that more than 50% of the population believes that the problem is not solved, they will react and do something about it because they want to be reelected.

Q: - In Switzerlands there have been two waves of Muslim immigration, one at the end of the 1960s and another in the 1990s, but this debate has only taken place just now. What has changed?

A: - In the 1960s we had 16,000 Muslims in Switzerland, but now there are about half a million. We have spokespeople in the Muslim community that believe that Switzerland should have two laws - sharia for them, and another regular law for the rest. This did not happen 40 years ago.

Q: - In Switzerland, one in every four inhabitants is foreign and 5% of the population is Muslim. Does this type of initiative help their integration?

A: - Why not? For decades, important problems in Switzerland were put on the table and discussed openly. If this debate is done away with, that's when you have problems. There are many Muslims that are on our side in this initiative because they are against the growing number of Muslims that want to establish sharia and defend stoning, etc. We are not ashamed to defend our values and our democracy.

Q: - And what about the posters? Do you really believe that an image equaling a minaret with a missile will help integration?

A: - The poster has a clear message: it begins with minarets and ends with the burka. Every one who looks at it for a second understands what it means. There is nothing illegal or offensive in that poster.

Q: - But I still see missiles (in the poster)...

A: - (Note: the original answer in the article is worded a bit badly for a literal translation so paraphrasing would be a better idea. His answer was that alluding to minarets as weapons was not his idea in the first place, that it was Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (the Prime Minister of Turkey) for example who alluded to minarets as "their bayonets". Erdoğan went to jail for four months for that, by the way.)

For more on the minaret controversy and referendum, see here and here. Marseille in France is also facing the same issue, with the construction of a mosque there causing quite a stir.

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