James Baquet

The “crossroads country” of Switzerland has four official languages--German, French, Italian, and Romansh — because it borders on Germany to the north, and Austria and tiny Liechtenstein to the east (all three of which are German-speaking countries); France to the west; and Italy to the south. Romansh, like Italian and French, is a Romance language, meaning it is derived from Latin. Thus, Switzerland lies along the cultural “fault line” between southern (Romance-speaking) Europe and Northern (Germanic-speaking) Europe.

The southern area is dominated by the Alps, which cover 60 percent of the country. Most population centers lie to the north, many on the Swiss Plateau. Well-known major cities include Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Bern (the capital city), and Lucerne.

Several points summarize Switzerland in the popular imagination. The first is neutrality together with diplomacy. It has remained neutral since completing its military expansion in 1515, including through both World Wars. It has long maintained diplomatic relations with virtually all countries, whatever “side” those countries may be on in any dispute, and has thus often been an intermediary in such disagreements.

The Swiss are also renowned for their banking system. Until recently, the secrecy of a “Swiss bank account” went unchallenged. Since 2009, however, international pressure has caused the Swiss to cooperate with authorities in various countries when such accounts are suspected of being used for purposes of tax evasion.

Here are a few other Swiss stereotypes: yodeling (a distinctive type of singing originally used for communication across great distances in the Alps); cuckoo clocks; chocolate; and Swiss Army knives. Despite all this, the country is also known as one of the world’s most developed countries, having the highest nominal wealth per adult. It also ranks high in government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life and economic competitiveness.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. relationships between countries

2. split between pieces of the earth

3. rights of citizens

4. images — perhaps untrue — held by many people about a group

5. enlargement of territory by war

6. openness and accountability

7. go-between; arbitrator

8. position of not taking sides

9. famous; well-known

10. time-telling devices that use the song of a bird to mark key points