Swiss Italian

This article is about the language. For the Swiss Italian people, see Swiss (nationality).

Swiss Italian
Italiano svizzero
Native to	Switzerland
Native speakers	500,000  (date missing)
Language family	Indo-European Italic Romance Italo-Dalmatian Italian Swiss Italian
Official status
Official language in	Switzerland (as Italian)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

Swiss Italian is the name given to the dialect spoken by about 500,000 Swiss in the canton of Ticino and in the southern part of Graubünden (Canton Grigioni). Sometimes the term is also used to signify the Italian-speaking autochthonous population in Switzerland.

It should not be confused with Ticinese, a comprehensive name for the dialects of Western Lombard spoken in the same area of Switzerland.

Characteristics

Despite being very similar to standard Italian, Swiss Italian presents some differences from the Italian spoken in Italy due to the presence of French and German from which it assimilates words. A clear example would be the driving licence. In standard Italian it is called "patente di guida" while in Swiss Italian it becomes "Licenza di condurre", from the French "Permis de conduire". Another example is the interurban bus. In standard Italian it would be "autobus" or "corriera" while in Swiss Italian it is the Autopostale or even posta (because nearly all interurban lines are run by a subsidiary of the Swiss Post).^{[citation needed]}

Radiotelevisione Svizzera di lingua Italiana is the main Swiss public broadcasting network in Italian. The University of Lugano is the major university of Italian Switzerland.

Swiss Italians of Australia, (also Swiss / Italian and Swiss - Italian) are the Italian speaking Swiss and Italians that settled in Australia during the 1850s and 1860s. The Swiss Italians initially settled in the area around Daylesford in Victoria. The Swiss settlers were from the canton of Ticino and in the southern part of Graubünden. The Italian settlers were predominantly from the northern Italian Regions of Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Liguria and Piemonte.

Examples

Some examples of Ticinese words that are different from Italian are:

Swiss Italian	Italian	English Translation	Notes
natel	telefonino	mobile phone	from the name of one of the first mobile phone companies
chifer	cornetto	croissant	from the Swiss German Gipfel
mappetta	busta	envelope
azione	saldi	sale	from German Aktion

See also

• Ticinese dialect
• Swiss German
• Swiss French
• Languages of Switzerland
• Swiss Italians of Australia
• Italian immigration to Switzerland
• Swiss Italian irredentism

External links

• (Italian) Dizionario dell'italiano ticinese, grigionese e "federale"