The use of the Albanian language in Switzerland should not be seen only as an aspect of linguistic diversity, but also as an important commitment to protect and promote the cultural heritage of Albanians in this country.
Thursday, May 9, 2024 – 1:13
The director of the albinfo.ch platform (online&print), Sevdail Tahiri
At a time when learning Albanian is a process with many problems in Switzerland, and the number of Albanian students is constantly decreasing, it is encouraging to see the results of a new study by the Office federal statistics office which shows that, for the first time in more than ten years, more people in Switzerland speak Albanian than Portuguese. There are 292,700 people in the resident (permanent) population who speak Albanian as their mother tongue. Albanian and Portuguese are, in percentage terms, almost the same: both languages are spoken by 3.4% of the population.
The results of this study are also encouraging for the complementary teaching of Albanian. As is known, Albanian-speaking teachers mainly attributed the obvious weaknesses to parents who do not send their children to learn Albanian and to institutions in the countries of origin, which did not do enough to establish an educational institution Albanian in the diaspora.
Regardless, this statistic will also change locals’ approach to Albanian. Indeed, it is possible that cases where children were forbidden to speak Albanian to their friends in class, in the corridors or in play corners will not happen again: they will be forced to communicate only in German.
The aim of this ban, according to those who implemented it, was that, by speaking only German, “as many children as possible would have the best chances at school and later on the market of work”, but experts say the opposite.
“If you don’t speak Albanian in Switzerland, that’s a problem,” they say half-jokingly, and many institutions claim that they offer information to their clients also in Albanian. This trend was observed two years ago by the largest Swiss newspaper 20min., which offered the possibility of reading news online in the Albanian language.
In this context, the use of the Albanian language in Switzerland should not be seen only as an aspect of linguistic diversity, but also as an important commitment to protect and promote the cultural heritage of Albanians in this country.
Switzerland is a country of linguistic diversity and many cultures. In this multicultural environment, every language and culture deserves to be respected and promoted equally. In contrast, the Albanian language, as part of this rich cultural mosaic, needs special support and incentive to develop and perhaps even spread within institutional settings. In Switzerland, the Albanian community is one of the largest and oldest communities. Despite the fact that Albanians are well integrated into Swiss society, it should be emphasized that the preservation of their mother tongue is essential to maintain their cultural identity and ensure the transmission of their heritage to future generations.
Encouraging the use of the Albanian language in Switzerland must be a joint commitment of the Swiss government, educational institutions and the Albanian community. The creation and promotion of Albanian language teaching programs in Swiss schools, as well as the provision of opportunities for participation in cultural and educational activities in Albanian, are essential steps in this direction.
Additionally, Albanian media in Switzerland play an important role in promoting the use of the Albanian language. This mission has been fulfilled for more than a decade by the media platform albinfo.ch. Despite the challenges as a foreign media outlet, we continue to provide accurate and timely news in Albanian, to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the Albanian language. This issue of our magazine focuses on encouraging the use of the Albanian language in Switzerland, which is an essential step towards protecting the cultural identity of the Albanian community. By investing in this direction, Switzerland, but also the carriers of language education, will not only strengthen cultural diversity, but also contribute to the preservation of the valuable cultural heritage of Albanians in the country.
The director of the albinfo.ch platform (online&print), Sevdail Tahiri
