The country's four national languages are one of Switzerland's characteristic features. However, this multilingualism is mostly of a territorial nature. It is only in the border regions between the language areas that the different languages are used concurrently in everyday communication. The city of Biel/Bienne is distinguished by what could be termed "consensual bilingualism". French and German are accorded equal status; in principle, neither language is given priority and the two language groups accept and respect the language of the others. A study on bilingualism in Biel/Bienne and Freiburg/Fribourg praised the coexistence of the two languages in the former city as exemplary. The report described Biel/Bienne as more than just a "miniature Switzerland" due to the distribution of the two languages among its population - thanks to the way multilingualism is handled there, the city should be seen as a role model for the whole of Switzerland. In public conversations, the language is chosen by the person who speaks first. Whether the conversation is in French or German, the counterparty adapts accordingly, even if he or she does not speak the second language well. This behaviour has been known as the "Biel model" since the 1980s.
Bilingualism – Biel/Bienne is the largest bilingual city in Switzerland © Chambre économique Biel/Bienne Seeland
Sixty per cent of Biel's residents speak German, 30% French and 10% Italian, while over 20% speak three other languages © Ville de Bienne
Active bilingualism in the retail trade © Forum du bilinguisme / Forum für die Zweisprachigkeit
The media in the largest officially bilingual city in Switzerland © Forum du bilinguisme / Forum für die Zweisprachigkeit, 2012
BierBienne.ch (2017) © kultur-projekte.ch
Bilingualism in Biel/Bienne (2017) © kultur-projekte.ch
Consequent application of the bilingualism (2017) © kultur-projekte.ch
The “Lago Lodge Swiss Hostel” in Nidau on Facebook (2017) © kultur-projekte.ch
Category
Canton
Detailed description
Zweisprachigkeit in Biel/Bienne (PDF, 414 kB, 04.06.2018)Ausführliche Beschreibung
Video
Connected traditions
Publications
Sarah-Jane Conrad, Daniel Elmiger (Ed.): Leben und Reden in Biel/Bienne. Kommunikation in einer zweisprachigen Stadt / Vivre et communiquer dans une ville bilingue. Une expérience biennoise. Tübingen, 2010
Claude Longchamp et al.: Anstrengungen zur Zweisprachigkeit wirken sich positiv aus. Schlussbericht zum «Zweisprachigkeitsbarometer der Stadt Biel/Bienne 2008». Bern, 2008
Reto Wissmann: Biel taugt als Musterbeispiel für die Schweiz. In: Der Bund, 18. August 2010
Christina Späti: Sprache als Politikum. Ein Vergleich der Schweiz und Kanadas seit den 1960er Jahren. Augsburg, 2015
Martin Schuler et al.: Quelles perspectives pour Bienne et son bilinguisme? Examen des éventuelles conséquences d'un départ du Jura bernois du Canton de Berne. Rapport final. Lausanne, 2011
Links
Multimedia on-line
Keywords
Understanding and integration
Gathering and debating
Contact
Forum für Zweisprachigkeit, Biel
Forum du bilinguisme, Bienne