OPINION: Is there such a thing as a typical Swiss person?
Despite what many foreigners may think, Switzerland is not a homogenous nation where everyone yodels or plays an alphorn. Helena Bachmann looks at what exactly does it mean to be ‘typically’ Swiss and are there such people in this country?
If you ever land at Zurich airport and take a train from the terminal to passport control, you will see a brief video projected against the wall, showing “Heidi” blowing kisses while there is yodelling in the background along with moo-ing of the cows.
That’s the “typically Swiss” image tourism authorities want you to see the moment you land in Switzerland, to get you in a mood for all the ‘Swissness’ that supposedly awaits outside the airport’s doors.
But the image is inadvertently misleading, as the quintessential ‘Swiss’ mountain girl may have actually been German.
This, in itself, is a sign of ‘Swissness’, however: according to data from the Federal Statistics Office, over 2.7 million people in Switzerland — 38 percent of permanent residents aged 15 and over — have a migration background like Heidi.
READ MORE: Nearly 40 percent of Swiss residents have ‘migration background’
This includes people who immigrated to Switzerland and those born here of foreign parents, but who were not naturalised in the meantime.
This is because, unlike many other countries, being born in Switzerland doesn’t automatically mean the person is Swiss, so the notion of ‘Swissness’ by birth is flawed.
READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Why so few third-generation Swiss are actually ‘Swiss’?
Cheese, watches, chocolate and…Ricooooola
Friends and family in the United States often ask me what a typical Swiss person is like.
My response: do you mean Swiss-German, Swiss-French, or Swiss-Italian?
That's because one of Switzerland's specificities is that it is a multi-lingual and multi-cultural nation, with each linguistic region taking on some of the characteristics of the countries which they border.
Therefore, Swiss-Germans are said to be (generally speaking) more fastidious and staid; Swiss-French more moderate and less strict, and Italian speakers the most relaxed of all. In fact, there is a saying that the Italian-speaking region of Ticino is just like Italy, only cleaner.
This multi-pronged explanation confuses my American friends even more, because the answer they expect to hear is a stereotypical one: all Swiss people wear Rolex watches, eat lots of cheese and chocolate, and ski practically from birth (the last three are actually true).
Then there are those who are convinced that the ‘real’ Swiss are exactly like the men portrayed in the Ricola advertisement once popular in the US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-1ik3S6Ct4
All this brings up a question of whether a foreign-born person who lives in Switzerland and wears a Rolex, consumes large quantities of cheese and chocolate, hits the slopes regularly, and carries Ricola in the pocket can nevertheless qualify as a ‘typical’ Swiss?
In other words, is ‘Swissness’ a matter of multi-generational ancestry and pedigree, or acquired habits and behaviours?
So what constitutes ‘Swissness”?
This is a subjective matter, of course, but there are nevertheless some typically Swiss traits you can expect to find pretty much everywhere across Switzerland — though more so in some regions than in others.
They are cleanliness, punctuality, organisational skills, attention to detail, strong work ethic, and a sense of duty and responsibility.
Then there are the values that Swiss people hold dear and that distinguish them from residents of many other nations : grass-roots direct democracy, neutrality, as well as personal freedom and constitutional right to self-determination.
There are also various quirks and paradoxes that are possibly not exclusively Swiss per se, but certainly common in this country. One example is that excessive noise is prohibited at night and on Sundays, but the Swiss will challenge anyone who complains about the chiming of church clocks every half an hour or incessant ringing of cow bells.
The bottom line: Is there such a thing as a typical Swiss?
One answer may be that a person who displays all or some of the skills, personality traits, and beliefs of a true Swiss, is one.
Generally speaking, anyone with the above-mentioned qualities — organisational skills, attention to detail, strong work ethic, and a sense of duty and responsibility — could fit the bill.
Oh wait, we found him: Roger Federer!
READ MORE: Which is Switzerland’s ‘most Swiss’ canton?
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If you ever land at Zurich airport and take a train from the terminal to passport control, you will see a brief video projected against the wall, showing “Heidi” blowing kisses while there is yodelling in the background along with moo-ing of the cows.
That’s the “typically Swiss” image tourism authorities want you to see the moment you land in Switzerland, to get you in a mood for all the ‘Swissness’ that supposedly awaits outside the airport’s doors.
But the image is inadvertently misleading, as the quintessential ‘Swiss’ mountain girl may have actually been German.
This, in itself, is a sign of ‘Swissness’, however: according to data from the Federal Statistics Office, over 2.7 million people in Switzerland — 38 percent of permanent residents aged 15 and over — have a migration background like Heidi.
READ MORE: Nearly 40 percent of Swiss residents have ‘migration background’
This includes people who immigrated to Switzerland and those born here of foreign parents, but who were not naturalised in the meantime.
This is because, unlike many other countries, being born in Switzerland doesn’t automatically mean the person is Swiss, so the notion of ‘Swissness’ by birth is flawed.
READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Why so few third-generation Swiss are actually ‘Swiss’?
Cheese, watches, chocolate and…Ricooooola
Friends and family in the United States often ask me what a typical Swiss person is like.
My response: do you mean Swiss-German, Swiss-French, or Swiss-Italian?
That's because one of Switzerland's specificities is that it is a multi-lingual and multi-cultural nation, with each linguistic region taking on some of the characteristics of the countries which they border.
Therefore, Swiss-Germans are said to be (generally speaking) more fastidious and staid; Swiss-French more moderate and less strict, and Italian speakers the most relaxed of all. In fact, there is a saying that the Italian-speaking region of Ticino is just like Italy, only cleaner.
This multi-pronged explanation confuses my American friends even more, because the answer they expect to hear is a stereotypical one: all Swiss people wear Rolex watches, eat lots of cheese and chocolate, and ski practically from birth (the last three are actually true).
Then there are those who are convinced that the ‘real’ Swiss are exactly like the men portrayed in the Ricola advertisement once popular in the US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-1ik3S6Ct4
All this brings up a question of whether a foreign-born person who lives in Switzerland and wears a Rolex, consumes large quantities of cheese and chocolate, hits the slopes regularly, and carries Ricola in the pocket can nevertheless qualify as a ‘typical’ Swiss?
In other words, is ‘Swissness’ a matter of multi-generational ancestry and pedigree, or acquired habits and behaviours?
So what constitutes ‘Swissness”?
This is a subjective matter, of course, but there are nevertheless some typically Swiss traits you can expect to find pretty much everywhere across Switzerland — though more so in some regions than in others.
They are cleanliness, punctuality, organisational skills, attention to detail, strong work ethic, and a sense of duty and responsibility.
Then there are the values that Swiss people hold dear and that distinguish them from residents of many other nations : grass-roots direct democracy, neutrality, as well as personal freedom and constitutional right to self-determination.
There are also various quirks and paradoxes that are possibly not exclusively Swiss per se, but certainly common in this country. One example is that excessive noise is prohibited at night and on Sundays, but the Swiss will challenge anyone who complains about the chiming of church clocks every half an hour or incessant ringing of cow bells.
The bottom line: Is there such a thing as a typical Swiss?
One answer may be that a person who displays all or some of the skills, personality traits, and beliefs of a true Swiss, is one.
Generally speaking, anyone with the above-mentioned qualities — organisational skills, attention to detail, strong work ethic, and a sense of duty and responsibility — could fit the bill.
Oh wait, we found him: Roger Federer!
READ MORE: Which is Switzerland’s ‘most Swiss’ canton?
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