2024-02-29 08:25:58
“Hi guys” is the new “Hoi z’samme”. This is the observation of the German-speaking press in February: English is on the way to becoming the 2nd national language of Switzerland. In other current trends, newspapers mention “fancy floats” and “pottery and bubbles” classes in Zurich.
Hoi z’samme – February 2024 / News on video / 2 min. / yesterday at 2:57 p.m.
English, second national language?
English is on the verge of becoming the second national language of Switzerland. According to the 2022 FSO structural survey, around 14% of residents in the canton of Zug say they mainly speak English. Then come Basel-City, Geneva and Zurich. The NZZ specifies that in 22 years, the number of residents whose mother tongue is English has increased sevenfold.
If we can deplore this progression of English to the detriment of our four national languages, we can also see it as a glue that connects us: for young German-speaking people, the exchange with French-speaking Switzerland – if it still takes place , adds the newspaper – is done in English.
Army trains with ‘fancy tanks’
The Swiss army has banned the circulation of its M113 grenadier tanks. These old vehicles dating from the 1960s have a technical defect in the transmission shaft.
Blick explains that this “grounding” will continue until 2025, forcing the army to train with “fancy tanks”. The soldiers must “imagine them”, or use other vehicles.
“We are doing as best we can,” confides the president of the Society of Armored Troop Officers, Erich Muff, “but it cannot continue like this,” he continues. He therefore pleads for more investments.
“Pottery and bubbles” classes
Forget yoga, totally out of fashion! These days, hip Zurichers make pottery. The NZZ went to take a course called “Pottery and Bubbles”, in other words, pottery and champagne.
The daily explains that the participants seek in pottery a “compensation for monotonous work in front of the screen”. The activity – and the champagne? – allows them to relax, to return to reality, but also to better understand how everyday objects are made.
The mission seems accomplished, since one participant explains that it is a good way for her to clear her head and feel emotions.
>> Find the press review from Monday to Friday at 7:47 a.m. on La Première and on RTS2: 
Subject: Valérie Droux
Web adaptation: Simon Faraud
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