Most products in the stores are labeled in German, French and Italian, or at least in German and French. All official documents are issued in the recipient's mother tongue. A lot of money is spent on translations in both the public and private sectors.

In less formal situations English is creeping in. Visitors are struck by the number of advertisements in English. The advantage to the advertisers is not only that English is a prestige language - and one with youth appeal - but also that the same posters can be used nation-wide.

Swiss stamps get over the language problem by calling the country Helvetia. And perhaps it was because his creators live in a multilingual country that Switzerland's world famous cartoon character, Pingu, is perfectly intelligible although he speaks in a language all of his own!