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“Linguistic diversity” special coin

“Linguistic diversity”
special coin

4 languages, 4 regions, one Switzerland

175 years ago, the Swiss Federal Constitution initially established three national languages – German, French and Italian – and in 1938 this trio was supplemented by Romansh as the fourth. In addition to the national languages, the Federal Constitution also ensures linguistic freedom for all language groups.

The Swiss linguistic diversity special coin celebrates this defining characteristic of Switzerland at a time when English, Portuguese and Albanian are becoming more widespread in Switzerland, and when artificial intelligence offers quick and accurate translations. This coin features many remarkable details:

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Gold
It is made of gold. This is because, according to Nicoletta Mariolini, Federal Delegate for Plurilingualism, Switzerland’s linguistic diversity is worth its weight in gold.

4 language regions
The obverse depicts the four language regions. From left to right, French-speaking Switzerland, German-speaking Switzerland, Italian-speaking Switzerland and then Romansh-speaking Switzerland These four language regions are skilfully combined to form one overall view.

«Varietad Linguistica»
The coin’s name “Varietad Linguistica” comes from the Romansh (Rumantsch Grischun, “standard” Romansh) and is a tribute to paragraph 5 of Article 70 of the Federal Constitution: “The Confederation shall support measures by the Cantons of Graubünden and Ticino to preserve and promote the Romansh and the Italian languages.”

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Swiss cross
The reverse has four speech bubbles, one for each language region. They form a Swiss cross, a symbol of unity in the Swiss Confederation.

Plurilingualism
The four speech bubbles contain three paragraphs of Article 70 of the Federal Constitution. In German, it is paragraph 3, which lays the foundation for the promotion of plurilingualism; in French, paragraph 4, which guarantees federal support to plurilingual cantons; and in Italian and Romansh, paragraph 5, which guarantees federal support to the cantons of Graubünden and Ticino for the preservation and promotion of the Romansh and Italian languages.

More articles

175th anniversary of the Federal ConstitutionTo the article
From the archive

175th anniversary of the Federal Constitution

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Interview with Nicoletta Mariolini on Swiss linguistic diversityTo the article
Special coins

Interview with Nicoletta Mariolini on Swiss linguistic diversity

To the articleTo the article