Romandy

Coordinates: 46°12′00″N 6°09′00″E / 46.2000°N 6.1500°E / 46.2000; 6.1500
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"French Switzerland" and "Romande" redirect here. For the French language in Switzerland, see Languages of Switzerland § French. For the variant of French used in Switzerland, see Swiss French. For other uses, see Romand (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with
Romansh-speaking Switzerland
.

Romandy
Romandie (French)
Welschland (German), Romandia (Italian), Romanda (Romansh)
Cultural region of Switzerland
Language distribution in Switzerland by the year 2000. Romandy is shown in green
Language distribution in Switzerland by the year 2000. Romandy is shown in green
CountrySwitzerland
Entire CantonsGenevan Republic
Jura
Neuchâtel
Vaud
Parts of CantonsBernese Jura (Berne)
Western Fribourg (
Lower Valais (Valais)
Largest cityGeneva
Area
 • Total8,284 km2 (3,198 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total1,951,187
 • Density235/km2 (610/sq mi)
Demographics
 • LanguagesFrench (Swiss French)

Romandy (

Lower Valais
.

French is the sole official language in four Swiss cantons: Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, and Jura. Additionally, French and German have co-official status in three cantons: Fribourg/Freiburg, Valais/Wallis, and Berne/Bern.

Name

The adjective romand (feminine romande) is a regional dialectal variant of roman (modern French romain, i.e. "Roman"); in

Franco-Provençal
dialects can be traced to the 15th century; it is recorded, as rommant, in a document written in Fribourg in 1424 and becomes current in the 17th and 18th centuries in Vaud and Fribourg; it was adopted in Geneva in the 19th century, but its usage never spread outside of what is now French-speaking Switzerland.

The term Suisse romande has become widely used since World War I;[2] before World War I and during the 19th century, the term Suisse française "French Switzerland" was used, reflecting the cultural and political prestige of France (the canton of Vaud having been created by Napoleon out of former Bernese subject territories, while Geneva, Valais and Jura were even briefly joined to France, as the Léman, Simplon and Mont-Terrible départements, respectively). Suisse romande is used in contrast to Suisse alémanique ("Alemannic Switzerland") the term for Alemannic German speaking Switzerland. Formed by analogy is Suisse italienne ("Italian Switzerland"), which is composed of Ticino and of a part of Grisons.

In

Walhaz). The terms Welschland and Welschschweiz are also used in written Swiss Standard German
but in more formal contexts they are sometimes exchanged for französischsprachige Schweiz ("French-speaking Switzerland") or französische Schweiz ("French Switzerland"). Simple Westschweiz "western Switzerland" may also be used as a loose synonym.

Politics

"Romandy" is not an official territorial division of Switzerland any more than there is a clear linguistic boundary. For instance, substantial parts of the

Lower Valais, Bernese Jura and Fribourg francophone ("French-speaking Fribourg"). Bernese Jura is an administrative division of the Canton of Bern,[5]
whereas the two others are informal denominations.

French is the sole official language in the following cantons:
Arms[note 2][6]
 Canton of Joined
Switzerland 		Capital Population
[note 3] 		Area
(km2) 		Density
(per km2)
Coat of arms of Vaud
Vaud
 1803 Lausanne 814,762[7] 3,212 247
Coat of arms of Geneva Geneva 1815 Geneva 506,343[8] 282 1,756
Coat of arms of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel 1815/1857 Neuchâtel 175,894[9] 802 222
Coat of arms of Jura Jura 1979 Delémont 73,709[10] 839 87
Three regions located in French-German bilingual cantons have a French-speaking majority:
Region Canton of Joined
Switzerland 		Largest city Population

[note 3]

Area
(km2) 		Density
(per km2)
Fribourg francophone[note 4] Fribourg/Freiburg 1481 Fribourg/Freiburg 235,069[11][note 5] 1,264[12][note 5] 186
Lower Valais[note 6]
Valais/Wallis
 1815 Martigny 122,718[11] 1,344 91
Bernese Jura[note 7] Bern 1814 Moutier 53,721[13] 541 99
Romandy Geneva 1 951 187 8 284 235

Geography

Further information:
Lower Valais
French-speaking population in the Canton of Fribourg in 2000.

The linguistic boundary between French and German is known as

Jurassic separatism
virulent at the time.

The linguistic boundary cuts across Switzerland north-to-south, forming the eastern boundary of the

Upper Valais beyond Sierre. It then cuts southwards into the High Alps again, separating the Val d'Anniviers from the Mattertal
.

Historically, the linguistic boundary in the

Walser
).

Language

Main article: Swiss French
Franco-Provençal
greeting bondzo! alongside the Standard French bienvenue (2013 photograph).

Traditionally speaking the

Franco-Provençal or Patois dialects of Upper Burgundy, the romand population now speak a variety of Standard French
.

Today, the differences between Swiss French and

Frainc-Comtou dialect spoken in the Franche-Comté
region of France.

Since the 1970s, there has been a limited amount of linguistic revivalism of Franco-Provençal dialects, which are often now called Arpitan (a 1980s neologism derived from the dialectal form of the word alpine) and their area Arpitania.

Cultural identity

The cultural identity of the Romandy is supported by Radio Télévision Suisse and the universities of Geneva, Fribourg, Lausanne and Neuchâtel.

Historically, most of the Romandy has been strongly Protestant, especially

Calvinist; Geneva was one of the earliest and most important Calvinist centres. However, Roman Catholicism continued to predominate in Jura, Valais, and Fribourg
. In recent decades, due to significant immigration from France and Southern European countries, Catholics can now be found throughout the region.

The Tour de Romandie is an annual cycling event on the UCI World Tour, often considered to be an important race in preparation for the Tour de France.

Library Network

The Library Network of Western Switzerland is in the region of Romandy.

It is a collection of Libraries of Western Switzerland that are based in the region of Romandy.

See also

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Western Switzerland.

Notes

  1. ^ Before World War I, the term French Switzerland (French: Suisse française) was also used. (German: Romandie or Welschland, Italian: Romandia, Romansh: Romanda)
  2. ^ Cantonal coats of arms shown with cantonal heraldic colors (Standesfarben).
  3. ^ a b See references for dates
  4. ^ Two-thirds of the residents of the Canton of Fribourg are French speakers. All districts of the canton have a French-speaking majority except See and Sense.
  5. ^ a b Only districts with a French-speaking majority included.
  6. ^ 90% French speakers. The region includes 8 out of the 13 districts of the canton of Valais.
  7. ^ 90% French speakers. Since 2010, the Bernese Jura has been an administrative arrondissement of the canton of Bern.

References

  1. ^ Bilan de la population résidante permanente (total) selon les districts et les communes, Statistique suisse, archived from the original (XLS) on 6 August 2011, retrieved 21 December 2010
  2. ^ Suisse française, Suisse romande: le virage de 14–18?. Radio Télévision Suisse. 8 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Langues officielles (Un canton – deux langues) Chancellerie d'Etat - Canton de Berne". www.sta.be.ch. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Fribourg, le canton à la couture des langues". www.fr.ch (in French). Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Jura bernois (La Direction) Direction de l'intérieur et de la justice - Canton de Berne". www.jgk.be.ch. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. ^ Louis, Mühlemann, Wappen und Fahnen der Schweiz, 700 Jahre Confoederatio Helvetica, Lengnau, 3rd ed. 1991. Swiss Armed Forces, Fahnenreglement, Reglement 51.340 d (2007).[1] Archived 6 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  11. ^ a b "PX-Web - Tabelle wählen". www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  12. ^ Statistik, Bundesamt für (24 November 2016). "Arealstatistik Land Cover - Kantone und Grossregionen nach 6 Hauptbereichen - 1979-1985, 1992-1997, 2004-2009 | Tabelle". Bundesamt für Statistik (in German). Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Statistiques". Conseil du Jura Bernois. 2018. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2020.

Bibliography

  • Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, La Suisse romande, Sociétés coopératives Migros romandes, copyright Mme Olivieri-Ramuz, Lausanne, 1955.
  • Histoire de la littérature en Suisse romande, vol.4, Lausanne, 1996-1999, republished Geneva, 2015
  • Corinne Blanchaud, Dictionnaire des écrivains francophones classiques, Belgique, Canada, Québec, Luxembourg, Suisse romande, Paris, 2013
  • Académie de Genève Humbert, Nouveau glossaire genevois, Slatkine, 1983,
    OCLC 715183529
    .

46°12′00″N 6°09′00″E / 46.2000°N 6.1500°E / 46.2000; 6.1500

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