Rstigraben

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• Röstigraben
• Daniel Andres

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What is it?

• Rösti Swiss potato dish
• Graben ditch

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What is it really?

• Perceived divide along linguistic lines between
  the Swiss-German and French speaking populations.
  
• Culture, value system, mentality

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A little history

• Celtic tribes most importantly the Helvetians
• Conquest by the Romans around 0 A.D.
• Around 260 A.D. the Alemans invade and conquer
  Helvetia

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More history

• Burgundians occupying territory to the West adopt
  Latin
• By 1100 A.D. the German-Romance language boundary
  stable
• 1291 the 3 founding cantons declare their
  independence from Habsburg

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More History cont.

• More cantons join over the next couple hundred
  years
• Napoleon conquers in 1798 and gives independence
  again in 1803
• 1848 Swiss constitution
• German, French, Italian, Romantsch all official
  languages

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What is the glue?

• Shared history
• Intermarriage
• Mobility
• Culture, Tradition
• School system
• Prosperity

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Conclusion

• While the Röstigraben wont go away in the near
  future it is also something that the Swiss have
  learned to live with for centuries. They agree
  to disagree.
• The Swiss education system also goes to great
  lengths to raise awareness and tolerance.

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Conclusion cont.

• The last major conflict between the German and
  French speakers was during WWI.
• The diverging opinions on EU membership are a
  little concerning but Swiss national identity
  across linguistic boundaries is extremely strong
  for the above-mentioned reasons.

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While jokes and stereotypes will persist Swiss
multiculturalism and multilingualism have proven
to be an asset, not a liability a glue, not a
divide.
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Sources

• Barber, Ben. Speaking Swiss. World and I.
  2002 P. 178-182
• De Torrente, Henry. The Role of Language in the
  Development of Swiss National Consciousness.
  Ex-Minister of Switzerland.
• Grin, Francois. Language Policy in Multilingual
  Switzerland. Linguistic Conference Barcelona.
  2002 P. 1-9
• Rash, Felicity. German-Romance Language Borders
  in Switzerland. Journal of Multilingual and
  Multicultural Development. 2002P.112-136
• http//www.swissworld.org/eng/swissworld.html?site
  Sect803sid4096721cKey1129813434000rubricId1
  6030
• http//www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/dienst
  leistungen/publikationen_statistik/blank/blank/Pol
  itAtlas_2004/uebersicht.html
• http//www.vdf.ethz.ch/service/Atlas/Landkarte.jpg
  

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Sources cont.

• http//www.kzu.ch/personen/schueler/projekte/4a/ro
  esti.htm
• www.wikipedia.org