- published: 26 Dec 2015
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Swiss French (French: Français de Suisse or Suisse Romand) is the name used for the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandie. Swiss French is not to be confused with Franco-Provençal/Arpitan (also spocken in Romandie) or Romansh (spoken in the Grisons), two other individual Romance languages.
The differences between Swiss French and Parisian French are minor and mostly lexical: a Swiss French speaker would have no trouble understanding a French speaker, while a French speaker would encounter only a few unfamiliar words while listening to a Swiss French speaker. Swiss French, when compared with French of France, has a somewhat "sing-song" effect. Swiss French differs from the French of France to a far lesser extent than Swiss German differs from standard German. This was not always the case, as most of the dialects spoken in the Romandie died out and thus are no longer spoken or used.
There is not a single standardized Swiss French language: different cantons (or even different towns in some cases) will use different vocabulary, often derived from the local regional language or from German, since Switzerland is predominantly German-speaking.
Many Standard French terms are used in certain cantons such as Geneva due to their proximity to the French border.
Swiss mercenaries were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially the armies of the Kings of France, throughout the Early Modern period of European history, from the Later Middle Ages into the Age of the European Enlightenment. Their service as mercenaries was at its peak during the Renaissance, when their proven battlefield capabilities made them sought-after mercenary troops.
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5, Swiss mercenaries are called "Switzers"(Switzer is actually what the Swiss were called in English until the 19th century).
During the Late Middle Ages, mercenary forces grew in importance in Europe, as veterans from the Hundred Years War and other conflicts came to see soldiering as a profession rather than a temporary activity, and commanders sought long-term professionals rather than temporary feudal levies to fight their wars. Swiss mercenaries (Reisläufer) were valued throughout Late Medieval Europe for the power of their determined mass attack in deep columns with the pike and halberd. Hiring them was made even more attractive because entire ready-made Swiss mercenary contingents could be obtained by simply contracting with their local governments, the various Swiss cantons—the cantons had a form of militia system in which the soldiers were bound to serve and were trained and equipped to do so. Some Swiss also hired themselves out individually or in small bands.