Устная практика- задания (Меркулова) / World around us / Speaking of Switzerland - home listening

Speaking of Switzerland Anja discusses the languages and regions of her country.

1. Switzerland has _____ regions. 

1. three b) four c) five

2. Romansh is the ______ language. 

1. Oldest b) most spoken c) least spoken

3. Swiss is used ______. 

1. all over the country b) mainly in writing c) only in the German areas

4. It is ___ for Germans to understand Swiss. 

1. Easy b) hard c) impossible

5. What is the second most spoken language?

1. Swiss   b) French c) Italian

KEY

1. Switzerland has _____ regions. 

2. three b) four c) five

2. Romansh is the ______ language. 

2. oldest b) most spoken c) least spoken

3. Swiss is used ______. 

2. all over the country b) mainly in writing c) only in the German areas

4. It is ___ for Germans to understand Swiss. 

2. easy b) hard c) impossible

5. What is the second most spoken language?

6. Swiss   b) French c) Italian

Script

Speaking of Switzerland

Anja discusses the languages and regions of her country.

Todd: Now, also your country is really famous for having different regions, correct? You have three main regions?

Anja: We have four.

Todd: Four?

Anja: Actually.

Todd: Could you talk about them?

Anja: Yes, we have four regions and this actually concerns the languages, which we have four official languages. It's German, French, Italian, and Romansh. And actually, the last one, Romansh, it became an official language just like twelve years ago, and only a little part the Swiss population can speak Romansh, actually, but it just sort of became a national, an official language some years ago. And yeah, well, the country's really small and we sometimes have some troubles communicating to each other, but usually people talk at least two languages, so it works out most of the time.

Todd: So, in your country, you don't have the one uniform language that everybody speaks?

Anja: No, we don't. Like we have Swiss, but Swiss is only being used in the German speaking part of Switzerland, which means like we don't actually use German when we talk. It's only for writing, but when we talk to each other, to our parents, to our teachers, we use Swiss.

Todd: So Swiss is closest to German? It's Germanic?

Anja: Yes, you can say that but it's very difficult for German people to understand us when we're talking actually because it's really fast and a really cute language, apparently. Yes.

Todd: Now, what is the percentage breakdown, like what percentage is French, Italian, etc?

Anja: I couldn't tell you the percentage but the biggest part is German, followed by French, Italian, and Romansh is only zero point five percent of the population, so.

Todd: Alright, and just out of curiosity, Romansh, what does that sound like? Does that sound like Italian or?

Anja: It's a mix of the three main languages I would say, like a mix of German, French, and Italian and, I can catch a word here or there but, yeah, I don't really understand it.

Todd: And lastly, what part are you from in Switzerland?

Anja: I'm from the German part.

Todd: OK.

Anja: Yes.

Todd: Oh, thanks Anja.

Anja: Oh, you're welcome.

Additional questions to check if the students really listened to the text

1. What does Romansh sound like? - It's a mix of the three main languages: German, French, and Italian.

2. Does Anja have a good command of Romansh? – No, she can catch a word here or there but she doesn’t really understand it.

3. What part of Switzerland is Anja from? – She is from the German part.