Romandy

Encyclopedia : R : RO : ROM : Romandy

Map of the languages of Switzerland; Romandy is shown in
purple.

Romandy (in French and German Romandie), or la Suisse romande, is the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It covers the area of the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, and Jura as well as the French speaking parts of the cantons of Berne, Valais, and Fribourg. About 1.5 million people (or 20% of the Swiss population) live in Romandy.

Swiss French and French are in general terms mutually intelligible. Swiss French does have a variety of differences, such as saying septante (seventy) instead of soixante-dix (literally, sixty ten).

The region does not formally exist in the political system but is used to distinguish and unify the French-speaking population of Switzerland. The television channel Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) serves the Romande community across Switzerland, and is syndicated to TV5.

See also

• German speaking part of Switzerland
• Francophonie
• French language
• Arpitania

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