Switzerland sits at the crossroads of several major European cultures, which have heavily influenced the country's languages and cultural practices. Switzerland has 4 official languages: German (63.7%) in the north and centre, French (19.2%) to the west, Italian (7.6%) in the south, and finally Romansh, a Romance language spoken by a small minority (0.6%) in the southeastern canton of Graubünden. The German spoken here is predominantly a Swiss dialect known as Swiss German, but newspapers and some broadcasts use High German. Most Swiss speak two or more languages. Resident foreigners and temporary foreign workers make up about 20% of the population. These are the official names of Switzerland:

• The Swiss Confederation (English)
  
• Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German)
  
• Confédération Suisse (French)
  
• Confederazione Svizzera (Italian)
  
• Confederziun Svizra (Romansh)
  
• Confoederatio Helvetica (Latin)

• (left) Swiss flag.
  
• (right) A map showing the distribution of the Swiss languages (German: yellow; French: purple; Italian: green; Romansh: red).