3 ms·

> They were born in one country, and moved to another That's a moot point in my opinion, Italians in Switzerland come mainly from the areas near the border (I

> They were born in one country, and moved to another That's a moot point in my opinion, Italians in Switzerland come mainly from the areas near the border (I used to live half an hour away from Lugano). And there's a big difference: Italian is an official language in canton of Ticino (southern Switzerland) because the population is in large percentage of Italian heritage, it was formed by occupying Italian cities, and is an independent self governed Region inside the Helvetic Republic (formerly Helvetic confederation) where Italian is the solely official language. Kenya uses English as national language because it was colonized by UK, but their original language is Swahili. Kenya and US don't share a border where both countries use the same official language.

microtherion 6y ago
> Italians in Switzerland come mainly from the areas near the border Do you have any data on this? Anecdotally, it feels like quite a few came from southern Italy. > the population is in large percentage of Italian heritage Most of them were Swiss for several hundred years before Italy was a country, so I'm not sure how far that heritage extends. I know for a fact that Swiss Germans see themselves as quite distinct from Germans, and Romands see themselves as distinct from the French, and I don't think Ticinesi see themselves as any more Italian than the other population groups. > where Italian is the solely official language. Bosco/Gurin would like to have a word with you… > Kenya and US don't share a border where both countries use the same official language. Use Kenya and Tanzania, then. Or France and Belgium. Or the Netherlands and Belgium.
- romanoderoma 6y ago
  I do have data, but in Italian. In the decade 1961-1970 Italian migration to Switzerland increased, because Switzerland needed more and more workers, in 1964 the two countries signed a new agreement about immigration policies and in 1970 there were over a million Italians in Switzerland. Italian came mainly from Lombardy, Piedimont and north east (an area called tri-veneto) but in the middle 60s thanks to the economic boom in Italy they had the option of staying home so Switzerland started looking for workers in the southern regions. You can read about it (in Italian) here https://www.larivista.ch/laccordo-del-1964-relativo-allemigrazione-italiana-in-svizzera/ https://www.larivista.ch/laccordo-del-1964-relativo-allemigr... > Most of them were Swiss for several hundred years before Italy was a country Italy existed before it was an official country Swiss occupied Italian cities in the 1500s > don't think Ticinesi see themselves as any more Italian than the other population groups. Just like in Veneto they see themselves differently from Italian from the south It doesn't make them different though... > . Or France and Belgium. Or the Netherlands and Belgium. In fact they aren't immigrants They are both EU citizens The point is Ticino and northern Italy close to the border (Varese and Como area) are practically the same place In Switzerland they speak Italian, French and German, in Italy we speak Italian and French and German are two recognized official languages, in some areas there are two official languages, documents can be written in both and places have double names for example Bolzano/Bozen or Noasca/Nauchi There is even a franco-provençal recognized community in Apulia, in the deep south. Those countries go back in history for thousands of years, they had relations from the dawn of times, saying that an Italian or a French in Switzerland is an immigrant is like swearing in a church. That's why we made EU, because especially the original group of 12 should have no reason to call people from other countries "immigrant"

microtherion 6y ago

> Italians in Switzerland come mainly from the areas near the border Do you have any data on this? Anecdotally, it feels like quite a few came from southern Italy. > the population is in large percentage of Italian heritage Most of them were Swiss for several hundred years before Italy was a country, so I'm not sure how far that heritage extends. I know for a fact that Swiss Germans see themselves as quite distinct from Germans, and Romands see themselves as distinct from the French, and I don't think Ticinesi see themselves as any more Italian than the other population groups. > where Italian is the solely official language. Bosco/Gurin would like to have a word with you… > Kenya and US don't share a border where both countries use the same official language. Use Kenya and Tanzania, then. Or France and Belgium. Or the Netherlands and Belgium.

romanoderoma 6y ago
I do have data, but in Italian. In the decade 1961-1970 Italian migration to Switzerland increased, because Switzerland needed more and more workers, in 1964 the two countries signed a new agreement about immigration policies and in 1970 there were over a million Italians in Switzerland. Italian came mainly from Lombardy, Piedimont and north east (an area called tri-veneto) but in the middle 60s thanks to the economic boom in Italy they had the option of staying home so Switzerland started looking for workers in the southern regions. You can read about it (in Italian) here https://www.larivista.ch/laccordo-del-1964-relativo-allemigrazione-italiana-in-svizzera/ https://www.larivista.ch/laccordo-del-1964-relativo-allemigr... > Most of them were Swiss for several hundred years before Italy was a country Italy existed before it was an official country Swiss occupied Italian cities in the 1500s > don't think Ticinesi see themselves as any more Italian than the other population groups. Just like in Veneto they see themselves differently from Italian from the south It doesn't make them different though... > . Or France and Belgium. Or the Netherlands and Belgium. In fact they aren't immigrants They are both EU citizens The point is Ticino and northern Italy close to the border (Varese and Como area) are practically the same place In Switzerland they speak Italian, French and German, in Italy we speak Italian and French and German are two recognized official languages, in some areas there are two official languages, documents can be written in both and places have double names for example Bolzano/Bozen or Noasca/Nauchi There is even a franco-provençal recognized community in Apulia, in the deep south. Those countries go back in history for thousands of years, they had relations from the dawn of times, saying that an Italian or a French in Switzerland is an immigrant is like swearing in a church. That's why we made EU, because especially the original group of 12 should have no reason to call people from other countries "immigrant"