Culture | Johnson

Switzerland is a model of a multilingual state

But it is not an easy one to imitate

EUROPE Is the home of the idea that people who see themselves as a nation should have a country. And very often those countries have seen themselves linguistically: France is the home of those who speak French, and so on. This has always been a simplification. But one state, one nation and one language remains a Platonic ideal.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Out of one, many”

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