What language is spoken in Zermatt, Switzerland?

Question

I read that German AND English are spoken. But does anyone here know the predominant language? What is most commonly spoken? Can most of the Zermatt people speak English?

Answer 1

Native Zermatt people speak German. That's the official language in Zermatt. But as it is very touristic most people speak English as well. We do also learn English in school. But it is not an official language in Switzerland (those are: German, French, Italian, Romontsh).

If somebody in 1920 spoke English it would have been an early tourist from England or someone from Zermatt who has been abroad or in a bigger Swiss City to learn English.

Answer 2

german is most common but some of the zermatt people can speak english we learn it in german schools i was born in Bern Switzerland  

Answer 3

German is the local language in Zermatt.

As for the script, it would depend who your characters were. If you had English tourists visiting Zermatt, they would obviously speak English among themselves and there's a reasonable chance that they would speak English to the locals and expect to be more-or-less understood. They might also find a local guide who has learned English, and some hotel staff who know a bit. Zermatt was already pretty touristy in 1920, though nothing like today.

What would be odd would be for the locals to speak English among themselves, or for everyone to speak very good English. However, it would be almost as odd for everyone to speak standard German. Zermatt is in the German part of Valais, where the local dialect is sometimes hard for even other Swiss-Germans (in Zurich for example) to understand. Still, unless your script is for a show that will only be shown in Switzerland, I'm sure the audience will get it (if they bother to think about it) that they wouldn't really speak English, but obviously they want to know what everyone's saying (like in The Sound of Music or The Ten Commandments).

Answer 4

in switzerland the most common language is german (like in zermatt), then french and italian are spoken too, but in a minor way. anyway english is learnt at school.