Swazi, Swiss, Swedish, Gibberish?
by Some people have difficulties distinguishing one from the other. Here is the pocket guide to help you out of the dilemma.
The lady from the council was here again because of my voting rights. Once again I told her that I didn’t have any voting rights. ‘Oh, if you know that already, fine. Just to check, what nationality are you?’ Swiss. Taking out her booklet she turns a few pages, then triumphantly ‘see, you are allowed to vote’. The entry read Sweden.
Years back, sitting at my desk in Switzerland, I received letters intended for the sister-company in Swaziland at least once a week, and every second one for Sweden. And to be fair, this problem is not Anglo-Saxon only, the French get into the same muddle just as easily. Time for some pictures to jog the mind, don’t you think?
The Swazi individual living in the Kingdom of Swaziland, a country encircled by South Africa and with a bit of border to Mozambique, tends to be slightly darker of skin than Swedes or Swiss. The national language is Bantu.
The Kingdom of Sweden is a Nordic country and forms part of the European Union. The language spoken is Swedish. Sweden has direct access to the Baltic Sea.
Switzerland is in Central Europe and not part of the European Union. It has no access to the sea as is therefore the first landlocked country ever to win the Americas Cup. The national languages are German, French, Italian, and Romanic, whereby German is not spoken in Switzerland, only written, as the spoken language is Allemannic. Switzerland is best known for its chocolate, cheese, and watches.
Do you think this helps you a little bit to get the countries sorted?
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