Just as there are four languages in Switzerland, the mentalities of the inhabitants are different. Swiss Germans are regarded as more taciturn and withdrawn than the spontaneous Ticinese and Swiss French.
The Swiss mentality is shaped by the mountains, narrow valleys and by both the beauty and challenges of nature. Early on, the Swiss are taught that industriousness, foresight and a certain restraint are virtues crucial to survival. At the same time, Switzerland, in contrast to its neighbours, was always a small country which relied on itself without pomp and or claiming power.
This kind of modesty manifests itself today in the shape of a certain understatement: skill is displayed – not property.
This reticence is perceived as agreeable by many people, but it unfortunately also encourages mediocrity; and so it happens that we simultaneously envy and disdain the Germans, the French or the Americans because of their self-confident and straightforward demeanour.
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