The fact that there are so many official languages means that the vast majority of products sold in Swiss shops and supermarkets have names and descriptions in at least two different languages. Coming from the UK where all products are packaged with English descriptions, this can be both a shock and a source of amusement.
Sometimes I come across items in shops that I think look interesting, such as a sandwich in my local Coop supermarket. When I turn the packet over to see what's inside, I find that the ingredients list is written entirely in German. Scheisse - ich spreche keine Deutsch! This means I have to take a leap of faith and hope that the contents of my sandwich don't contain too many e-numbers or unmentionable animal parts.
On the plus side, some product packaging can be very entertaining, as sometimes the translations don't really work. This is particularly prelevent when it comes to the use of English words, or words that in the local language are perfectly acceptable but their English counterparts have an entirely different effect.
My favourites are shown below.
