Intercultural competence Switzerland – Austria – Hungary – The “line in the middle of Europe”

The three countries represent the axis that separates the north from the south of Europe. If these three countries are thrown together in one region for economic reasons, the employees concerned are faced with the difficult task of coping with three different mentalities. Although the three countries border each other, the similarities are limited. But they do exist, even if they are very different.

The landscape shapes the people

While both Switzerland and Austria are characterized by the Alps and the winter sportsmen of both nations are among the best in the world, Hungary is characterized by the plains to the left and right of the Danube, the Puszta. One of the hottest places on the continent in summer. Not much has been heard of Hungarian winter sportsmen and women. But many Hungarians excel in summer sports.

Diversity of languages

Furthermore, German is spoken in both Switzerland and Austria. Well, that’s partly true. There is an official Austrian German, which includes words that are not used in Germany, such as Jänner for January. In Switzerland, on the other hand, Swiss German is spoken, which makes a big difference. It’s a bit like a North German speaking Low German to a Bavarian speaking Bavarian. The Swiss call High German “written German”, which doesn’t mean that they don’t also write Swiss German. But this term does indicate how the Swiss view High German: A written language or a foreign language used to communicate with other German speakers. This applies at least to a large part of Switzerland. The other part speaks French, Italian or Rhaeto-Romanic. Finally, the Hungarians speak a language that has nothing to do with the other European languages, with the exception of Finnish. Finns and Hungarians once belonged to the same tribe, which divided in prehistoric times and sought different settlement areas. Few people learn Hungarian, so most people have to communicate with Hungarians in a foreign language. In the past, this was usually German, but in modern times this has been increasingly replaced by English as the language of commerce.

A shared history?

Everyone has heard of Austria-Hungary, the empire where the waltz was invented and where Sissi lived and suffered. The two states have a very turbulent history together, as Hungary fell to Austria by inheritance, although the Hungarian territory only became part of Austria after the successful Turkish wars. The Hungarians did not necessarily think much of this, as evidenced by several attempts to gain independence. It was not until 1867 that they were granted equal status, before the two countries parted ways again after the First World War.
And what does Switzerland have to do with this? Nothing to do with Hungary, actually. But it did have something to do with Austria, at least a few hundred years ago. The Habsburgs who ruled Austria came from what is now Switzerland and the hated bailiff Gessler, who forced William Tell to shoot an apple off his own son’s head, was a Habsburg bailiff. The areas that belonged to the House of Habsburg were therefore also known as Vorderösterreich, but this was lost to the Austrians as early as the 15th century.
So while Hungary and Austria certainly have a common history, which is of significance for today’s mentality, the Swiss and Austrians have gone different ways for centuries.

Different attitudes and cultures

Looking at the individual cultures of the countries, it is noticeable that the similarities identified are clearly subordinate to the differences. While the Swiss, for example, are among the most punctual people in the world and are famous for their watchmaking industry, Hungarians have a rather casual relationship with time. The Austrians are somewhere in between. The same applies to other cultural aspects, such as hierarchies or the way people communicate. In addition, there are other aspects that are unique to each country, creating a picture of three countries that are all geographically neighboring, but whose mentalities differ significantly. This makes the economic management of this region, if it has been formed in this way, a particular challenge, even if the distances are comparatively short. This is precisely why it is so important to take a close look at these differences in order to avoid unpleasant surprises based on the assumption that “neighbors can’t really be that different”. They can – and instead of paying the price, those affected should invest in targeted preparation.

Find out more here:

Intercultural Training Switzerland
Intercultural Training Austria
Intercultural Training Hungary