||It has been suggested that this article be merged with
Languages_of_Switzerland#French. (Discuss) Proposed since
December 2012.| The Suisse romande (lit.: "Romance Switzerland")
is a local name for the French-speaking districts of western
Switzerland. The name Romandie (Romandy) is also used. The term
"Suisse romand" is used to refer to Swiss French, the variety of
French spoken in Switzerland. There are about 1.6 million
French-speakers in Switzerland, about 20% of the total
population. The word "romand/romande" indicates the Latin or
Roman origin of the French language and the general orientation
of the region to the French-speaking cultural sphere and to
Roman Law. It is used in contrast to "Suisse allemande" (German
Switzerland) and "Suisse italienne" (Italian Switzerland), more
commonly called "(le) Tessin" (Ticino). The Suisse romande is
not a precisely defined area, but in general includes the
Cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, western Valais,
Vaud and the northern part of Berne (known as