It is common knowledge that the Swiss use four different languages, and that Italian is the third official language in the country. But the fact that the spoken and written Italian in Canton Ticino and in the Italian Graubünden is a less than perfect copy of its counterpart in Italy is less widely known.
Swiss Italian primarily reflects the close proximity with German and French speakers. Many of the expressions of Swiss Italian that sound odd to Italian ears are due to imitations of, interferences with, or derivations from either the German or the French.

Examples in speech:

And if we look at specialised terminology, the differences are even more noticeable.

The following examples are taken from the fields of medicine and medical science:

Or in law:

Consequently, also for cultural and political reasons, of all world countries it is perhaps Switzerland that awards translation activities the highest regard and expectations of absolutely stellar standards of quality. When translating a document into Italian for the Swiss market it is therefore essential to be aware of that country’s linguistic and cultural idiosyncrasies and to refer to only the most authoritative sources of terminology.

Another critical aspect to be grasped when translating for Italian-speaking Switzerland is that each public institution, body, association, and trade association, like each law, ruling, or provision and all other matters relating to civic life has a single version in each of the official languages. Even private companies may be enrolled with Business registers in more than one Canton, so they will have official company names in more than one language.

Examples of official denominations: