Secondo
entry by Michela Gösken, CEO of German live!
This term is used in Switzerland for second generation immigrants and derives from the Italian community that for a long time represented the primary immigration group in Switzerland. It belongs to the Swiss multicultural identity and represents the self-image of second generation immigrants. It is used officially in Switzerland only, so in Germany or Austria people might be unaware of what is meant by ‘Secondo’.
Comparable terms
Second generation immigrant
Why this matters
Secondo reflects a specific Swiss way of naming hybrid belonging. It carries local pride, politics, and identity nuances that may not translate elsewhere. Understanding such local labels helps globally mobile families decode their children’s social landscape.
Cross-references
Cultural Identity (Identity & Belonging); Hybrid Identity (Identity & Belonging); Sense of Belonging (Identity & Belonging); Cultural Homelessness (Identity & Belonging); Hidden Immigrant (Identity & Belonging); TCK (Identity & Belonging); ATCK (Identity & Belonging); Heritage Language (Language & Identity); Language Identity (Language & Identity). Secondo is a locally rooted label for second‑generation immigrants in Switzerland that blends migration history, language, and politics into a specific hybrid identity; reading it alongside broader constructs like cultural identity, hybrid identity, hidden immigrant, and TCK helps globally mobile families and practitioners decode how second‑generation young people in Swiss contexts might name their belonging, while heritage language and language identity entries highlight the linguistic dimension through which many Secondos experience and negotiate that belonging in everyday life.
Sources
Bericht der Stadt Bern zu «Secondas und Secondos» Herausgeberin: Direktion Bildung, Soziales und Sport, Kompetenzzentrum Integration, Postfach 8125,
Effingerstrasse 21, 3001 Bern, Telefon 031 321 60 36, integration@bern.ch, www.bern.ch/integration
Bericht: Shadije Ibraimi
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