The song is part of our culture, of the Swiss identity, says Markus Egli, choir director at the Bürgerturner yodeling club in Lucerne, to the AFP news agency.
That (a place on the cultural heritage list) is important for the future.
The characteristic, ancient singing tradition is believed to have originated as a way of communicating, primarily between shepherds in the mountains of the Alps. Today, there are over 780 yodeling clubs and around 12,000 yodelers in the country. The University of Lucerne became the first to teach the singing form seven years ago.
We have a fifth language: yodeling, says Nadja Räss, professor and yodeling instructor at the university, to AP, referring to the country's four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh.
Yodelling is strongly associated with the Alpine mountain idyll and is also found in Austria and Germany. Via migrants, the singing form has made its way to the United States, where it has influenced folk and country music.
But Switzerland is the only country that has applied to include yodeling on the cultural heritage list – which differs from the World Heritage List as it does not include physical sites.
The UN body's cultural heritage committee is meeting this week in Delhi, India. An announcement on new additions to the list is expected by the end of December, according to the AP.
