Rumantsch

Romansh

Indo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, Rhaeto-Romance)

FamilyIndo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, Rhaeto-Romance) Speakers~60K ScriptLatin CountriesSwitzerland (Graubünden/Grisons canton) Official inSwitzerland (one of four national languages; co-official in Graubünden) Vitalityvulnerable ISO 639-3roh

Romansh (rumantsch) is a Rhaeto-Romance language of the southeastern Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons), with ~60K speakers — Switzerland's smallest national language and one of its four official languages (alongside German, French, Italian) since 1938. Five distinct written varieties (idioms) exist: Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter, Vallader, plus the controversial 1982 pan-dialectal compromise standard Rumantsch Grischun used by the federal government. Descended from the Latin of Roman colonists in Raetia (15 BCE), it preserves features lost in other Romance languages and is closely related to Ladin (lld) and Friulian (fur) in the Rhaeto-Romance grouping.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Romansh

Water

aua

/awa/

Fire

fieu

/fjew/

Sun

sulegl

/suleʎ/

Moon

glina

/ɡlina/

Star

staila

/ˈʃtai̯la/

Mother

mamma

/mama/

Father

bab

/bap/

I

jau

/jaw/

You

ti

/ti/

Name

num

/num/

Eye

egl

/eʎ/

Hand

maun

/mawn/

Heart

cor

/kɔr/

Love

amur

/amur/

Tree

planta

/planta/

House

chasa

/tʃaza/

Dog

chaun

/tʃawn/

Cat

giat

/dʒat/

Eat

mangiar

/mandʒar/

Drink

baiver

/bajver/

One

in

/in/

Two

dus

/dus/

Hello

allegra

/aleɡra/

Thank you

grazia

/ɡratsia/

Good

bun

/bun/

Cuckoo

cucu

/ˈkuku/

Computer

computer

/kɔmˈpjuːtər/

Sushi

sushi

/ˈsuʃi/

Dopamine

dopamin

/dopaˈmiːn/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Indo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, Rhaeto-Romance) languages

Meaning RomanshVenetianInterlinguaCorsicanOccitanSicilianSardinian
Water aua /awa/ aqua /akwa/ aqua /akwa/ acqua /akwa/ aiga /ajɡɔ/ acqua /akkwa/ abba /abba/
Fire fieu /fjew/ fogo /foɡo/ foco /fɔko/ focu /fɔku/ fuòc /fwɔk/ focu /fɔku/ fogu /foɣu/
Sun sulegl /suleʎ/ sol /sol/ sol /sɔl/ sole /sɔle/ solelh /sulɛʎ/ suli /suli/ sole /sole/
Moon glina /ɡlina/ łuna /ɫuna/ luna /luna/ luna /luna/ luna /lynɔ/ luna /luna/ luna /luna/
Star staila /ˈʃtai̯la/ stela /ˈstela/ stella /ˈstɛla/ stella /ˈstella/ estèla /esˈtɛlɔ/ stidda /ˈstɪɖːa/ istella /isˈtɛlːa/
Mother mamma /mama/ mare /mare/ matre /matre/ mamma /mamma/ maire /majre/ matri /matri/ mama /mama/
Father bab /bap/ pare /pare/ patre /patre/ babbu /babːu/ paire /ˈpajɾe/ patri /patri/ babbu /babbu/
I jau /jaw/ mi /mi/ io /ˈio/ eiu /ˈɛju/ ieu /ˈjew/ iu /ˈju/ deo /ˈdɛo/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Romansh
Jau less empruvar in vestgì che hai vis en ina butia visavi da l'hotel
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Romansh
Jau less empruvar in vestgì che hai vis en ina butia visavi da l'hotel
Unë dua ta provoj një kostum pashë një dyqan përballë hotelit
Ես ուզում եմ փորձել կոստում որ տեսա խանութում դիմաց հյուրանոցի
মই হোটেলৰ সন্মুখৰ দোকানত দেখা ছুটটো পিন্ধি চাব বিচাৰোঁ
हम होटल के सामने दुकान में देखल सूट पहिन के देखे के चाहत बानी

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