Alternate Names: Rhaeto-Romance, Rheto-Romance, Romanche, Romansh, Rumantsch
Dialects: Puter (Upper Engadine), Surmiran (Albula), Sursilvan (Surselva, Vorderrhein), Sutsilvan (Hinterrhein), Vallader (Lower Engadine). Friulian ,, Ladin ,, and Romansch , are separate languages (1978 R. Hall). Lexical similarity: 78% with Italian , and French ,; 76% with Catalan ,; 74% with Spanish ,, Sardinian ,, and Portuguese ,; 72% with Romanian ,.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 35,100 in Switzerland (2000 census). 1 canton. Population total all countries: 35,139.
Language Use: Many children learn the language but most become more fluent in German (Salminen 2007). Also use Standard German [deu].
Language Development: Taught in primary schools. Newspapers. New media. Bible: 1679–1953.
Writing System: Latin
Nation of Origin: Switzerland
Other Comments: Official written language in common use now, called Rumantsch Grischun.