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

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87 core words in Romansh

Water

aua

awa

Fire

fieu

fjew

Sun

sulegl

suleʎ

Moon

glina

ɡlina

Star

staila

ˈʃtai̯la

Night

notg

notʃ

Rain

plievgia

ˈpliəvdʒa

Snow

naiv

naif

Wind

vent

vɛnt

Earth

terra

ˈtɛrra

Stone

crap

krap

Mountain

muntogna

munˈtɔɲa

Sea

mar

mar

Mother

mamma

mama

Father

bab

bap

Daughter

figlia

ˈfiʎa

I

jau

jaw

You

ti

ti

We

nus

nus

Name

num

num

Person

persuna

perˈsuna

Head

chau

tʃaw

Eye

egl

eʎ

Ear

ureglia

uˈreʎa

Nose

nas

nas

Mouth

bucca

ˈbuka

Tooth

dent

dɛnt

Tongue

lieunga

ˈljɛuŋɡa

Hand

maun

mawn

Foot

pe

pe

Heart

cor

kɔr

Bone

oss

ɔs

Blood

sang

saŋ

Poop

cac

kak

Love

amur

amur

Tree

planta

planta

Dog

chaun

tʃawn

Cat

giat

dʒat

Fish

pesch

peʃ

Bird

utschè

uˈtʃɛ

Butterfly

spler

ʃpler

Egg

ov

ɔf

Bear

urs

urs

Horse

chaval

tʃaˈval

House

chasa

tʃaza

Milk

latg

latɕ

Honey

mel

mɛl

Salt

sal

sal

Wine

vin

vin

Rice

ris

ris

Chocolate

tschigulatta

tʃiɡuˈlata

Iron

fier

fjɛr

Wheel

roda

ˈroda

Silk

saida

ˈsai̯da

Book

cudesch

ˈkudɛʃ

Eat

mangiar

mandʒar

Drink

baiver

bajver

Sleep

durmir

durˈmir

One

in

in

Two

dus

dus

Three

trais

trais

Four

quatter

ˈkwatər

Five

tschintg

tʃiŋk

Hundred

tschient

tʃient

Hello

allegra

aleɡra

Thank you

grazia

ɡratsia

Good

bun

bun

New

nov

nɔf

Red

cotschen

ˈkotʃən

White

alv

alf

Black

nair

nair

Green

verd

vɛrt

Blue

blau

blaw

Cuckoo

cucu

ˈkuku

Computer

computer

kɔmˈpjuːtər

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃi

Tea

té

te

Coffee

café

kaˈfe

Sugar

zutger

ˈtsutɕer

Orange

aranscha

aˈraŋʃa

Dopamine

dopamin

dopaˈmiːn

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, Rhaeto-Romance)

Meaning RomanshLadinPiedmonteseOccitanLombardValencianInterlingua
Water aua /awa/ ega /ˈeɡa/ eva /ˈɛva/ aiga /ajɡɔ/ aqua /ˈaːkwa/ aigua /ˈajɣwa/ aqua /akwa/
Fire fieu /fjew/ füch /fyk/ feu /føː/ fuòc /fwɔk/ fœg /føːk/ foc /fɔk/ foco /fɔko/
Sun sulegl /suleʎ/ surëdl /suˈrəːdl/ sol /sul/ solelh /sulɛʎ/ sô /soː/ sol /sɔl/ sol /sɔl/
Moon glina /ɡlina/ löna /ˈløːna/ lun-a /ˈlyŋa/ luna /lynɔ/ lüna /ˈlyna/ lluna /ˈʎuna/ luna /luna/
Star staila /ˈʃtai̯la/ stëila /ˈstəila/ stèila /ˈstɛjla/ estèla /esˈtɛlɔ/ stella /ˈstɛla/ estrella /esˈtɾeʎa/ stella /ˈstɛla/
Night notg /notʃ/ nöt /nøt/ neuit /nøjt/ nuèch /nɥɛtʃ/ nocc /nɔtʃ/ nit /nit/ nocte /ˈnokte/
Rain plievgia /ˈpliəvdʒa/ pievia /ˈpjɛvja/ pieuva /ˈpjøva/ pluèja /ˈplɥɛdʒɔ/ pioeuva /ˈpjøːva/ pluja /ˈpluʒa/ pluvia /ˈpluvia/
Snow naiv /naif/ nëif /nəif/ fiòca /ˈfjɔka/ nèu /nɛw/ nev /nɛf/ neu /nɛw/ nive /nive/
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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
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 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Romansh
Jau less empruvar in vestgì che hai vis en ina butia visavi da l'hotel
Je veux essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel
Unë dua ta provoj një kostum që pashë në një dyqan përballë hotelit
Ἐγὼ βούλομαι πειρᾶσθαι ἱμάτιον ὃ εἶδον ἐν καπηλείῳ ἐναντίον τοῦ πανδοκείου
I want to try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel

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