Editing Romansh language (section)

=== Current distribution ===
The current situation of Romansh is quite well researched. The number of speakers is known through the Swiss censuses, with the most recent having taken place in 2000, in addition to surveys by the [[Radio e Televisiun Rumantscha]]. The quantitative data from these surveys was summed up by statistician Jean-Jacques Furer in 2005. In addition, linguist Regula Cathomas performed a detailed survey of everyday language use, published in 2008.

Virtually all Romansh-speakers today are bilingual in Romansh and German. Whereas monolingual Romansh were still common at the beginning of the twentieth century, they are now found only among pre-school children.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|pp=345–347}} As Romansh linguist Ricarda Liver wrote in 1999:
{{Blockquote|Whereas the cliché of the bearded, sock-knitting Alpine shepherd who speaks and understands only Romansh, may still have been a reality here and there fifty years ago, there are nowadays no adult Romansh who do not possess a bilingual competence<ref>{{harvp|Liver|1999|p=67}}; original quote in German: {{lang|de|"Während vor fünfzig Jahren das Cliché des bärtigen, strümpfestrickenden Alphirten, der nur rätoromanisch spricht und versteht, noch da und dort Realität sein mochte, gibt es heute keine erwachsenen Rätoromanen mehr, die nicht über eine bilinguale Sprachkompetenz verfügten."}}</ref>|Ricarda Liver}}

The language situation today consists of a complex relationship between several [[diglossia]], since there is a functional distribution within Romansh itself between the local dialect, the regional standard variety, and nowadays the pan-regional variety [[#Rumantsch Grischun|Rumantsch Grischun]] as well; and German is also acquired in two varieties: [[Swiss German]] and [[Standard German]].{{sfn|Liver|1999|p=67}} Additionally, in [[Val Müstair]] many people also speak [[Bavarian German]] as a second language. Aside from German, many Romansh also speak additional languages, such as French, Italian, or English, learned at school or acquired through direct contact.

The Swiss census of 1990 and 2000 asked for the "language of best command" as well as for the languages habitually used in the family, at work, and in school. Previous censuses had asked only for the "mother tongue". In 1990, Romansh was named as the "language of best command" by 39,632 people, with a decrease to 35,095 in 2000. As a family language, Romansh is more widespread, with 55,707 having named it in 1990, and 49,134 in 2000. As a language used at work, Romansh was more widely used in 2000 with 20,327 responses than in 1990 with 17,753, as it was as a language used at school, with 6,411 naming it in 2000 as compared to 5,331 in 1990. Overall, a total of 60,561 people reported that they used Romansch of some sort on a habitual basis, representing 0.83% of the Swiss population.{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=30}} As the language of best command, Romansh comes in 11th in Switzerland with 0.74%, with the non-national languages [[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[English language|English]], and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] all having more speakers than Romansh.{{sfn|Gross|2004|p=35}}

In the entire canton of the Grisons, where about two-thirds of all speakers live, roughly a sixth report it as the language of best command (29,679 in 1990 and 27,038 in 2000). As a family language it was used by 19.5% in 2000 (33,707), as a language used on the job by 17.3% (15,715), and as a school language by 23.3% (5,940). Overall, 21.5% (40,168) of the population of the Grisons reported to be speaking Romansh habitually in 2000.{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=35}} Within the traditional Romansh-speaking areas, where 56.1% (33,991) of all speakers lived in 2000, it is the majority language in 66 municipalities.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Speakers within the Romansh-speaking area as defined by Jean-Jacques Furer{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=53}}
!rowspan=2|
! colspan=2| 1990
! colspan=2| 2000
|-
! No.
! %
! No.
! %
|-
! scope="row" | Total
|34,274
|51.32%
|33,991
|46.44%
|-
! scope="row" | Language of best command
|25,894
|38.78%
|24,016
|32.81%
|-
! scope="row" | Family language
|30,985
|47.68%
|28,712
|42.50%
|-
! scope="row" | Language used in employment
|11,655
|37.92%
|13,734
|38.14%
|-
! scope="row" | Language used in school
|4,479
|54.44%
|5,645
|54.91%
|}
[[File:Vrin Kirche Dorf.jpg|thumb|[[Vrin]], the municipality with the highest percentage of people naming Romansh as their language of best command in 2000 (95.6%)]]

The status of Romansh differs widely within this traditional area. Whereas in some areas Romansh is used by virtually the entire population, in others the only speakers are people who have moved there from elsewhere. Overall, Romansh dominates in most of the [[Surselva]] and the [[Lower Engadine]] as well as parts of the [[Surses]], whereas German is the dominant daily language in most other areas, though Romansh is often still used and transmitted in a limited manner regardless.

In general, Romansh is the dominant language in most of the Surselva. In the western areas, the [[Cadi (Swiss region)|Cadi]] and the [[Lumnezia]], it is the language of a vast majority, with around 80% naming it as their language of best command, and it often being a daily language for virtually the entire population. In the eastern areas of the [[Gruob]] around [[Ilanz]], German is significantly more dominant in daily life, though most people still use Romansh regularly.{{sfn|Gross|2004|p=33}} Romansh is still acquired by most children in the Cadi and Gruob even in villages where Romansh speakers are in the minority, since it is usually the language of instruction in primary education there.{{sfn|Gross|2004|p=34}} Even in villages where Romansh dominates, newcomers rarely learn Romansh, as Sursilvan speakers quickly accommodate by switching to German, so that there is often little opportunity to practice Romansh even when people are willing to learn it. Some pressure is often exerted by children, who will sometimes speak Romansh even with their non-Romansh-speaking parents.{{sfn|Cathomas|2008}}

In the [[Imboden District]] by contrast, it is only used habitually by 22%, and is the language of best command for only 9.9%. Even within this district, the presence of Romansh varies, with 41.3% in [[Trin]] reporting to speak it habitually.{{sfn|Gross|2004|p=33}} In the Sutselva, the local Romansh dialects are extinct in most villages, with a few elder speakers remaining in places such as [[Präz]], [[Scharans]], [[Feldis/Veulden]], and [[Scheid]], though passive knowledge is slightly more common. Some municipalities still offer Romansh as a foreign language subject in school, though it is often under pressure of being replaced by Italian. The notably exception is [[Schams]], where it is still regularly transmitted to children and where the language of instruction is Romansh. In the [[Surmeir]] region, it is still the dominant everyday language in the Surses, but has mostly disappeared from the [[Albula (river)|Albula Valley]]. The highest proportion of habitual speakers is found in [[Salouf]] with 86.3%, the lowest in [[Vaz/Obervaz|Obervaz]] with 18.9%.{{sfn|Gross|2004|p=34}} In these areas, many Romansh speakers only speak German with their spouses as an accommodation or because of a habit, though they sometimes speak Romansh to their children. In most cases, this is not because of a will to preserve the language, but because of other reasons such as Romansh having been their own childhood language or a belief that their children will later find it easier to learn additional languages.{{sfn|Cathomas|2008}}

In the [[Upper Engadine]], it is used habitually by 30.8% and the language of best command for 13%, with only [[S-chanf]] having a Romansh majority. Even though the main every-day and family language is German, Romansh is not in imminent danger of disappearing in the Upper Engadine, due to the strong emotional attachment to the language and in particular the Romansh-language school, which means that a Romansh-speaking core always exists in some form. Romansh is often a sign of being one of the locals, and used to distinguish oneself from tourists or temporary residents, so that outsiders will sometimes acquire Romansh in order to fit in.{{sfn|Cathomas|2008}} In the Lower Engadine by contrast, Romansh is the majority language virtually everywhere, with over 80% reporting it as a habitually spoken language in most villages. The status of Romansh is even stronger in the [[Val Müstair]], where 86.4% report to speak it habitually, and 74.1% as their language of best command.{{sfn|Gross|2004|p=33}} In the Lower Engadine, outsiders are generally expected to learn Romansh if they wish to be integrated into the local community and take part in social life. In addition, there is often pressure from inside the family to learn Romansh.{{sfn|Cathomas|2008}}

<gallery>
File:Romanisch als Umgangssprache 2000.PNG|Romansh as a habitually spoken language within the traditional language area in 2000
File:Romanisch als bestbeherschte Sprache 2000.PNG|Romansh as the language of best command within the traditional language area in 2000
File:LinguaRumantsha.png|Romansh as the language of best command in the entire canton
File:Romanisch als verstandene Sprache 2003.PNG|Percentage of people reporting to understand Romansh in 2003
</gallery>

Overall, Jean-Jacques Furer concludes that the shrinkage of the Romansh-speaking areas is continuing, though at different rates depending on the region. At the same time, he notes that Romansh is still very much alive, a fact that is obvious in those areas where it retains a strong presence, such as most parts of the Surselva and the Lower Engadine. It is also assured that Romansh will continue to be transmitted for several more generations, even though each succeeding generation will be more and more rooted in German as well as Romansh. As a result, if the overall linguistic situation does not change, speakers will slowly become fewer and fewer with each generation. He also concludes that there are still enough speakers to ensure that Romansh will survive in the long term at least in certain regions. He considers the Romansh-language school system to be the single most crucial factor in this.{{sfn|Furer|2005|pp=127–128}}