Editing Romansh language (section)

=== Germanic calques ===
Aside from outright loanwords, the German influence on Romansh often takes the form of [[calque]]s, where Romanic vocabulary has taken on the meaning of German words, summed up by [[Languages of Italy|Italian dialect]][[Dialectology|olog]][[Linguist|ist]] [[Graziadio Isaia Ascoli]] in 1880 as "{{lang|it|materia romana e spirito tedesco}}" ("Roman body and German soul"). The earliest examples go back to [[Carolingian Empire|Carolingian]] times and show the influence of Germanic law. Such words include {{lang|rm|tschentament}} "statute", a derivation of the verb {{lang|rm|tschentar}} (from Latin *{{lang|la|sedentare}} "to sit") as an analogy to Middle High German {{lang|gmh|satzunge}} or Surs./sut./Surm. {{lang|rm|lètg}}, Put. {{lang|rm|alach}}, Vall. {{lang|rm|lai}} "marriage", derived from Latin {{lang|la|legem}} (accusative singular of {{lang|la|lēx}} "law"), with the meaning of Middle High German {{lang|gmh|ê, ewe}}.{{sfn|Liver|2009|p=141}} A more recent example of a loan translation is the verb {{lang|rm|tradir}} "to betray", which has taken on the additional meaning of German {{lang|de|verraten}} of "to give away"{{sfn|Liver|2009|p=142}} as in {{lang|rm|tradir in secret}} "to give away a secret", originally covered by the verb {{lang|rm|revelar}}.

Particularly common are combinations of verbs with [[locative adverb]]s, such as {{lang|rm|vegnir cun}} "to accompany" (literally "to come with"), {{lang|rm|vegnir anavos}} "to come back", {{lang|rm|far cun}} "to participate" (literally "to do with"), {{lang|rm|far giu}} "to agree on" (literally "to do down"), or {{lang|rm|grodar tras}} "to fail" (literally "to fall through"). Whereas such verbs also occur sporadically in other Romance languages as in French {{lang|fr|prendre avec}} "to take along" or Italian {{lang|it|andare via}} "to go away", the large number in Romansh suggests an influence of German, where this pattern is common.{{sfn|Liver|2009|p=142}} However, [[prepositional verb]]s are also common in the (Romance) [[Lombard language]] spoken in the bordering Swiss and Italian regions. The verbs {{lang|rm|far cun}} "to participate" or {{lang|rm|grodar tras}} "to fail" for example, are direct equivalents of German {{lang|de|mitmachen}} (from {{lang|de|mit}} "with" and {{lang|de|machen}} "to do") and {{lang|de|durchfallen}} (from {{lang|de|durch}} "through" and {{lang|de|fallen}} "to fall").

Less integrated into the Romansh verbal system are constructions following the pattern of {{lang|rm|far il}} ("doing the") + a German infinitive. Examples include {{lang|rm|far il}} {{lang|de|löten}} "to solder", {{lang|rm|far il}} {{lang|de|würzen}} "to season", or {{lang|rm|far il}} {{lang|de|vermissen}} "to miss, to feel the absence of".

German also often serves as a model for the creation of new words. An example is Surs. {{lang|rm|tschetschapuorla}} "vacuum cleaner", a compound of {{lang|rm|tschitschar}} "to suck" and {{lang|rm|puorla}} "dust", following the model of German {{lang|de|Staubsauger}} – the Italian word, {{lang|it|aspirapolvere}} possibly being itself a calque on the German word. The Engadinese dialects on the other hand have adopted {{lang|rm|aspiradur}} from Italian {{lang|it|aspiratore}}, which, however, does not mean "vacuum cleaner". A skyscraper, which is a direct loan translation from English in many Romance languages (as in French {{lang|fr|gratte-ciel}}, Italian {{lang|it|grattacielo}}), is a loan translation of German {{lang|de|Wolkenkratzer}} (literally "cloud-scraper") in Sursilvan: {{lang|rm|il sgrattaneblas}} (from {{lang|rm|sgrattar}} "to scratch" and {{lang|rm|neblas}} "clouds"). The Engadinese varieties again follow the Italian pattern of {{lang|rm|sgrattatschêl}} (from {{lang|rm|tschêl}} "sky").{{sfn|Liver|2009|p=143}} A more recent word is {{lang|rm|la natelnumra}} "the cell phone number", which follows the word order of Swiss German {{lang|gsw|Natelnummer}}, and is found alongside {{lang|rm|la numra da natel}}.

Examples of idiomatic expressions include Surs. {{lang|rm|dar in canaster}}, Engad. {{lang|rm|dar ün dschierl}}, a direct translation of German {{lang|de|einen Korb geben}}, literally meaning "to hand a basket", but used in the sense of "turning down a marriage proposal" or {{lang|rm|esser ligiongia ad enzatgi}}, a loan translation of the German expression {{lang|de|jemandem Wurst sein}}, literally meaning "to be sausage to someone" but meaning "not cared about, to be unimportant".{{sfn|Liver|2009|p=143}}