Editing Romansh language (section)

== Official status in Switzerland and language politics ==
In Switzerland, official language use is governed by the "territorial principle": Cantonal law determines which of the four national languages enjoys official status in which part of the territory. Only the [[federal administration of Switzerland|federal administration]] is officially quadrilingual. Romansh is an official language at the federal level, one of the three official languages of the Canton of the Grisons, and is a working language in various districts and numerous municipalities within the canton.

=== Official status at the federal level ===
The first Swiss constitution of 1848, as well as the subsequent revision of 1872, made no mention of Romansh, which at the time was not a working language of the Canton of the Grisons either. The federal government did finance a translation of the constitution into the two Romansh varieties Sursilvan and Vallader in 1872, noting, however, that these did not carry the force of law.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=183}} Romansh became a national language of Switzerland in 1938, following [[1938 Swiss referendums|a referendum]]. A distinction was introduced between "national languages" and "official languages". The status of a national language was largely symbolic, whereas only official languages were to be used in official documents, a status reserved for German, French, and Italian. The recognition of Romansh as the fourth national language is best seen within the context of the "[[Spiritual defence]]" preceding World War II, which aimed to underline the special status of Switzerland as a multinational country. Additionally, this was supposed to discredit the efforts of Italian nationalists to claim Romansh as a dialect of Italian and establish a claim to parts of the Grisons.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=503}} The Romansh language movement led by the [[Lia Rumantscha]] was mostly satisfied with the status as a national but not official language. Their aims at the time were to secure a symbolic "right of residence" for Romansh, and not actual use in official documents.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=506}}

[[File:Euler-10 Swiss Franc banknote (front).jpg|A 6th-series 10-[[Swiss franc]] bill, the first to include Romansh|thumb]]

This status did have disadvantages. For instance, official name registers and property titles had to be in German, French, or Italian. This meant that Romansh-speaking parents were often forced to register their children under German or Italian versions of their Romansh names. As late as 1984, the Canton of the Grisons was ordered not to make entries into its corporate registry in Romansh.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=191}} The [[Swiss National Bank]] first planned to include Romansh on its bills in 1956, when a new series was introduced. Due to disputes within the Lia Rumantscha over whether the bills were to feature the Sursilvan version "{{lang|rm|Banca nazionala svizra}}" or the Vallader version "{{lang|rm|Banca naziunala svizzra}}", the bills eventually featured the Italian version twice, alongside French and German. When new bills were again introduced in 1976/77, a Romansh version was added by finding a compromise between the two largest varieties Sursilvan and Vallader, which read "{{lang|rm|Banca naziunala svizra}}", while the numbers on the bills were printed in Surmiran.

Following [[1996 Swiss referendums|a referendum]] on March 10, 1996, Romansh was recognized as a partial official language of Switzerland alongside German, French, and Italian in article 70 of the [[Federal constitution of Switzerland|federal constitution]]. According to the article, German, French, Italian, and Romansh are national languages of Switzerland. The official languages are declared to be German, French, and Italian, and Romansh is an official language for correspondence with Romansh-speaking people.<ref>See art. [http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a4.html 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110212055734/http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a4.html |date=2011-02-12 }} and [http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a70.html 70] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207032648/http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a70.html |date=2010-12-07 }} of the 1999 Swiss Federal Constitution.</ref> This means that in principle, it is possible to address the federal administration in Romansh and receive an answer in the same language.{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=40}} More precisely, under section 2.6.3 of the Federal Act on the National Languages and Understanding between the Linguistic Communities, Romansh speakers may address the administration in any variety of Romansh, though they will receive a response in Rumantsch Grischun.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CC 441.1 Federal Act of 5 October 2007 on the National Languages and Understanding between the Linguistic Communities (Languages Act, LangA) |url=https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/20062545/index.html |access-date=2020-12-11 |website=www.admin.ch}}</ref>

In what the Federal Culture Office itself admits is "more a placatory and symbolic use"<ref>{{Cite web |first=Isobel |last=Leybold-Johnson |date=September 21, 2006 |title=Official Romansh still has some way to go |url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/top_news/detail/Official_Romansh_still_has_some_way_to_go.html?siteSect=106&sid=7056834 |access-date=2008-09-01 |website=[[Swissinfo]] |archive-date=2007-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215521/http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/top_news/detail/Official_Romansh_still_has_some_way_to_go.html?siteSect=106&sid=7056834 |url-status=dead }}</ref> of Romansh, the federal authorities occasionally translate some official texts into Romansh. In general, though, demand for Romansh-language services is low because, according to the Federal Culture Office, Romansh speakers may either dislike the official Rumantsch Grischun idiom or prefer to use German in the first place, as most are perfectly bilingual. Without a unified standard language, the status of an official language of the Swiss Confederation would not have been conferred to Romansh. It takes time and needs to be promoted to get implemented in this new function.{{sfn|Cathomas|2012|pp=57–58}}

The [[Swiss Armed Forces]] attempted to introduce Romansh as an official language of command between 1988 and 1992. Attempts were made to form four entirely Romansh-speaking companies, but these efforts were abandoned in 1992 due to a lack of sufficient Romansh-speaking non-commissioned officers. Official use of Romansh as a language of command was discontinued in 1995 as part of a reform of the Swiss military.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=154}}

=== Official status in the canton of the Grisons ===
The Grisons is the only canton of Switzerland where Romansh is recognized as an official language. The only working language of the [[Three Leagues]] was German until 1794, when the assembly of the leagues declared German, Italian, Sursilvan, and Ladin (Putèr and Vallader) to have equal official standing. No explicit mention of any official language was made in the cantonal constitutions of 1803, 1814, and 1854. The constitution of 1880 declared that "The three languages of the Canton are guaranteed as national languages,<ref>"Die drei Sprachen des Kanton sind als ‹Landesprachen› gewährleistet"</ref> without specifying anywhere which three languages are meant. The new cantonal constitution of 2004 recognizes German, Italian, and Romansh as equal national and official languages of the canton.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=155}} The canton used the Romansh varieties Sursilvan and Vallader up until 1997, when Rumantsch Grischun was added and use of Sursilvan and Vallader was discontinued in 2001.{{sfn|Cathomas|2008|p=41}}

[[File:Lubiu traffic.jpg|thumb|A Romansh-language road sign in [[Waltensburg/Vuorz]]]]

This means that any citizen of the canton may request service and official documents such as ballots in their language of choice, that all three languages may be used in court, and that a member of the cantonal parliament is free to use any of the three languages.{{sfn|Gross|2004|p=43}} Since 1991, all official texts of the cantonal parliament must be translated into Romansh and offices of the cantonal government must include signage in all three languages.{{sfn|Cathomas|2008|p=41}} In practice, the role of Romansh within the cantonal administration is limited and often symbolic and the working language is mainly German. This is usually justified by cantonal officials on the grounds that all Romansh speakers are perfectly bilingual and able to understand and speak German.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|pp=158–160}} Up until the 1980s it was usually seen as a provocation when a deputy in the cantonal parliament used Romansh during a speech.<ref>Richter (2005:949) in Cordey (2008). p. 81</ref>

Cantonal law leaves it to the districts and municipalities to specify their own language of administration and schooling. According to Article 3 of the cantonal constitution, however, the municipalities are to "take into consideration the traditional linguistic composition and respect the autochthonous linguistic minorities". This means that the language area of Romansh has never officially been defined, and that any municipality is free to change its official language. In 2003, Romansh was the sole official language in 56 municipalities of the Grisons, and 19 were bilingual in their administrative business.{{sfn|Furer|2005|pp=140–145}} In practice, even those municipalities which only recognize Romansh as an official working language, readily offer services in German as well. Additionally, since the working language of the canton is mainly German and many official publications of the canton are available only in German, it is virtually impossible for a municipal administration to operate only in Romansh.{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=79}}

=== Romansh in education ===
[[File:Schulsprachen Romanischbünden 2003.PNG|thumb|Languages of instruction in the traditionally Romansh-speaking areas of the Grisons as of 2003<br />
{{Legend|#0000FF|Romansh school}}
{{Legend|#51A8FF|Bilingual Romansh-German school}}
{{Legend|#04D00F|German school, Romansh as a subject}}
{{Legend|#008000|German schooling only}}]]
Within the Romansh-speaking areas, three different types of educational models can be found: Romansh schools, bilingual schools, and German schools with Romansh as a subject.

In the Romansh schools, Romansh is the primary language of instruction during the first 3–6 years of the nine years of compulsory schooling, and German during the last 3–9 years. Due to this, this school type is often called the "so-called Romansh school". In practice, the amount of Romansh schooling varies between half and 4/5 of the compulsory school term, often depending on how many Romansh-speaking teachers are available.{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=80}} This "so-called Romansh school" was found in 82 municipalities of the Grisons as of 2001. The bilingual school was found only in [[Samedan]], [[Pontresina]], and [[Ilanz]]/[[Schnaus]]. In 15 municipalities, German was the sole medium of instruction as of 2001, with Romansh being taught as a subject.{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=50}}

Outside of areas where Romansh is traditionally spoken, Romansh is not offered as a subject and as of 2001, 17 municipalities within the historical language area of Romansh do not teach Romansh as a subject.{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=50}} On the secondary level, the language of instruction is mainly German, with Romansh as a subject in Romansh-speaking regions.

Outside of the traditional Romansh-speaking areas, the capital of the Grisons, [[Chur]], runs a bilingual Romansh-German elementary school.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Standardsprache Rumantsch Grischun |trans-title=Rumantsch Grischun Standard Language |url=http://lia.rumantsch.ch/94+M5d637b1e38d.0.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712175606/http://lia.rumantsch.ch/94+M5d637b1e38d.0.html |archive-date=2012-07-12 |access-date=2012-02-28 |website=Lia Rumantsch |language=de}}</ref>

On the tertiary level, the [[University of Fribourg]] offers Bachelor- and Master programs for Romansh language and literature. The Romansh department there has been in existence since 1991. The [[University of Zürich]] also maintains a partial chair for Romansh language and literature together with the [[ETH Zürich]] since 1985.